If you look from the rear, you can see that the left tail light lens is dull and the red has faded throughout the years, more than likely it is the original from the factory. The right side was probably replaced with a Ford part many years ago.
I had this idea of cleaning them up with plastic cleaner and when I removed the metal circular piece I found in both cases the plastic lens was cracked in multiple places and the metal piece was actual holding it all together!
The tail light bucket seemed to be in really good condition. Both sides were in the same condition. Once I wiped it down they were good as new.
I’ll be looking a replacement set but not the original 1963 model as it will be difficult to find and the cost would be much higher.
My pulley belts never lined up with the grooves. It was off my 1/4″ between the crank pulley and the alternator pulley. After a few modifications to the custom brackets spacer I was able to align the belts up. With the old setup my v-belts were also close to various bolts. This is no longer the case.
After searching around the internet for the proper gasket I finally found what I needed to order. The gasket came from RockAuto.com and the timing cover gasket set is the Victor Reinz JV932. The gasket are made for a 1971 429 Ford Torino.
Ever since I got back into messing with cars I’ve heard of this show held at the Alameda Fairgrounds call the Good Guys Car Show. This event is more geared towards the Hot Rod enthusiast and classic cars, mostly Hot Rods and man they have some awesome attendees. Anyone of the entrants would be eye catcher on the street so the level of work and craftsmanship is very high.
One area that always catches my attention is the detail and work put into the motor and motor bay. Since mine has areas caked in oil it amazes me to see the motors there with not even one drop. I’m sure a lot of them are occasional drivers and rightfully so.
I decided to lug around my big DSLR and glass this time. I thought the event warrant the pain in the shoulder I’d have later on in the evening. Below are a few photos, you can see more at my photo gallery site Full photo gallery.
One cool chance meeting was with a couple from the Bay Area that owned a Thunderbird the same year as mine, repainted white with a blue pearl and has the hard top. It was great to actually look into the interior and see what mine should look like. I know my upholstery has been reworked during the years as none of it matched what I saw today, no surprises though.
Since I removed the waterpump it was a matter of going one more step to check out what was below the timing cover and the condition of the timing chain.
I started removing the necessary parts that blocked access to the waterpump removal. What was odd the none of the bolts were torqued down or tightened. I was able to remove all of them with very little pressure. If it wasn’t for all the sealant used it would have been leaking like crazy.
At the same time I was able to examine the alternator but still could not find any marking indicating what model it was or how much current is was capable of delivering. I may have to get another alternator that I know what the specs are and not use this perfectly good alternator. One note, it is the single wire model which probably means it is a newer build.
As it turns out one of the bypass hoses for the waterpump has a small hole due to using a small pointy object to remove it from the barbed fitting. I had purchased a short leng5h of rubber hose not realizing the original hose is preformed.
In my quest for a cooler running 63′ I ordered a high flow water pump from Summit Racing. The Milidon 16245 part number MIL-16245 uses a plate tac welded to the impeller blades. The original water pump did not. One of the reasons for changing the pump was to confirm that a backing plate was installed and also installed in the right orientation.
