Mod motor 57 T-Bird is back home

Mercutio

SCCoA Member
I've posted pics of this car a couple times before on this site, but my 57 Thunderbird is finally back home after more than 5 years and several different shops.

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A refresher on the car: my dad bought this car in 1964. It's an original CA car, and left the factory with Raven black paint, a 2-bbl 292, and 3-speed manual. The car was blue when my dad got it, and in the 1980s he began a restoration on it, including bodywork and Starmist Blue paint, a factory Thunderbird color.

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When I moved from CA to TN, my dad hadn't driven the car in a decade or so. I joked with him "Why not let me take that car and hot rod it a bit so we can drive the thing?" I wasn't prepared for his response: "Okay."

The original plan was for an EFI 5.0/T5 swap, but I decided a mod motor would just look cooler. This one is a bit of a mutt, a Teksid block with 01 Cobra heads/cams/intake. The engine has some minor bolt-ons like a BBK throttle body and Meziere electric water pump. It's mated to a T45 5-speed. I'd be happy to see 275 to the rear wheels, but I won't cry if I don't get that.

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It now has Wilwood 4-pot discs at all four wheels in place of the factory drums. The suspension is mostly the same, with new factory coils and drop spindles in front, with new leaf springs and drop blocks in back. The 57 was the first year of the 9-inch, so we kept that and installed a True-Trac diff. I put in 3.00 gears to go with the original 3-speed, but I might change those out for 3.55s or something to do with the new OD trans. The wheels are 17x7 inch American Racing Hopsters.

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Inside, everything works. It took various adapters to get the refurbished tach and speedo to work with the new transmission, but it works. The factory cranks actuate power windows, and the radio is a factory face with all-new digital guts, pre-outs, etc.

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The only body mods were to the bumpers. Both are blind-mounted, and the front bumper has foglights and the license plate pocket was filled.

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It still needs carpet, a new soft top, and a tune. But for now I'm just going to drive it. That was the whole point of this project--I don't want a car I'm afraid to drive in traffic, or get a rock chip on. I've already heard hate from purists on this car, but I don't care. It's part of the family, and I'd sell the house and the SC before I sold this car.

I'm rambling. But I'm happy to have it back, and I hope some of you enjoy the pictures.

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Awesome piece of american automotive history! I love the dash!

What does she weight?

Stock was 3,305 pounds. Weight distribution was 53% front/47% rear.

Now, with a full tank, it's 3,325. It's the difference of 3-4 gallons of gas.

Now it's 47.1% front/52.9% rear. Some weight got added to the rear of the car (battery, ECU, wiring), but some got removed, too (aluminum third member and driveshaft). The engine also sits pretty far back in the car. So it could be any of those things, or the shift in balance could just mean the car has more gas now than it did the first time I weighed it.

Edit to add: 7k rpm engine with a 5k rpm tach. I've never pegged a tach before.
 
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Looking great, Will! I can relate to how you feel. The old guy and I have finally started working on the '65 C10 that his Dad bought new in '64. Cars with family history are just that much more special.

Oh, and screw the purists! :D
 
I am soooo jealous!...Looks great. I have been wanting to build a kit car and use the 57 T-bird kit....you need to bring this to the shootout at least once....Dan
 
That is really cool. There are enough bone stock examples. Congrats for doing something that you wanted to do and making it happen. Out of the first gen T-Birds, I do like the '57 best.

Nicely done and I hope you enjoy it.
 
Simply awesome, great job. To me there are not many nicer looking engines than a polished up DOHC.
Are those Sanderson headers you used?

Drew
 
Simply awesome, great job. To me there are not many nicer looking engines than a polished up DOHC.
Are those Sanderson headers you used?

Drew

Yes on the headers. The engine is enormous, and it's still really tight in there. One reason the engine is so far back is because it's so wide that it wouldn't fit between the front upper control arms. Even now, one of the idler pulleys is so close to the UCA mount that it would be impossible to add another alignment shim. Moving the battery to the trunk wasn't a decision so much as a requirement, and the master cylinder is rotated 90 degrees out of necessity.
 
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