Back at it

Well, even though the weather is very cold and there is snow on the ground I am discovering parts that I am pretty sure one of you is in need of. I have been asked a number of times whether I have any grills for 1965……. but I had none.

Well, just aquired a bumper with a nice grill, no cracks but a few small pits on the back edges of the bars. It would make a very good driver the way it is. Price is $150.00 plus shipping.

65 grill1

65 grill2

65 grill3

just found some parts—–carb is sold

I dismantled a 64 that had a nice carb on it. It has a 1965 number on it…. C5SF-A. It is nice and free and not corroded so it would be a good rebuilder or core. Normally a core is $100.00. For those of you who read my blog………. $75.00

Also a lot of other good parts on this one including a nice 64 grill —  $100.00

let me know if you would like to purchase

God bless your evening

 

Parting out 77

I am dismantling a 77 town landau with a tan interior.

I have a good dash pad, you can paint it whatever color you would need——————$95.00

I also have a nice pair or roof rail weatherstrips………. $100.00/pr

God bless your 4th. of July weekend

Aqua Floor mats

I have a new set of the rubber floor mats in aqua for the 64-66 birds with the white emblem on them

Ordered for a customer and he did not like the color so I am going to sell them for $50.00 plus shipping instead of returning to supplier. This is below my cost. Regular price is $85.00

pass the word

 

God bless

Frustration with parts..Updated

Well, after a lot of mumbling and a lot of emails to the manufacturer and to the distributor I finally got them to remake their pattern and correct the mistakes with the rear window on the convertible top for the 61-63 birds. I took lots of photos and lots of measurements and emailed them all the information on what was incorrect with their window. I emailed all this information to them along with the exact things they needed to do to make the window correctly. They never even acknowledged any of my emails other than to say they were ordering a top from a competitor to see what theirs was like. I also created a special webpage with all photos showing tape measure with their window on the car…….. never acknowledged that either. To this day, I don’t know if they even looked at it.

Late last week I get an email with a photo of their competitors rear windows. I just replied that it is exactly what I was trying to explain about the problem.

Then I get a message that they will send me a new window and I am supposed to give them feedback as to the fit of the new one. Remember now………. I had already spent hours taking pics and getting them all the previous infor and never even heard that they even looked at it…………… and they had the nerve to ask me to give feedback on the new window prototype………….. why would I believe they would even look at it.?

The window came in Thursday and we installed it that night. I am betting they just copied the competitors window……….. It does fit perfectly and it is exactly the way I explained what they should do to correct theirs.

Bottom line is that the problem has been solved and I have confidence in selling these to customers now, knowing that when they go to install them they will end up with a final product that is correct and very nice. And if the customer has questions about installing the top I can answer them with first hand knowledge that I gained by going through this whole ordeal.

Throughout this process I have not mentioned who the manufacturer nor the distributor is because of good business practices. The top manufacturers do not include their name on anything that comes with the top when you buy it, which I can understand on one hand but I would think that if they were confident in their product they would be happy to have you spread the word about their top. I was told that they don’t want all kind of people calling them with questions on installation etc. I now know that at the factory there is no one who has actually installed a convertble top so they have no knowledge of what it takes to put one of these on. Therefore they could not answer any questions anyway. They just make them and “assume” that it is correct because they are using the “ORIGINAL PATTERN”. They would not believe me no matter what I sent as far as proof because they did not consider me a “PROFESSIONAL INSTALLER” (even though I have been putting tops on thunderbird convertibles for over 45 years) I guess experience does not make one a professional.

So guess what…….. if you want a nice fitting top, this “OLD THUNDERBIRD GUY”  can sell you one with the confidence of knowing that persistence  has gotten the results needed to get it right with this manufacturer.

Hopefully this will help people in the future. 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

Frustrations with parts

I get frustrated when a part is not made correctly. I recently purchased a convertible top from a supplier and upon installation I find that the rear window is just not made correctly for this car. Three months ago I had the same problem with a top from the same company on the same model car. I ordered another top and find that it is exactly the same. That tells me that this company’s tops for this specific model are being made incorrectly. I contacted the manufacturer and was told that the top has to be correct because they are made from the ORIGINAL patterns. I send them photos and measurements etc  showing exactly what is wrong and what can be done to correct the problem. My supplier, in trying to help me contacts some installers in his area who politely tell him that they are not going to share any of their expertise “Tell him to take it to a professional installer”.  With 45 years of experience of working on  Thunderbirds and after installing many tops from lots of different manufacturers and finding that there is a specific problem in this one part of this top…………….. I should just take it to a professional installer! After all, WHAT DO I KNOW?

While it would be much easier for me to just order a different brand top an be done with it, I feel it isn’t fair to all the other customers out there that might purchase this top and end up with  a crappy installation because they assume the top is correct and do whatever they can just to get it on the car. So what if the zipper shows when the top is up? There is a time when someone has to do whatever it takes to make things right so that the rest of the world does not have to deal with the bad results of the wrong.

I know the frustrations you folks have when you get parts and find they do not work for what you are doing only to be told by someone that sells them, that they must be right, that is what is listed in the computer or catalog. Or you take your car to a shop and when it is not to your standards you are told that is just the way it is. And of course you should pay the bill because they SPENT THE TIME.

When you know you are right, be strong enough to do what it takes to prove it and make things right. We do not have to put people down or call names or anything else, we do have to prove that we are right though. Most of the time it is not about opinions, it is about facts. Take the time to get the right facts and then share them with those involved so that things get resolved for the better of all concerned.

I will let you all know how this turns out.

God bless

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Thank you for asking about this. I made me do the research necessary to get this working.

God bless!