It’s the extreme UV down south. 5 years is it for tires, like on trailers. We place covers on tires for protection. 30 year roofs only last 15 years on houses.

I agree that disc upgrade would be the way to go. This truck is car show / parade use only. My wife doesn’t even like to drive the 3 speed manual so $39 for drums and $30 or so for new studs isn’t bad. It is amazing how many miles we drove in the 60s and 70s with drum only cars and survived. But it ...

Finally got around to replacing the front drums on my 61. The old originals were at least .125 over 11 inches. Got the replacements from Rock Auto and except for getting the wrong seals it went well. Separate hub from old drum by driving out lug studs with a sledge. My bench top press doesn’t have e...

Of course you can’t outrun the radio.

My headlights briefly went out twice this weekend driving back home in about 45 minutes. First time it was virtually instantaneous and second time was about 4 seconds. I have a new replacement headlight switch as well as a high/low beam switch. Lights are nice and bright and haven't been converted t...

FE engines are .low at idle due to passages to valve train being too large. Folks do make mods by adding screws with a drilled passage to bring pressure up. There are articles on squarebirds.org for oil mods.

I had to have the drums pressed off hubs on 58 Thunderbird. The new drums were the best improvement in performance by far. The shoes to drum have to be properly arced.

Also a little extra advance will ensure it runs cooler especially at idle. I went from 6 degrees up to about 10 and temp dropped from about 60% to about 40%. I have a 1958 tbird 352. Very happy with power.

The mechanical oil pressure gauge on my tractor pegged high 80+ also, and it turned out to be a failed gauge so that can happen also. Confirm with a known good gauge before you get too excited about oil pressures.

My '61 has a weak brake pedal retract and was looking for a new retract spring. I found a listing for 1963-1966, but 1961 and 1962 aren't covered. Are the '61's the same or were they changed in 1963? Also found the 1957-1960's listed. Thanks!

The SCV does provide manifold vacuum from under the throttle plates and also a port above the plates it provides carb vacuum. There is a check valve/ball internal to the carb that moves to provide the appropriate source of vacuum to the distributor. It is a delta vacuum though and is only a couple o...

No, you had to run a wire back to the ACCY terminal on the ignition switch. The only wire my truck has is the one to the heater fan.

There originally was a waterproof butcher paper shield inside the door behind the access panel held in place with tarry glue. It serves to deflect water flowing down the door into the weepholes down at the bottom. Check to make sure the weepholes are clear and if there isn't a shield behind the acce...

I got a little over 15 mpg in my '61 with the 223 a few months ago on a 150 mile trip. I kept the speed down to 60-65 mph.

They are P205 75 15's. As far as I can tell, they are closest to original equipment.

It is a Dennis Carpenter Headliner. The key was to spray the back of the headliner with a spray bottle and work everything very slow and take your time. Allot 3-4 hours so you don't feel pressured and have a helper that also has the time bracketed out. This headliner sits about an inch higher than t...

Drove the '61 in the Burton Cotton Gin Parade a few weeks ago. http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h415/Astrowing/BurtonCottonGin107.jpg http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h415/Astrowing/BurtonCottonGin106.jpg Back at the ranch next to a 2007 King Ranch F250 to see the difference in size. The '61 s...

Also, these trucks were designed for the standard size tires. If you are using low profile wide tires, they will be much more difficult. Also rolling a little while steering does wonders.

What you need are Trico classic blades. Standard Auto Parts and others can order them.

Great that you solved your problem. It does look like varnish in the gas to me. My problem was a loose float seat on my 1904 Holley allowing the carb to flood at times. I also found some recommendations on the IH site to run the float lower than you would normally because the carb to overflow and le...