Potomac Classic T-Bird Club | Chapter 23

Install Cruise Control in Your Thunderbird

How Reese Burgoyne installed cruise control on his ’57 T-Bird

1955 Thunderbird Road Tests

Testing the Thunderbird, by John Bentley (Sports Illustrated, October 1954)

The Ford Thunderbird, by Tom McCahill (Mechanix Illustrated, January 1955)

CASCO Projects

Developing LED tail lamps for the 1955 Ford

Water pump test results

Overdrive Service Information

Harvested from elsewhere on the Internet with no known copyright issues.  These documents are generic for the era so there might be some slight differences but seem to be pretty applicable to all vehicles that used the Borg-Warner T-85 overdrive transmission.

General Instruction Manual

Service Manual

Rebuild Guide (from www.classictruckshop.com)

Overdrive Troubleshooting Article (original source unknown)

Overdrive Wiring Hacking 

The Legacy of Walt Nuckels

A great Tbirder has passed away.  As a tribute and to preserve the knowledge he developed, I am reposting info from his web site against the time when it is no longer available:

Main Seal Replacement
Oil Filters
Valve Lash Adjustment

Other Info

The Perfect Paint Job (09/17/01): Courtesy of Barry Kives of Atlanta.

Did you know…? (from Classic Auto Supply Co.- CASCO)

• Backup lights will work only when the lights are on.
• Originally the doors and ignition were operated by the same key and the trunk and glove box used the same key.
• The front license plate bracket for ’55 and ’56 mounts to the lower bolt of the R.H.(passenger side)bumper.
• The glass in a T’Bird was either all clear – including hardtop – or all tinted.
• The flat glass was made by Ford and carried the FoMoCo logo. The curved glass, windshield and hardtop backlite, were supplied by PPG and supported their logo.
• All ’55 T’Birds had power seats.
• Deck mounted antennas were an option in ’57 only.
• Porthole hardtops were not available in ’55.
• A crest emblem was used on each side of the ’55 hardtop and a round T’Bird emblem was used on the nonport ’57 hardtops. No emblems were used on ’56 tops or any porthole top.