2002-05 Frustrations of the "hardtop link- 1W6Z7650611AA

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SeanPwnery
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Oct 23, 2018
Thunderbird Year
2003
No doubt this has been covered before, and as almost all of you already know, this is a discontinued part. I tried my luck and rolled the dice with Royal Oak Ford up in Michigan because they still had a "cartable" listing last night which was declined this morning - discontinued - shocker.

So, I got to thinking - I have friends who have fabricated me parts for my "Themed" rifle builds - and something like this should be a piece of cake for them. I took the hard top off about a month ago to investigate why the rear defroster wasn't working, and thankfully the grounding "link" on the passenger side was just laying off to the side with the wires connected to it - replaced it on top of the pin-hole, and we're good to go there. Checked all around inside for the driver's side piece - no bueno, not even a hint of bueno. She's lost, gone, not available on this existential plane. I suspect the previous owner pulled off the defroster-side to keep the top "level" to limit the rattle, which worked because I didn't have rattle until I put that piece back in place.

So here's the deal - some of you guys out there have your hard-tops on garage-ceiling mounted gantries - so you guys probably have easy access to that piece. I'd like some really high resolution pictures of this along with precise measurements, and in return, I will get 50 of these 3D printed for members here on the forum and will send them to folks here simply for the price of shipping it to you. Afterwards, I'll have my friend make a few runs of these here and there and maybe put them up on Ebay or something similar for the future - but at least for the first 50 pieces made, I'll pass them onto you guys as a thank you.

The most important part aside from getting detailed shots of what this thing looks like are the measurements where it'll mate with the mount for the hard-top pin to fit into - that and the "pad" thickness which I may have made a thousandth or two thicker to allow for "compression" from use and age.

As far as I'm aware, this part should work on all year-models 02-05 which is why I didn't put it in the title. Let me know if you're interested, or ... if someone else has already done this - in that case, I'd like to buy a few :)
 

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No doubt this has been covered before, and as almost all of you already know, this is a discontinued part. I tried my luck and rolled the dice with Royal Oak Ford up in Michigan because they still had a "cartable" listing last night which was declined this morning - discontinued - shocker.

So, I got to thinking - I have friends who have fabricated me parts for my "Themed" rifle builds - and something like this should be a piece of cake for them. I took the hard top off about a month ago to investigate why the rear defroster wasn't working, and thankfully the grounding "link" on the passenger side was just laying off to the side with the wires connected to it - replaced it on top of the pin-hole, and we're good to go there. Checked all around inside for the driver's side piece - no bueno, not even a hint of bueno. She's lost, gone, not available on this existential plane. I suspect the previous owner pulled off the defroster-side to keep the top "level" to limit the rattle, which worked because I didn't have rattle until I put that piece back in place.

So here's the deal - some of you guys out there have your hard-tops on garage-ceiling mounted gantries - so you guys probably have easy access to that piece. I'd like some really high resolution pictures of this along with precise measurements, and in return, I will get 50 of these 3D printed for members here on the forum and will send them to folks here simply for the price of shipping it to you. Afterwards, I'll have my friend make a few runs of these here and there and maybe put them up on Ebay or something similar for the future - but at least for the first 50 pieces made, I'll pass them onto you guys as a thank you.

The most important part aside from getting detailed shots of what this thing looks like are the measurements where it'll mate with the mount for the hard-top pin to fit into - that and the "pad" thickness which I may have made a thousandth or two thicker to allow for "compression" from use and age.

As far as I'm aware, this part should work on all year-models 02-05 which is why I didn't put it in the title. Let me know if you're interested, or ... if someone else has already done this - in that case, I'd like to buy a few :)
Good luck. Interested.
 
another interested party but dont have a part to measure.
 
Hi.
I may be able to help with his. I have a CT scanner at my disposal, I could scan the part and convert to an STL file to print. It may need a bit of massaging in solidworks, but would be an interesting project.
Of course I would need one to scan.

Thanks,
John
 
I don't have an extra one like I thought I had so I began a day long search
If you trust European posting there appears to be on in Italy at this link
https://www.usaspareparts.com/parts/152-ford/370903/1w6z7650611aa-1w6z-7650611-aa-link.html

You could also begin visiting salvage yards. I don't know where you live so maybe this time of the year this isn't such a good idea.
My hard top is on the car so I can't take any photos or measurements right now but here is a photo taken from a parts book. Possibly this can be of some help.
 

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There were a bunch of these in eBay a while back. It was a standard part for birds shipped with a hardtop. If the car was shipped without a top the part was not installed. It only fits the driver side. The passenger side is a little different because of the defroster connection.

I got all this info from a guy that used to buy and sell hardtops. He had about a dozen of these last year.
 
I'll talk to my dentist tomorrow. I'm going to get a new soft top shortly, so will have the hard top off and have access to the part. My own was loose inside the well, not in place, almost lost! My dentist may be willing and able to make a cast of the part as is done for making crowns, so you could have a sample to make your own measurements for the 3-d printer.
 
I talked to my dentist, and he says it would be possible to make a cast of the part, but it may also be possible to get a direct scan instead- there are DIY 3-d printing services here in the Washington, DC area for hobbyists, and there may be complete services to scan and print items. The dentist also said that the lab that makes crowns can scan the item into a 3-d computer file, so if I don't have any success finding a direct-to-printer solution he will talk to the lab about that.
 
I talked to my dentist, and he says it would be possible to make a cast of the part, but it may also be possible to get a direct scan instead- there are DIY 3-d printing services here in the Washington, DC area for hobbyists, and there may be complete services to scan and print items. The dentist also said that the lab that makes crowns can scan the item into a 3-d computer file, so if I don't have any success finding a direct-to-printer solution he will talk to the lab about that.

That sounds fantastic - I've got a couple people who could probably take that file and print away for us. Keep me posted, I've already got a couple friends with 3d printers on notice :D
 
I have a query in to a local scan-and-print service, waiting for a reply.
 
I don't know if I need one, but I'm interested in getting one, just I'm case.
 
Just a quick update - if we manage to get a scan file for 3d printers - I may go ahead and just buy a printer so we as a group can technically have them made "in-house."
 
Where can I get the stainless steel mouldings , to set the hardtop on , it is a 2005 T Bird , a Canada source would be good .
 
I got mine from thunderbird specialities.com . They also use the name my T-Bird.com
Their kits are pricey, but the stainless is of very hi quality, made in the USA not China. The kit they sell includes trim pieces not just for the Soft top pocket that the HT top seals to. The kit includes pieces to continue the SS along the top edge of the doors, forward with cut out for the mirrors. Makes for a great fit. Their site has great pics of kit installed on a medium steel blue.
And here's a tip get yourself on their email list. They frequently have sales announced by email only. These sales offer great savings.
 
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