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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
