1965 Rear Brakes disc conversion

[65tbirdsteve]

Hello All Tbird family, I'm new to the group so I apologize if I make any mistakes. I own a 65 bird and need to rebuild work on the brakes. I would like to know if it is worth it to convert the rear shoes to discs and if so what would be a good kit to get? I don't know the status of the brake booster as well and would like a good technique to test i

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[64ZCODE]

Hello Steve. Signs of a failing brake booster include leaking brake fluid, insufficient braking pressure (gotta really stomp on the pedal to slow the car down), brakes are spongy (pedal sinks as you press on it), or engine rpms change when you press on the brake pedal (indicating booster is leaking manifold vacuum).

Re: leaking brake fluid, observe whether the level of fluid in the master cylinder is dropping over time. If it is dropping and there is no brake fluid on the ground, then the fluid could be leaking from the master into the booster. That's a serious problem and there's a way to determine if that is happening.

Don't know re: converting rear drum brakes to disc brakes. But '65 has front disc brakes and I'd wager it'll stop fine if the brake system components are up to snuff.

Please keep us posted on your progress!

Doug

 

[65tbirdsteve]

Thank you. I rebuilt the motor and tranny myself awhile back with my dad. It has been sitting for a few years after my dad passed away and I lost interest. Since I am staying at home, I am trying to get the car running. I have just replaced the points with the Pertronix II and coil. I need to do brakes, shocks, fuel pump and possibly a new gas tank. It has a little of the varnish smell. I also need to do the window seals as well. A little bit at a time. Any recommendations will help.


Thanks,
Steve

 

[64ZCODE]

Hey Steve. Putting the Pertronix ignition on is a great move. Did you know you can increase your spark plug gap by .0003-.0005 inches? Also consider MSD (or equivalent) spark plug wires if you haven't done that already, much more juice will get to the plugs that way. Another good move is to add a spark box so you're getting multiple sparks per power stroke for each piston. I did all of these things and the idle speed increased by 500 rpms, the engine was running so much better.

With these heavy old birds, making sure the brakes are up to snuff is a high priority. Some guys report corroded brake lines that need to be replaced. And certainly making sure the brakes are up to snuff and the master cylinder and the booster are working is a critical safety issue. Your car has a single master which functions OK but there is no redundancy if a brake line breaks, so you could prioritize installing a dual master in the future. I'm still running the single master myself but have the dual master and plan to install it. It'll require replacing brake lines so it's not a trivial job.

Re: the fuel system, I'd consider putting an inline fuel filter upstream of the carb. Maybe that way you can avoid cleaning out the fuel tank. There is a fuel filter in the fuel pump but having a second one in the fuel line can only help keep crud out of the carb. When I got my '64, the fuel pump was getting flakey, working sometimes and other times not. Had to have the car towed twice before I figured that one out. How is the carb on your car? A lot of runability issues result from worn or mis-adjusted carbs.

I just replaced front and rear shocks with extra heavy duty ones from Bird Nest. Before, I had rattling and clanking noises. After, all those noises are gone and the car tracks much better than it did. Next I'm going to tackle the strut rod bushings. When those are bad, it can cause squeaking and clunking, but also can affect wheel caster alignment if they're really bad. I think the control arm bushings will need to be replaced eventually, and then there's the heavy duty front sway bar I want to install. By the time I finish the suspension, it'll probably be time to replace the shocks again...

Post a picture of your ride when you can, we'd all love to see it!

Doug

 

[65tbirdsteve]

Hey thanks Doug for the info. I haven't installed any new wires yet but I plan to go through the whole deal. I am not an expert on the birds. I learned a lot from my Dad but not enough due to his passing. In the past, he owned every year of t-birds up to 66. His favorite was the 64 & 65.

I have a worn out rivet on the driver side hood hinge. I saw a pair of used ones on ebay I got for 80 bucks for the pair. Much better shape then mine. I am going to sandblast it then powder coat them before I install. I built an over so i can do my own powder coating.

I will take some photos and show you what I have. I would love recommendations on wire & plugs that you mentioned. I also need to replace the window seals.
Another big issues is the battery compartment. The metal flat area where the battery sits is rotted through. I need to somehow cut a piece of new metal and weld it in place.

Everything you are doing is what I want to do. Not a show car but a great driver.

I will take pictures tomorrow.

Thanks again,
Steve

 

[64ZCODE]

H Steve. I've not dealt with replacing a battery tray but am noticing this on the Bird Nest site:

https://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb.dll?parta~partsort

They are really helpful in walking you through how to do the repairs.

Re: the hood hinges, it'll be really helpful to make register marks where the old hinges met the hood, that way you'll avoid a lot of issues with properly aligning the hood.

Have you got a good manual? I really like the one I have, it's specific to the '64 and not one of those "if you have this then this" general ones.

Have a great weekend,

Doug

Doug

 

[64ZCODE]

Just sent you direct message with link on hinges