Category Archives: General News and notifications

Answers to some questions

First question, regarding the convertible top problem I was having with the supplier insisting that their top was correct when I showed them it was not…………… I sent it back and ordered from a different company. I have found that Electron Tops are one of the best on the market and the boys that run  it are sons of the original owner and founder of the company.

Second question was regarding the convertible top switch for the dash on 1960 Tbirds, I have them in stock and they are $120.00.

Third question was about the address for my ebay store.

https://www.ebay.com/str/draxus1?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

check it out……….. always listing new stuff, some quite unique

Squarebird brake booster Update

OK folks, I have now installed 2 of these new booster and master assemblies with the brackets and all that I have designed and made. They install easily and work great. Very good power assist and feel to the brake pedal. The picture was taken to show the fit.

What I sell includes everything except for the lines. I even include the two fittings that go into the master as they are different from the standard small fittings. You keep the arm that goes inside the car to the brake pedal and the little plate that is between the mounting and the firewall,  everything else is included.

There is a separate set up for cars with air conditioning….. the mounting brackets are longer and move the booster farther away from the firewall so it clears the a/c box. I also include a new arm that connects to the pedal because that has to also be longer than a non a/c arm.

If you have patience you can install this complete and not have to bleed the brakes at the wheels as all the air will rise up through the master and bleed out up top.

Price for this complete set up is $425.00 for non a/c and $475.00 for cars with a/c. Shipping is extra.

email questions to me at    jdrax@tbirdranch.com

Memorial day weekend

I guess summer is here in Wisconsin, we are mid 80’s the past couple days and grass is growing constantly. Sue planted garden and flowers. And I am done with school for a few months.

A lot has gone on around here in the past year. I have my B.A.T. (bad ass thunderbird) on the road again. I have shaped an  extended hood scoop for it and blacked out the trim around the side windows otherwise it still looks pretty rough paint wise. I have been driving it to town and back some and it is running better all the time.

This past semester at school I had a class of 9 seniors for my automotive class and 3 seniors in my drafting class where we learned Fusion 360, a 3D modeling program by Adobe. I bought myself a 3D printer for Christmas so we designed a couple things and the kids got to see a project from idea to production.  A total of 11 students, all seniors (one was in both classes). Here is what I made for each of them. I present to you the Columbus shop classes graduating class of 2018.

I have also added a few items to my inventory of stuff I make here. I will add articles describing them more in detail later but for now just mentioning them. I make hood moulding for the 67-69 Birds. Have improved the making of the armrest frames for these same years. I now make new convertible deck close switches for the 61-63 and the 64-66 cars. Not sure if I mentioned in the blog but also make a new motor for the flip lid on all the convertibles including the Lincoln convertibles.

Relay replacement systems are selling well and i am constantly building some of these on my bench.

Another item I made is the handle for the sunroof on the 1960 birds.

I will be attending the Vintage Thunderbird Club International Regional meet in northern Minn. in a few weeks so may see some of you there.

On the squarebirds brake booster and master conversion I decided to go with the 1″ bore master to start with and see how the brakes feel with that. Can always try a larger bore to see the difference.

OK, may God bless your holidays.

New—– Ebay store listings

I have decided that I have to start reaching out to the people who shop on eBay and the only way I could do that was to open a store on their site. I have so many parts that are kind of odd and fairly rare so that is the best way to get them out in front of the buyers. For any of you who want to go see what i all have, go to the advance search and choose sellers, then search the sellers for “draxus1”

I find it hard to operate by their rules because there is no real one to one contact other than going through their messaging system which is a pain however if any of you find me on there you can send me an email through my website at tbirdranch.com

It is just one more way of getting some of these parts I have out in the area where people will see what i all have.

Check it out, please!

God bless

New brake calipers for 65-66 birds

A new item I just received. These are brand new and complete with crossover line and new pads. They are not rebuilt units. Price on these is $150.00 each ($300.00/pair) plus shipping.

I have rebuilt a lot of the old units and typically they will need new pistons due to pitting in the chrome.  I have also sold a lot of rebuilt ones from other suppliers and installed them. I have inspected them to see if they use new pistons and there are times when they reuse old pistons if they are not pitted. While this is quite OK, here is a chance for you to get completely new calipers. They are just like the originals.

Thanks for your attention

God bless

Where have I been lately

OK, why haven’t I been posting any updates here lately? Well, just been busy in the shop.

Yes and there are lots of things going on here all the time.

I have been working on a customers 1961 convertible that was a total basket case and we rebuilt the complete car down to every last nut and bolt. Anything that I thought we might be able to just get by with what he had………. ha ha, it comes back to haunt us. I am down to putting on the convertible top and I find out that it is not made correctly. Waiting to hear from the manufacturer.

I have been getting a quite a few orders for relay replacement systems for the convertibles so always have a couple in the assembly process. This past week they caught up to me and I had to finish one quickly to install in a car that is in my son’s shop (oh, that is a story I have to tell also, about my son having his own shop…. and right out by me)

I sold the last upper back panel switch replacement unit that I had in stock so now there are a dozen of those in the assembly process. I have to make and machine all the brackets for those which is the time consuming part. I do most of it on my milling machine (shop tour will be coming on the blog here also).

Then of course there are the daily phone calls and emails for parts that customers are looking for.

I steel a few minutes here and there to organize and order parts for the stroker motor I am building for the “Blackbird” that has been in the works for over 22 years now. Almost had it going a year ago then a customer car bumped it out of my shop once again.

My CAT skid steer broke its oil pump so now I need to find $12,000.00 for a new engine for that also. What a motivating factor to keep working.

Later, people.

God bless all of you.

From bad to worse

I moved my website due to lousy support. I now have great support but poor knowledge on my part. Due to a couple of issues with software that is no longer supported I also upgraded to Dreamweaver as my website design program (yes I do the website myself).  In the process of importing my site into that program many of the links have gotten broken and now what you see when you log onto the site is just a short directory.

My fault it is not fixed yet. I had to order a book to learn more about Dreamweaver and I just recieved the book. Hopefully, I will have some of the site up and running this coming week. In the process of all this upgrade, I will be adding a lot more content. Included will be more wiring diagrams and many more technical articles.

On the personal side of things, the weather here has been frigid and soft snowflakes quite often but not much accumulation. I have been working in my shop getting out some of the small parts orders that have been on my list for awhile. I have also been rebuilding window motors and building convertible relay systems.

If you have not already done so, look me up on Facebook…..John Draxler. I have been posting a few pics now and then of what I am doing. I will be doing more of that with this blog once I get the website back up and functioning.

Have a good week