Removing Rust

Here is a video I did a while back about removing rust from my Thunderbird's wire wheels. The car spend one unfortunate winter outdoors many years ago. This was very hard on its formally pristine chrome wire wheels. Disassembling the wheels to have them professionally cleaned and rechromed would cost about $2000. New ones would cost about $1500. I still needed a cheaper alternative, even as a temporary measure. This video shows my $30 temporary solution:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiDv6Rm1VEs

The rust that was more then simply surface rust remains. But at least it is no longer visible from more then a few feet. Someday I may replace the wheels, but for now the money will go toward other T-bird upgrades.

Thunderbird Fuel and Water Pumps

Electric Fuel Pump

When the car sits for over a week at a time, the fuel bowl in the carburetor tends to drain. Since the car has a mechanical fuel pump, the engine must be cranked for a while for fuel to reach the bowl and start up. This is a problem for two reasons. First, the engine wear during cranking is greater since the engine is not spinning fast enough for oil pressure to build. Those 20 seconds of cranking is causing a lot of unnecessary wear to the internal engine components. Second, this goes against my objective for the car to have a more modern "feel" to it. Since my wife will also begin using the car, it must "just work". Fixing this issue means replacing the mechanical fuel pump with an electric pump.

Plans are to eventually replace the carburetor with a fuel injection unit. Fuel injection requires a high pressure fuel pump, while a carburetor requires a low pressure pump. Electric pumps are cheap enough to install an interim low pressure pump until I am ready to upgrade to the fuel injection unit. I paid about $20 at the local auto parts store for this unit.

Figure 1 - Electric Fuel Pump

Normally the electric pump should be placed as close to the fuel tank as possible. Mechanical fuel pumps are designed to pull fuel and are located close to the destination, the carburetor. Electrical fuel pumps are designed to push fuel and are located close to the source, the fuel tank. However, I ran across an electric pump conversion kit which used the unused clutch linkage mounting holes for the pump. This is located in the engine compartment. The instructions are HERE . Although this is not optimal, I decided to give it a try. This is much easier to mount and minimizes the amount of modification to the fuel lines. So far it seems to be working fine.

The pump relay is placed on the left fender well next to the brake booster. Figure 2 shows the pump relay before the brake booster is installed.

Figure 2 - Fuel Pump Relay On Front Left Fender

There is obviously a fuse (not shown) in the circuit as well. A 10 amp fuse seems to work fine with this pump.

Water Pump (Part 2)

In a previous blog I mentioned I am planning on upgrading the water pump since I had to remove it anyway to replace the old power steering pump bracket. At the time the new pump had not arrived. I have it now, it is shown alongside the old pump in Figure 3.

Figure 3 - Old and New Water Pump with Additional Vanes

The new pump (left) has additional vanes on the back of the impeller for higher coolant flow. An article I once read (but can no longer find) showed data indicating this modification actually worked. Another popular modification, a water pump baffle, did not work. In fact the baffle impeded the coolant flow rather then enhancing it. When I removed the old water pump, I found the previous owner had installed a baffle. This could be the cause of my overheating problems. I may not have needed the new water pump after all, removing the baffle might have been enough Oh well, I have the new pump now so I might as well use it. I will not know for sure if my (hopefully) better cooling is now due to the removal of the baffle or the enhanced water pump. As an engineer I would like to know, but it really does not matter. As long as the issue disappears I will be satisfied.

56 Thunderbird - 4 wheel power disc brakes

I have completed the upgrade to 4-wheel power disc brakes. I have, however, chosen to defer installing the power brake booster so I have open space for working on the steering and fuel pump. More on those projects later.

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The Lift

Before getting into the brake modification, a word about a very important tool. I have had a 4-post lift in my back yard for a few years now. This is mainly used for storage. I normally keep the 56 Thunderbird on the lift with the 60 Rolls Royce underneath. While working on cars, this storage tool doubles as an excellent repair tool.

Figure 1 - 1956 Thunderbird on 4-post lift

Using my lift, shown above, makes major upgrades MUCH easier. While it is possible to upgrade the brakes without the lift, I am simultaneously upgrading the steering to rack-and-pinion. The steering upgrade almost requires a lift. If you are doing this kind of work and have the space, consider getting a lift. I paid about $2200 for the lift, delivery, and installation. It has been well worth the cost.

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The Kit

I purchased the Kit from http://www.thunderbirdbrakeparts.com for $1600. I liked the fact that the kit did not require changing the front spindles so alignment or suspension would not be affected. Here is a picture of the complete kit from their website:

Figure 2 - ThunderBrakeParts.com 56 Tbird kit

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Front Brakes

The front brake kit retains the original 1956 drum brake spindles. This makes it easy if I, or a future owner, ever want to go back to the original drums.

Figure 3 - Front Disc Brake Kit

Figure 3 shows one wheel components for the front disc kit. Included are the rotor, caliper, wheel bearings, spindle adapter, and hardware. The kit is complete. I did not need any additional items other then bearing grease.

Shown in figure 4 is the front left wheel before removing the drum unit.

Figure 4 - Front Drum Brake

Once the wheel is removed, the drum is accessed by removing the wheel nut and pulling the drum and bearing unit.

Figure 5 - Hub Removed

Once the drum and bearing are removed, the next step is removing the brake components themselves. Fortunately, this is quite easy. After disconnecting the brake line from the slave cylinder, four bolts hold the brake unit to the spindle. Remove those and the brake unit is removed in one piece.

Figure 6 - Before cleaning

After dis-assembly the next half-day was spent cleaning. There is a grease fitting on the ball joints here. The last 50 years of pumping grease into these fittings without a complete cleaning shows. With the brake units out of the way, ALL the grease is now exposed. Figure 6 shows one of the fittings with this accumulated grease.

Figure 7 - After cleaning

Using a putty knife, brushes, and solvents, the war on grease is finally won. Figure 7 shows the same fitting much cleaner. It is not concourse, but at least is is no longer an embarrassment.

Figure 8 - Cleaned spindle ready for disc brake

The spindle is now ready for the adapter, rotor, and calipers. Once the bearing are packed with grease, all components bolt together easily.

Figure 9 - Completed front disc

The completed unit is shown in figure 9. The red seen on the outside of the disc brake shoe (inside the caliper) is a formula called "disc brake quiet". It minimizes the squeal sometimes caused when the brakes are lightly applied. It can me found at most auto parts stores.

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Rear Brakes

The rear brakes are not as important as the front on any car. The front brakes do 80% of the stopping force. On the Thunderbird, it is possible to leave the rear as drum units with little change in stopping power. Disc brakes require more brake fluid in the slave cylinders to stop, so a proportioning valve must be used to ensure the front discs receive enough brake fluid by restricting the flow to the rear drums. Rather then dealing with the proportioning valve, I chose the more elegant approach, install discs in the rear as well.

Figure 10 - Rear Disc Kit (Caliper, Rotor,Adapter)

The rear kit contains the same basic parts as the front kit. It is not as complete as the front kit. There is no adapter components for connecting the parking brake cable. The existing cable will not work without extensive modifications. Because the Thunderbird contains a live axle, the axle must be removed to bolt the adapter to the axle housing. This is easier then it sounds. I did, however, have to spend several hours grinding the adapter to fit the axle housing. Be prepared to make some "adjustments" if parts do not fit quite right.

Figure 11 - Rear Brake Drum

The rear drums simply slide off after the wheel is removed. They are held in place by only the wheel lug nuts.

Figure 12 - Drum removed exposing Brake Shoes

Once the drum is removed the axle is unbolted using the same 4 bolts holding the brake unit in place. First dis-connect the brake line from the slave cylinder and remove the parking brake cable. Dealing with the parking brake cable is actually one of the hardest parts of the conversion. The clips holding the original cable in place were rusted and would not budge. They were not accessible enough to cut. I just had to keep working them until they finally released the cable. The new calipers do not use the same clips or cable as the old units. There is no provisions in the kit for connecting the parking brake, although the disc brake calipers support a parking brake cable. You are on your own to get this properly connected. I bought a universal parking brake cable kit from eBay for about $80.

Figure 13 - Brake unit and axle removed

Once all components are removed, you are left with only the axle housing, as shown in Figure 13. At this point, make sure you test-fit everything and make adjustments as required. I spend several hours grinding part of the adapter plate to make it fit snugly against the flange on the axle housing. Spend the time to make a quality fit, as you do not want any part of your braking system to fail due to taking short cuts!

Figure 14 - Test fit rear brake caliper adapter

Once the adapter is in place, test fit the components again without and with the rotor in place. Again, minor adjustments might have to be made.

Figure 15 - Rear Disc Complete

It is finally done! The master cylinder and brake booster will also be replaced, but I chose to remove the old unit and wait to replace the new unit since the removal of the old booster opens a lot of space in the engine compartment for other projects. I will work on these other projcts before installing the new booster and master cylinder.

Thunderbird Water Pump

The disc brakes are installed (more on that next post) but I have not yet installed the brake booster. With the booster out, access to the steering components is greatly enhanced as shown in figure 1. While my plan was to complete one project before starting on the next, I decided to take advantage of the access and start on the Rack and Pinion steering before installing the brake booster.

Figure 1 - Left Side of Engine Bay

 So what does all this have to do with the title of this blog, the water pump? Well, the first step in replacing the steering is to remove the old power steering pump and replace with the new unit. In figure 2 you see the one remaining power steering pump bracket. All bolts have been removed except on large plug set into the lower radiator hose coupling in the water pump.

Figure 2 - Power Steering Bracket

This plug has a 1 1/16 inch bolt head. I have socket, box, and open end wrench that fits this bolt head. Unfortunately there is no room to get such a large wrench on the bolt while the water pump is in place.In the photograph it appears a socket would work, but the bolt is too close to the power steering pump bracket to allow a socket to fit. The only alternative is to remove the water pump, place it in a vice, and remove the bolt with the open ended wrench.

These cars are notorious for overheating, so cooling improvement was in the plans. However, I was not going to work on the Thunderbird cooling system until much later, but my future plan was a water pump replacement. CASCO (http://www.classictbird.com/) sells a high volume water pump (#8501HO) with vanes on the backside as well as the front which has shown to increase water flow. I was trying to find the article which shows the data but I have not yet found it. When I do I will post a link. Since I will have the water pump out, I might as well replace with the improved version now.

Thunderbird Engine Upgrades

After the safety and handling work is done (last post) then the engine will be upgraded. Unlike the usual engine upgrades, this will not be done to increase performance. The goal will be to improve reliability, smoothness, and ease of driving. Anyone old enough to remember driving a car in the 50s and 60s will recall waiting 5 minutes while the car warms up, feathering the throttle to keep the engine from stalling, black smoke out the exhaust when the throttle is fully opened, overheating on steep grades, and other fun traits. It is now possible to take one of these cars and apply modern bolt-on technology to solve almost all problems.

This list is broken into several sub-lists. First is the most important (and the most expensive) modification, replacing the carburetor with electronic fuel injection. This group of mods are planned and budgeted. They will happen after the handling mods are complete:

• Throttle Body EFI - electronic fuel injection
• Upgrade intake manifold
• Upgrade distributor
• Upgrade points to electronic
• Add CDI - capacitive discharge ignition
• High pressure fuel pump

The main goal is to upgrade the old-fashion carburetor to a modern electronif fuel injection. The problem is 1956 was the last year of the old-fashion carburetor, known as a "teapot" carb because the design resembles a teapot. The problem is the footprint of this carb is not compatible with anything. Starting in 1957 the modern Holley carb footprint was used. The fuel injection unit I will be using simply bolt on to a modern Holly style carb footprint. This means I must change the 1956 intake manifold to a 1957 or later manifold. But there is another catch...

1956 was also the last year of the old-fashion "loadmaster" distributor which uses a odd double vacuum setup for spark advance. This is specially matched to the carb and intake manifold. That means the distributor must also be replaced with a conventenal 1957 or later distributor which uses vacuum and contrifigual advance. So the upgrade of the manifold and distributor done to make the engine compatible wiht the fuel injection unit.

I have already replaced the Thunderbirds points with an electronic unit. I want to keep that low maintainance device, so I will also replace the 1957 distributer points with a electronic version. While I am at it, I might as well also add a hotter spark, via capacitive discharge ignition unit (CDI).

Lastly, fuel injection requires much higher fuel pressure then a carb, so the fuel pump must be replaced. The old-fashion mechanical punp will be removed and replaced with a high pressure electric unit.

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The next group will occur if the budget allows. After the car is back on the road, I may phase these in when I have spare cash:

• Alternator
• Geared Starter
• Pre-oiler

The original generator works fine along with the mechanical regulator. Rather then waiting for complications, now is the time to upgrade the electrical system to a modern alternator with integrated electronic voltage regulator. General Motors integrated alternators used on practically all GM products from the 70s through the 90s is still widely available, cheap, and easy to adapt. In fact, the hardest part is the mechanical adaptation of the brackets. Fortunately, adapter brackets exist.

As with the generator, the starter is presently working fine. The problem is starters usually die at inconvenient places, not at home where they can be easily replaced. This means a tow to a repair shop, and a costly rebuild. As with anything automotive, it is better to make the replacement while the old part is still working. Modern geared starters are smaller, lighter, more powerful and run cooler then the original starters.

A pre-oiler, also known as an accumulator, is an oil tank which is pressurized with air. When the oil is under pressure while the engine is running, some oil is forced into an external tank. The oil self-pressurizes the air in the tank. When the engine is shut off, a valve is closed holding the pressurized oil in the tank. A few seconds before the engine is started, the valve is opened releasing the pressurized oil into the engine. All surfaces are oiled before the engine starts cranking.

Most engine wear occurs the first few seconds after the engine is first cranked before the oil is properly circulating. An engine pre-oiler eliminates this "dead" time. Modern engine technology reduces (but not eliminates) the wear factor during starts. Classic cars and engines were made to last much less then 100K miles,that is why their odometers would reset after 99,999 miles. Anything that can be done to slow their wear, such as pre-oilers, is welcome.

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The early Thunderbird is notorious for overheating. Upgrading several cooling components with modern versions solves the problem. However, the car will not be driven hard so the cooling issue rarely is a problem in my vehicle. There has been one reoccuring exception, parades. I have driven in a few Independence Day parades, while a celebrity sits on the trunk lid with the top down waving to the crowds. This kind of driving the car moves very slowly for miles and frequently stops (much like bad commuter traffic). This is hard on the cooling system and I battle overheating during these times. If I can afford it, I will implement the next group to solve this problem:

• Electric radiator fan
• High flow water pump
• High flow thermostat
• High flow& aluminum radiator

The addition of an electric fan is the modern replacement for the old, inefficient engine driven fan. The electric multi-speed unit responds to coolant temperature rather then engine speed of the engine-driven units. Of course, coolant temperature is what you really care about.

Other items on this list have not really changed in the 50 years since the orginal was produced. However, new products are marginally better and worth replacing as an entire system if cooling is a problem. I will probably make this change only if some component in the cooling system fails.

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This is the miscellaneous group which probably not get done for various reasons:

• R134 A/C
• Electric Wipers
• Replacing air-cooled transmission with water-cooled
• Upgrade suspension

My Thunderbird has an aftermarket air conditioning unit installed which looks period correct. The previous owner installed this before 1995 (when I bought the car0. He properly decided to use a modern rotary compressor rather then the older piston compressors used in 1956. However, it still runs with the now-banned R12 refrigerant. The air conditioning now longer is cold, so it is time to recharge it. This is a good time to convert to R134A refrigerant used in all automobiles today. But, with a convertible, it is just easier to drive with the top down. The change-over will get done someday. Just now sure when I will get to this.

Vacuum driven wipers really make a car show its age. The 50s was the last of the vacuum driven units. This car has one. However, I do not anticipate this car will ever get used in the rain. Here in California the rains are very predictable. It does not rain from May to September, the months when this car will get its usage. It might be nice to keep this around just for its "quaintness"

Early 1956 Thunderbirds have air-cooled Fordomatic automatic transmissions. Mid-year the cars were delivered with water-cooled units. While the air-cooled units perform adequately, it heats up the floorboards. The changeover is probably not worth the trouble. I might wait until kits are perfected to replace the old two-sped fordomatics with newer Ford C4 automatic transmissions. I will take a wait and see approach on this item

The suspension on the Thunderbird is definitely dated and will limit the handling improvement made by the other handling upgrades. I would love to upgrade this as well. Problem is I have not found a bolt-in kit I feel comfortable with. Since one of my criteria is to be able to reverse any upgrade done to revert back to original, this rules out the cut-and-weld option suspension upgrades require. I am hoping more research yields some other options here.

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Next post I will start showing actual work being done on the car. I have already started on the brakes and will show pictures showing the work in progress. I will also discuss costs and time associated with the work done.

Thunderbird Handling Upgrades

Here is a list of handling upgrades I intend to make on my 1956 Thunderbird. I am currently in the process of installing the brakes. More on that in a later post.

To make the car handle better:

• 4-wheel power disk brakes
• Battery relocation
• Rack and pinion steering
• Radial tires

Disk brakes are the single most important upgrade for the Thunderbird. Anyone who has driven a car with 4-wheel drum brakes will remember brake fade, overheating, and non-linear response. I ALWAYS leave extra room in front when driving this car with outdated brake technology. Fast stops are, in a word, scary.

The battery relocation is done only to make room for the new brake booster. The original booster was not mechanically connected to the brake pedal. Odd, since modern-type booster were available in 1956. I guess they simply did not have enough room on the firewall. The battery will be located in the trunk

Ever watch an old movie with the driver moving the wheel back and forth on a straight highway? That is truely what it is like to drive a car with old recirculating ball technology. Another problem with the older steering technology is something called "bump steer". When the car goes over a bump, it will pull in one direction and must be corrected with opposite steering input. This is caused by the asymmetric nature of the steering system. Hitting a pothole at highway speeds can cause sever enough bump steer you could lose control of the car. Add to this bia ply tires which follow the grooves in the highway, and you have an "exciting" experience merely driving straight at highway speeds. I hope the rack and pinion upgrade along with the redial tires will make this a thing of the past.

The brakes, battery relocation, and steering are invisible upgrades. There will be no appearance changes to the car. The new steering column is specially made in order to accept the stock '56 steering wheel. The radial tires are made to look as close as possible to stock bias ply tires, with 3 1/2 inch wide white walls. However, if you see both tires side by side, you would be able to see the difference. The bias ply tires do not flex as much as the radials, so the contact area of the radial will appear flattened while the bias ply retains the roundness even at the road contact area. It would appear over-inflated.

Of all upgrades I will be doing, if I had to pick just two, it would undoubtedly be the disk brakes and the radial tires. The brake kit cost about $1600 and wide whitewall tires cost about $800. If I had to stop there, the $2400 make a world of difference. I will cover engine upgrades in the next post.

Ed Garcia

Project: 1956 Thunderbird upgrade

This project that is already underway, and prompted me to start this blog, is the upgrade of my 1956 Thunderbird. This is not a restoration, as the car is already in very good condition. Rather, this an upgrade or modernization. It is intended to make the car drive more like a modern car. 50's era cars have many undesirable driving characteristics that prohibit them from being useful daily drivers. I would like to get more utility out of this vehicle.

I have owned the Tbird since 1995 and was my first collectible car. The car was originally intended for both my wife and I to drive and enjoy. I did not count on her not being able to adapt to the idiosyncratic nature of a 50s automobile when compared to a modern car. We have taken it to numerous car shows and enjoy the car culture, but always with me driving. Now she should be able to use the car as well.

Almost all of these modifications are bolt-in. This will allow the car to be returned to original condition if desired. None of the modifications should change the appearance of the Tbird, and would go unnoticed to the casual observer. I will probably hold on to all original parts so they can be offered with the car if I ever decide to part with it.

Next post I will go into more detail about the mods.

Ed Garcia

My Future Blogging Subjects

I plan on using this blog for a number of topics that interest me or things I have a desire to learn. Here is my list:

• Classic Cars
• Airplanes
• Robotics
• Biometrics
• Software Development
• Graphic Design

Classic Cars

I own a few classics. 1956 Ford Thunderbird, 1960 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud 2, 1967 Austin Healy Sprite, 1973 Triumph TR6, 1982 Mercedes Benz 380SL, 1983 Ferrari 400i, 2001 Solectria Force (electric). The current project, and the one I will be blogging most in the near future is the "modernization" of the 56 Thunderbird. I am in the process of upgrading components of the car so it will drive less like a 50's cruiser and more like a modern vehicle. More on this in the next post.

Airplanes

I have an experimental 2000 Zenith Zodiac 601HD in my garage. This is a 2-seat LSA (light sport aircraft). I bought it from a salvage company after it experienced an engine fire on startup. The engine, a Subaru EA81, was not damaged nor was the airframe. All hoses and wiring needed replacing. I have done this but am now working on the avionics.

Robotics

I have done some tinkering with Arduino microcontrollers. They are easy to get started and make an ideal platform for learning electronics, embedded design, and robotics. Plus they are cheap! I am teaching my son to program on an Arduino. As he learns, I will post his lessons and progress.

Biometrics

I work at a fingerprint sensor manufacturer, Validity Sensors (www.validityinc.com). In technical marketing, one of job functions is teaching customers about biometrics. I will try to include some interesting material about biometrics in future posts here.

Software Development

This is an area I want to learn more about. I wrote a simple Palm Pre webOS app, a loan calculator. Unfortunately I picked the wrong platform. I have taken a classes on Java, JavaScript, HTML and web technologies, but have no practical experience. I want to build some simple apps for android and iOS. As I learn, I will post my experiences.

Graphic Design

At work, I have access to Adobe Creative Suite. I occasionally use Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Illustrator, and In Design. Because I am a casual user, it takes me a long time to do something simple, as the user interface is not intuitive. After learning a simple task, I put the program away long enough to have to re-learn the task all over again th next time I use it! I am hoping to spend some extra time to really know these programs enough to break that cycle.

First post

Welcome to my first blog!

After talking with a few of my friends about my latest project, they encouraged me to try blogging. Although I consider myself technically savvy, I have never done a blog before and know very little about blogging tools, etiquette,  style, etc. Hopefully readers will see improvements in all these areas as I learn. If I make nubie mistakes in the beginning, please kindly point them out.

To start, I will explain my blog URL (at least for now) SFOsystems.blogspot.com. This refers to my "playground" website www.SFOsystems.com The site was originally intended as a developer site for Palm Pre webOS apps. I wrote a loan calculator application in webOS but did not further develop apps for the Palm Pre since that smartphone was not a commercial success. Too bad, it was a well thought out operating system. Since then I have done some experimental websites that are sub-domains off SFOsystems. I never put navigation to those sites, so they remain "hidden". Maybe now that I am publishing this I will have the incentive to organize SFOsystems so it is usable to outsiders.

Ed Garcia