Can't thank you enough for sharing your knowledge. As a new owner of a 1964 Thunderbird I sincerely appreciate what you do, I'll probable watch everyone of your videos. Thumbs up!
Thank you so much for these. We have 2 flairbirds and my wife and I have found these videos essential in our restoration and repair. This car and years are really lacking on RUclips for help and anything you post is instantly taken in. Keep ‘em coming!
Hey Scott, thank you so much. Glad to help. Glad to hear that your wife wants to jump in there and help out. That's not usually the case. Mine also helps me when she has the time. Its fun to work together on a fun project. Good luck.
How awesome discovering your channel, you have all the fixes for me in advance of my list of defects on my 65 Mr. T....Accelerator linkages and steering column in need of refurbishing...saves me learning by the school of hard knocks. Many thanks and well explained.
Awesome video with great explanations. Having already done this task prior to watching your video, I’m relieved that I did it correctly. Great shirt by the way. I had the neutral safety switch leaking vacuum. The column NSS on my 66 only goes to the parking brake release canister. The actual NSS is on the drivers side of the C6 transmission. I was able to disassemble the column NS switch, clean it up and get it to hold vacuum. Great video, thank you so much!
Wow, your videos are extremely helpful. You got me through the confusion of the steering column when I was stuck. I have a '64 convertible that hasn't been driven since '77. However it is pretty clean and running again. I hope you continue to do more videos like this. Thanks for your excelent efforts. Dave
These are great videos and thank you for producing them. I’m an owner of a 66 Q-Code Convertible and am contemplating a restoration. These videos would be instrumental. Joe mentioned you in his last video and I’m glad he did. Regards, Gordon
Thank you very much Gordon for the kind words and for telling me about Joe. I have seen some of his videos and they are very good. Good luck with your resto.
Nick, is the upper column barring pressed on? I’m trying to figure out how to remove it so I grease the barring and replace the missing barring sleeve. Thanks
First off thank you for making a detailed video of the steering column, would like to know where did you purchase the bushings at the bottom, plastic thrust washer and sleeve for the bearing. Thanks
Hey ele, I purchased the lower steering column bushing and bearing sleeve from Birds Nest. You can also buy them from Thunderbird Headquarters too. The part numbers are 7347C and 3518C respectively and are listed in their catalog on page 53 of the Birds Nest 2019 catalog The plastic thrust washer is an original part of the steering column and I did not purchase that, it came out of the steering column. If I needed it I would have to rob it out of a parts steering column. Thanks.
I really enjoy watching your most informative video’s you are very knowledgeable on the various repair topics for classic tbirds. My problem is the headlight switch on a 64 tbird convertible the part of the switch that sends voltage to the fuse that control instrument lights keeps burning no gauge lights. Please tell me what it takes to cure this problem
Hey Allen, the rheostat on the head light switch controls the dash lights. Voltage is sent to the headlight switch rheostat from the fuse and then from the headlight rheostat to the dash lights. The rheostat is the round thing on the head light switch that turns. You probably already knew that. A blown fuse means the part of the circuit that flows through the fuse overloaded usually meaning that power is going to ground somewhere. The rheostat on the headlight switch could be bad causing the fuse to burn. Sometimes they are corroded and pieces of the rheostat spring are missing. There could be a dash light wire crushed between two pieces of metal if some dash related repair was recently done. There's a lot of dash/instrument lights in and around the dash and center console, so any one of them could be crushed and touching ground somewhere. I've done that before. If the fuse only burns when the dash lights are turned on then Id guess its one of the problems I'm suggesting here. If the fuse burns even when the headlights are not turned on then I can only imagine what might be wrong. I use a fuse bypass tool to put in place of the fuse while I'm trying to find a similar problem. It acts like a circuit breaker so every time there is a circuit overload, it pops then resets a few seconds later. This way you don't have to keep buying fuses. Very handy tool. The tool part number is S & G 25100. There is a RUclips video about it. The headlight switch or a wire to ground are the most common reasons for a blown fuse. I hope that helped. Thanks, Nick
Nick, great video on steering column! I have a late production (July) 1962. The repair shop rebuilt the trans and also put a rebuilt steering gearbox in (same part# as old) as old was leaking and sloppy. When I went to test drive in the lot, the steering column moved left to right as normal... and could steer right and left. BUT it had about a 1/2" - 1" or so movement up and down which made me nervous as it never did that pre-repair. I asked them to review the shop manual that was in the car and asked them to correct. Also when column moves up it will pop out of park. They say its all tight. Any hints on what I can tell them to look at to fix?
Hey Rob, it sounds to me like there is something going on down at the bottom of the steering column where it mounts to the body and to the gear box. It makes sense that this is where they were working and this is were the steering column mounts to the body so they must have disconnected something and then forgot to reattach it??? I cant be sure without seeing it but that's where I would start. You can gain access to that area if you remove the inner fender shield behind the left front wheel. That will give you some access to see in there. I would also check the area under the dash where the steering column bolts to the slide mechanism. Its always possible that something happened there coincidentally that is causing this. Good luck.
Hey Bernie, The 1962 has a different style of bushing at the bottom and I dont think they reproduce those. However, they usually dont go bad. Ive never had to change one. The biggest reason why 1961-63 Thunderbirds fall out of park is the shift lever gets the grove in it and maybe the detent wears out too. Replace the shift lever first and give it a shot. I bet that cures the problem. Be gentle with the shift lever always, Don't just drag it down to shift. You must pull towards you first, then shift it down into gear. Thanks, Nick
Nick, great video. I'd like to replace my gear selector ("PRDL"). Can I do it without pulling the whole steering column? Can I pull the wheel, turn signal and horn stuff and pull the hub out somehow to access the 2 screws for th egear selector?
Hey Mark, yes you can do it without removing the steering column. You can make most repairs without having to pull the steering column. You dont have to remove the turn signal switch completely either, just slide it up a bit so you can remove the turn signal hub. Good luck.
I am trying to install the bushing with the column in the car and I was wondering how to you pull the inner tube out enough to side the bushing on? Thanks
Once you remove the NS switch lever and bolt under the shift hub, you can slide the shift tube down by either pushing on the shift lever attached to the shift tube at the end, or pushing down on the slide mechanism lever that is attached to the shift tube, it only moves down about an inch or so, so don’t expect a whole bunch of access room. It’s just enough to slide the bushing in there. Thanks, Nick
Hey James, it should be over by and above the fuse box on the passenger side. Thats the way I remember it (Im slowly loosing my mind so my memory is questionable). Should be there. Good luck.
@@vintagethunderbirdrepair9426 thanks Heaps been wondering what one of those was there are a couple ..so think your mind is not all gone ..lol..thanks.
@@vintagethunderbirdrepair9426 Nick i snapped an exhaust manifold bolt so I got to yank the motor. But it gives me an excuse to spray out the engine compartment with this new sprayer I bought a few months ago capspray 115 hopefully it works I never used it It Was Eighteen hundred bucks. I dont know if you got my email but I sent out your crazy house key. And a pic of this dual-core master cylinder that clears the shock brace. I'm just hoping I can restore this rust-free car for about 20 grand
@@ihave35cents95 Hey Michael, yes I did get the email and photo, thank you. That will come in handy. Expensive little sucker. Sorry to hear you broke a bolt. I've done that many times and became quite good at fixing them in the car. However, I also became quite good at not breaking them. I have a technique to loosen them up before they break, works very well. Good luck with that project.
Yes. Recently I made a video about the shift lever and how it gets worn out and why it falls out of park and how to repair it. I have not yet published it. I have to work on that. Ill do that in the next few weeks. Thanks.
Hey Dakota, what do you mean by "plugs?" Did you mean the pins on the ends of the wires? If so, you cannot buy them separately and they are not removable unless you cut the wire. If they are bad then you need to purchase a new turn signal switch. However, if you can solder and if you have a donor turn signal switch that has good pins, I guess you could cut the wires and solder a donor pin onto the wire of the switch your going to use. I hope that helped. Thanks, Nick
On your steering shaft there is a spring and a "C" clip above the top bearing. I have a '65 that doesn't have a spring at all and there is no place for a "C" clip except to hold the bearing in place. Is there a reason for this?.
I wish I had some of my old stock left over to compare samples but I dont. I have a few other steering shafts but they are nowhere to be found so I must now use my defective memory. Some shafts have the spring like mine and some dont like you say. I have no idea why they did that. If I had some examples here I could look at them and maybe figure it out but dont so. Its a good question that I cant answer, sorry.
@@vintagethunderbirdrepair9426 Thanks for the reply. I think mine just has a spring above the bearing to the steering wheel (according to my shop manual).
The spring creats a ground for when the horn button is in the center if your horn is activated by the buttons on the steering wheel arms it is not required
These videos have been a huge help. I unfortunately broke the little white plastic slide piece on the steering wheel. Can anybody help me find a new one?
@@vintagethunderbirdrepair9426 So glad you answered! It is the plastic piece the lock for the steering wheel rides on, your finger is on it at 2:44 of PT1 Steering column and Slide Mechanism familiarization. It is fragile and I didn't treat it as such....
@@noahruiz2394 Yeah, I found one. Its used and brittle but the only extra one I have. I don't think you'd find a new one unfortunately. Is $10 okay? Send me an email with your address and Ill ship it to you. tamie.nick@sbcglobal.net
Hey Mark, just seeing your post today August 26, I dont know why it is just showing up now. Its probably too late but my email is tamie.nick@sbcglobal.net.
Can't thank you enough for sharing your knowledge. As a new owner of a 1964 Thunderbird I sincerely appreciate what you do, I'll probable watch everyone of your videos. Thumbs up!
Thank you Manuel, Im very glad they helped you. My first Thunderbird was a 64 too. Thanks.
Thank you so much for these. We have 2 flairbirds and my wife and I have found these videos essential in our restoration and repair. This car and years are really lacking on RUclips for help and anything you post is instantly taken in. Keep ‘em coming!
Hey Scott, thank you so much. Glad to help. Glad to hear that your wife wants to jump in there and help out. That's not usually the case. Mine also helps me when she has the time. Its fun to work together on a fun project. Good luck.
How awesome discovering your channel, you have all the fixes for me in advance of my list of defects on my 65 Mr. T....Accelerator linkages and steering column in need of refurbishing...saves me learning by the school of hard knocks. Many thanks and well explained.
Your welcome. You named your car Mr. T? I love it. Good luck.
That's awesome named mine after my ex
Awesome video with great explanations. Having already done this task prior to watching your video, I’m relieved that I did it correctly. Great shirt by the way. I had the neutral safety switch leaking vacuum. The column NSS on my 66 only goes to the parking brake release canister. The actual NSS is on the drivers side of the C6 transmission. I was able to disassemble the column NS switch, clean it up and get it to hold vacuum. Great video, thank you so much!
Your welcome Bill
Wow, your videos are extremely helpful. You got me through the confusion of the steering column when I was stuck. I have a '64 convertible that hasn't been driven since '77. However it is pretty clean and running again. I hope you continue to do more videos like this.
Thanks for your excelent efforts. Dave
No problem Dave, my pleasure. Thanks for the kind words.
These are great videos and thank you for producing them. I’m an owner of a 66 Q-Code Convertible and am contemplating a restoration. These videos would be instrumental. Joe mentioned you in his last video and I’m glad he did. Regards, Gordon
Thank you very much Gordon for the kind words and for telling me about Joe. I have seen some of his videos and they are very good. Good luck with your resto.
You do really nice work Nick, such a pleasure to watch your videos.
Thank you Ron.
This is fantastic-thank you so much for making this video.
Hey, glad to help. Thanks, Nick
great job
Thank you
Nick, is the upper column barring pressed on? I’m trying to figure out how to remove it so I grease the barring and replace the missing barring sleeve. Thanks
The steering column is still mounted in the car.
Hey Mike, no, it is not pressed on but they do stick and are sometimes hard to get off.
I just discovered your channel. Great videos--hope you'll be doing more. Replacing speedometer light bulbs might be an interesting topic.
Hey John, Ill be putting in the dash, speedo and related wiring soon into this car so I will keep that in mind. Thanks, Nick
First off thank you for making a detailed video of the steering column, would like to know where did you purchase the bushings at the bottom, plastic thrust washer and sleeve for the bearing. Thanks
Hey ele, I purchased the lower steering column bushing and bearing sleeve from Birds Nest. You can also buy them from Thunderbird Headquarters too. The part numbers are 7347C and 3518C respectively and are listed in their catalog on page 53 of the Birds Nest 2019 catalog The plastic thrust washer is an original part of the steering column and I did not purchase that, it came out of the steering column. If I needed it I would have to rob it out of a parts steering column. Thanks.
@@vintagethunderbirdrepair9426 Thank you so much for the info your video help a lot
@@ele_112 Your welcome ele.
great video , thank so much!
Thank you.
I really enjoy watching your most informative video’s you are very knowledgeable on the various repair topics for classic tbirds. My problem is the headlight switch on a 64 tbird convertible the part of the switch that sends voltage to the fuse that control instrument lights keeps burning no gauge lights. Please tell me what it takes to cure this problem
Hey Allen, the rheostat on the head light switch controls the dash lights. Voltage is sent to the headlight switch rheostat from the fuse and then from the headlight rheostat to the dash lights. The rheostat is the round thing on the head light switch that turns. You probably already knew that. A blown fuse means the part of the circuit that flows through the fuse overloaded usually meaning that power is going to ground somewhere. The rheostat on the headlight switch could be bad causing the fuse to burn. Sometimes they are corroded and pieces of the rheostat spring are missing. There could be a dash light wire crushed between two pieces of metal if some dash related repair was recently done. There's a lot of dash/instrument lights in and around the dash and center console, so any one of them could be crushed and touching ground somewhere. I've done that before. If the fuse only burns when the dash lights are turned on then Id guess its one of the problems I'm suggesting here. If the fuse burns even when the headlights are not turned on then I can only imagine what might be wrong. I use a fuse bypass tool to put in place of the fuse while I'm trying to find a similar problem. It acts like a circuit breaker so every time there is a circuit overload, it pops then resets a few seconds later. This way you don't have to keep buying fuses. Very handy tool. The tool part number is S & G 25100. There is a RUclips video about it. The headlight switch or a wire to ground are the most common reasons for a blown fuse. I hope that helped. Thanks, Nick
Nick, great video on steering column! I have a late production (July) 1962. The repair shop rebuilt the trans and also put a rebuilt steering gearbox in (same part# as old) as old was leaking and sloppy. When I went to test drive in the lot, the steering column moved left to right as normal... and could steer right and left. BUT it had about a 1/2" - 1" or so movement up and down which made me nervous as it never did that pre-repair. I asked them to review the shop manual that was in the car and asked them to correct. Also when column moves up it will pop out of park. They say its all tight. Any hints on what I can tell them to look at to fix?
Hey Rob, it sounds to me like there is something going on down at the bottom of the steering column where it mounts to the body and to the gear box. It makes sense that this is where they were working and this is were the steering column mounts to the body so they must have disconnected something and then forgot to reattach it??? I cant be sure without seeing it but that's where I would start. You can gain access to that area if you remove the inner fender shield behind the left front wheel. That will give you some access to see in there. I would also check the area under the dash where the steering column bolts to the slide mechanism. Its always possible that something happened there coincidentally that is causing this. Good luck.
Great info i got a 62 tbird I imagine it similar anyhow it jumps out of park into reverse I imagine it could be those bushings thanks for the vid
Hey Bernie, The 1962 has a different style of bushing at the bottom and I dont think they reproduce those. However, they usually dont go bad. Ive never had to change one. The biggest reason why 1961-63 Thunderbirds fall out of park is the shift lever gets the grove in it and maybe the detent wears out too. Replace the shift lever first and give it a shot. I bet that cures the problem. Be gentle with the shift lever always, Don't just drag it down to shift. You must pull towards you first, then shift it down into gear. Thanks, Nick
@@vintagethunderbirdrepair9426 thanks for the info and sharing your knowledge
Fantastic video! Are all the critical parts available new?
Yes, you can get everything at Birds Nest. Good luck.
Nick, great video. I'd like to replace my gear selector ("PRDL"). Can I do it without pulling the whole steering column? Can I pull the wheel, turn signal and horn stuff and pull the hub out somehow to access the 2 screws for th egear selector?
Hey Mark, yes you can do it without removing the steering column. You can make most repairs without having to pull the steering column. You dont have to remove the turn signal switch completely either, just slide it up a bit so you can remove the turn signal hub. Good luck.
Thanks!@@vintagethunderbirdrepair9426
Thanks Nick. After fighting the harness protector and a stubborn bearing, I got the hub off! What a nightmare.@@vintagethunderbirdrepair9426
I am trying to install the bushing with the column in the car and I was wondering how to you pull the inner tube out enough to side the bushing on? Thanks
Once you remove the NS switch lever and bolt under the shift hub, you can slide the shift tube down by either pushing on the shift lever attached to the shift tube at the end, or pushing down on the slide mechanism lever that is attached to the shift tube, it only moves down about an inch or so, so don’t expect a whole bunch of access room. It’s just enough to slide the bushing in there. Thanks, Nick
Love your videos..could you tell me where to find the low level fuel sensor relay ??66 t-bird coupe .. zero options .
Hey James, it should be over by and above the fuse box on the passenger side. Thats the way I remember it (Im slowly loosing my mind so my memory is questionable). Should be there. Good luck.
@@vintagethunderbirdrepair9426 thanks Heaps been wondering what one of those was there are a couple ..so think your mind is not all gone ..lol..thanks.
I'll skip coffee the day I do this one
Naw, they are easy, piece of cake lol. Easy for me to say right. You will probably need 10 cups of coffee on that day. Good luck.
@@vintagethunderbirdrepair9426 Nick i snapped an exhaust manifold bolt so I got to yank the motor. But it gives me an excuse to spray out the engine compartment with this new sprayer I bought a few months ago capspray 115 hopefully it works I never used it It Was Eighteen hundred bucks. I dont know if you got my email but I sent out your crazy house key. And a pic of this dual-core master cylinder that clears the shock brace. I'm just hoping I can restore this rust-free car for about 20 grand
@@ihave35cents95 Hey Michael, yes I did get the email and photo, thank you. That will come in handy. Expensive little sucker. Sorry to hear you broke a bolt. I've done that many times and became quite good at fixing them in the car. However, I also became quite good at not breaking them. I have a technique to loosen them up before they break, works very well. Good luck with that project.
Do you have a vid that shows why these cars jump out of park to reverse?
Yes. Recently I made a video about the shift lever and how it gets worn out and why it falls out of park and how to repair it. I have not yet published it. I have to work on that. Ill do that in the next few weeks. Thanks.
So I went ahead and published it now. I figured Im sitting here and just do it now. Its titled 1964-66 shift lever repair...
where do you find the plugs for the turn signal wiring? Great videos, helped me finally get a new lower bushing into the column. Fixed my play!
Hey Dakota, what do you mean by "plugs?" Did you mean the pins on the ends of the wires? If so, you cannot buy them separately and they are not removable unless you cut the wire. If they are bad then you need to purchase a new turn signal switch. However, if you can solder and if you have a donor turn signal switch that has good pins, I guess you could cut the wires and solder a donor pin onto the wire of the switch your going to use. I hope that helped. Thanks, Nick
hey there! Thanks for the response. I am referring to the actual plastic plug you run the wires through, that you made the cardboard diagram for.
@@RudieCantFail1977 I have those. Which one do you need, the one on the switch side or the one on the car side?
Vintage Thunderbird Repair both, you can email me at gluezombie@gmail.com . Cheers!
On your steering shaft there is a spring and a "C" clip above the top bearing. I have a '65 that doesn't have a spring at all and there is no place for a "C" clip except to hold the bearing in place. Is there a reason for this?.
I wish I had some of my old stock left over to compare samples but I dont. I have a few other steering shafts but they are nowhere to be found so I must now use my defective memory. Some shafts have the spring like mine and some dont like you say. I have no idea why they did that. If I had some examples here I could look at them and maybe figure it out but dont so. Its a good question that I cant answer, sorry.
@@vintagethunderbirdrepair9426 Thanks for the reply. I think mine just has a spring above the bearing to the steering wheel (according to my shop manual).
The spring creats a ground for when the horn button is in the center if your horn is activated by the buttons on the steering wheel arms it is not required
These videos have been a huge help. I unfortunately broke the little white plastic slide piece on the steering wheel. Can anybody help me find a new one?
Hey Noah, thank you. What white plastic piece do you mean, can you describe it and its location better? Thanks.
@@vintagethunderbirdrepair9426 So glad you answered! It is the plastic piece the lock for the steering wheel rides on, your finger is on it at 2:44 of PT1 Steering column and Slide Mechanism familiarization. It is fragile and I didn't treat it as such....
@@noahruiz2394 Ill check. Ill get back to you.
@@vintagethunderbirdrepair9426 sounds good! thanks!
@@noahruiz2394 Yeah, I found one. Its used and brittle but the only extra one I have. I don't think you'd find a new one unfortunately. Is $10 okay? Send me an email with your address and Ill ship it to you. tamie.nick@sbcglobal.net
Hi nick
Do u have an email address I can send u video clip of my column play. Thanks
Mark
Hey Mark, just seeing your post today August 26, I dont know why it is just showing up now. Its probably too late but my email is tamie.nick@sbcglobal.net.