What modifications have you made to your new Bird? | Page 2 | Ford Thunderbird forum club group 1955-2005 models

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What modifications have you made to your new Bird?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Eyelawdoc
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jodrod - Did you check into the compatibility of the paint you put on the calipers? I understand that even high temp manifold paint is not compatible with brake fluid.

Talked to a specialty paint company today that does custom motorcycle & car work. (I believe he said they paint the gas caps for the Vipers.) He advised the best paint is a powder coat on the calipers, with a clear acrylic top coat to protect from the fluid.

Was advised the cost is about $40/caliper. However you must remove and completely dissasemble the calipers including the pistons and seals. To reinstall them, you must install new kits. The Ford dealer said that was about $475. Kind of makes the job too pricy for my blood.

I am interested in a custom color, so if anyone knows of another solution, please advise. Thanks...

Chris

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Chris,

I can tell you an unbelievably inexpensive way to paint your calipers that will last a good long time under normal driving conditions. I have a friend that came up with the idea and I have personally done it with great results on my '93 Taurus SHO that is a perenial gold class award winner at the National SHO Conventions. You can paint the calipers right on the car without any problem.

Go to Walmart (or any other store with a household paint section) and by a small can of Red Devil Polyurethane Oil Enamel in the color of your choice (or more than one to mix if you want a custom color, some brake cleaner and a couple of cheap, small throw away paint brushes. You'll spend less than $10 probably.

Remove the wheel, spray the brake cleaner on the caliper, clean with rags and repeat the process till your not getting any grime on the rag. Let the calipers dry completely. Apply one coat of the enamel. Let it dry completely and then apply another coat. Your done with that one, move on to another.

This paint dries to a nice smooth, shiny finish and is very durable. The brake dust will clean off of it as easily as a wheel. Don't worry about the heat (something most will question immediately). I have had mine done on the SHO for 3+ years and they have looked and held up great. Last summer after an hour on the Hallet Motor Racing Circuit going hard into multiple corners from 90 mph to 25 mph the brake calipers on the front turned a little darker red than they had been before, but still look okay. This abuse is much greater than most any of our T-Birds will ever see, so in most cases it will not be an issue. I'll just repaint the calipers when I get around to it and they will look as good as new. I'll probably do the the T-bird's at the same time.

I know this sounds too good to be true but it really works. Believe me, you'll be hard pressed to find someone that cares more about his vehicle than I do, so I wouldn't do anything that I wasn't confident would be attractive. Of course this is my experience, results may vary depending on your prep and painting abilities.

I avoid getting brake fluid on any painted surface and have not had a problem with it on the SHO. If that did happen you could repaint them without any problem.

Hope this helps,

Paul

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#3739 Premium
Torch Red w/matching top
Standard Interior
 
DavidA,

That blank panel at the bottom just pops out. Try prying the top part out first from the sides. After removing the blank panel, the floor console can be pulled straight up and off.
 
Paul - Thanks for the information. You never know when these shop people are giving overly-cautious information. I will check into the product you suggest and see if they have a color that will work for me.

As usual, this board is the best source for real-world info.

Chris
 
David A
I am shure you posted this and I missed it,could you tell me how you mounted the T-Bird in the trunk?
Each week I find something new to buy or add to my Bird.I am going to try the Red Devil paint when the weather warms up,and will wait a little longer to paint the wheel covers until I can get the right color paint.
 
Just got the car back from the shop that did the calipers and window tinting. I am not sure what type of paint they used but they have been doing calipers for quite some time. With the cars that I have seen in their shop (Bentleys, Ferraris and other big buck cars), I am sure that they know what they are doing. I hope that barke fluid is not a problem, if it is that means that there is a major problem with the brakes, something I am not planning on.

I am not sure if I like the results or not. The red paint is more of an orangey red, I thought it was going to be fire engine red. I will give it some time and if I still don't like it I will get the red I want and do it myself. Time will tell.

The black car reeeely, reeeely looks good with the windows tinted. I'll take some pictures tomorrow. This time I am going to use ISO100 35mm film and have the photos digitized, hopefully this will yield better results than I have had using a digital camera. It will probably be several days before I have the pics but I will post them on the Yahoo! site when they are ready.
 
fortbirds...if I remember correctly, TBirdTim mounted the wings emblem using velcro...think he stuck two pieces on each side of the emblem and simply stuck it in place...

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White/White premium; full red accent interior; no VIN yet
 
I'm actually going to use the car this weekend and will take some digital photos of the XM and the antenna.
The panel really does just pop out and the installer cut it and built it up so that the face of the XM tuner is flush..the antenna is a trunk mounted TERK antenna that is usually used for a roof mount..
I'll post some photos next week.
Once my white one comes in, I will have it reinstalled in it. I purchased a blank panel to pop back in. That piece was very inexpensive.
 
biggrin.gif
Fortbirds, you can eather mount your wings like TBirdTim or if you are a little brave like me you can line it up where you want it and mark the holes with the little studs on the wings and drill two 1/8" holes in the trunk liner and use the adhesive tape on the wings and just press them into place.

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02 T-Bird 9293
69 Vette
73 MGB
97 F-150 4x4
2-Seadoo Jet Skies
a dog a cat and a couple hundred fish in my pond
 
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