New Member

Hi All

Just joined the forum and hope to get some good information and maybe help others with problems they may be having.
I have a 1964 Ford Thunderbird Navaho Beige in colour with what I would call a Doeskin interior. I imported my car from California to Perth in 2010 but unfortunately have had a few mechanical and electrical problems that has kept the car on stands in my garage for most of that time (sigh). I have an electrical fault at the moment that I cannot find, so if anyone knows of an Auto Electricain in the northern suburbs of Perth that doesn't require me giving over my arm and leg to get it fixed please let me know. I have tackled a few mechanical problems on my own so hopefully I might be able to help others and contribute in some way so looking forward to being involved.

Cheers
Phil

It appears my picture didn't work I'll try again. Cheers Phil

Welcome and although I bring no value in finding you a local guy (I live in the States) may I make a suggestion..........................Rewire the whole car. These old cars has some of the worst wiring EVER, and although quite the job, if you have ever had one apart it is easy to see why you are experiencing some difficulties.

So if you have the ability, I would pull it all, get yourself a new Fuse Panel and start from scratch.

Hi Phil, welcome , you've come to the right place. Feel free to give me a call & I should be able to point you in the right direction.
Paul 0417 766 552 ( I'm in Perth as well ).

Hi Phil and welcome aboard mate. I also imported my 65 Bird from Orange Grove in California and I've also been plagued with electrical problems since it first arrived in Melbourne. It's taken me nearly 2 years to get the gremlins out of her but they keep on sticking their ugly heads back in again. I got a quote from a bloke down the road from me but like you I have to amputate my arm and leg for him. I have now just been doing dribs and drabs on her by myself but it's a pain. Paul would be your best bet in Perth.
Cheers, Nick.    

Hi Phil (Stubbie)
Like the other boys have said, welcome aboard as you can see the guys here will certainly help where they can. Your 64 looks very clean mate, get those little gremlins sorted and you'll have a beautiful cruiser.

I know how frustrating it all is, I've got an overheating issue at the moment that I just cant pin point, everyone keeps telling me Oh it cant be a head or head gasket not on a 390, but I've run out of things to check, so I think i'll be removing the top end of the engine next weekend. Dave

Hi Guys

Thanks for the advice. Looking at the wiring on this car it looks like someone previous has been having the same sort of issues, as some of the wiring under the bonnet looks farely new. I have a feeling that the fault is somewhere behind the dashboard maybe the Ammeter. I had this car checked out in the states by a guy who said it was in great condition except for a non working aircon, speedo and radio but he obviously didn't see the oil leaks in the valley covers, power steering box and pump, transmission, water pump housing, no electricals except headlights, leaking master cyclinder and I had to replace all the suspenshion bushes, tie rod ends etc and uni joints (I expected I would have to do these on a 50 year old car) and the mechanic tells me that the rear axels look bent as well. Anyway you live and learn. Paul I will give you a call maybe Wed or Thursday cheers.

Thanks again

DaveG wrote:Hi Phil (Stubbie)
Like the other boys have said, welcome aboard as you can see the guys here will certainly help where they can.  Your 64 looks very clean mate,  get those little gremlins sorted and you'll have a beautiful cruiser.

I know how frustrating it all is, I've got an overheating issue at the moment that I just cant pin point, everyone keeps telling me Oh it cant be a head or head gasket not on a 390,   but I've run out of things to check, so I think i'll be removing the top end of the engine next weekend.      Dave

Head or Gasket is pretty easy to identify

1) Water in oil
2) Compression in coolant system
3) Steam coming out of the exhaust pipe

A leak down test will tell you something here! Of coarse unless your rings are shot!

Done em all
3 new thermostats, chemically flushed the cooling system 3 times also tried with no thermostat, fitted new 4 core radiator checked water pump all new hoses bypassed heater checked exhaust with paper no signs of water, compression test all good, leak down test all good, pressure tested radiator all good, carbon monoxide in cooling water test 3 times all good, No oil in water or water in oil engine idols smooth inspected plugs all running fine. Only thing I haven't done is ....It was suggested that sludge can build up in the water jackets behind the rear cylinder on each side, apparently removing rear welch plug each side allows access for Air nozzle and water flushing. I'm about to park her up for a while and get my sanity back.

Hi Phil (Stubbie),

As the other have said, Welcome to the forum !!!!

The old birds are temperamental - you just have to persist or get the 'Credit Card' out and don't read your statements.

A full re-wire is a bit extreme, but it is all relative to what is or isn't working on the car. I have been in the automotive game from a manufacturer viewpoint (Aftersales - Technical) for the past 25+ years and the best advise l could give you is to understand the condition before you jump in !!

Research the condition. understand it, so you don't run around in circles.

So if you are willing to do some hands on work - l can support you in the electrical diagrams for your '64.

Remember - the difference between a tradesman & a handyman is 'Time Taken' to achieve the result !!

All the best, there is a lot of support on this forum for the Flairbird Generation of Thunderbird.

Hi Guys

Just to keep you posted. I spoke to Paul on the phone the other day and he recomended an auto electricain. I gave him a call and he is coming over on Wednesday afternoon. I'll let you know the results. Thanks for the help.

Phil

Hi Phil and welcome, we to are reasonably new on here * have found the people on here very helpful. John bought our 64 bird from Wodonga. When we got it home and started to check things over to see what we still had to fix, only to find somewhere down the track someone had cut a lot of the wires about an inch away from the problems eg. interior courtesy lights, door lights, dash lights boot light & so on. We fortunately enough had the manuals given to us with the car, so John & his mate (the dog) spent hours rewiring the whole car from bonnet to boot.

Hi Wigg

Thanks, Yes I would love to be able to do that but electrics is a little over my head. Sometimes I get lucky but I usually spend most of my time going around in circles. Maybe one day i'll sit down and take a good look at auto electrics.

Cheers

The auto electrician came by today at 3.30 to look at my bird. There is apparently a wire that has destroyed itself somewhere between the fuse box and the ignition switch. We got her running but he didn't have time to fix the problem and will have to come back another day. I have dashboard lights now but no head or tail lights he is going to look more closely at that when he comes back. At least now we know what was causing the fault and he is going to make up some peices to rectify the problem.

Cheers
Phil

Good news Phil
Glad to hear it's coming together,
Hopefully one day I'll find the answer to my overheating problem, Unlike you I've decided to stick my head in the sand and park the old girl up for a while, I'm so frustrated with it that I've lost interest. Cheers Dave

Dave I had a Holden once with a similar problem and according to my mechanic at the time, he said the thermostat was the wrong one and was letting through to much water. The water wasn't getting a chance to cool down so it continually ran hot. He put in the correct one and it was fine after that.

Cheers
Phil