1st. Choice is John Draxler here on the List,you get free advice and e-mails of diagrams and you can complain via e-mail if you are grumpy. Doug
KUDO'S KUDO'S KUDO'S to John Draxler.........the last few issues of the list has been praising John!!! I am among them......yep, he knows his Thunderbirds and he is a very helpful guy.......and......being the newsletter editor of the
Chicagoland Thunderbirds, his website is invaluable!!! Thanks John for such a terrific website and I always give you credit in the "Bird Word" Terri
let's hear it for john-all i've seen on the digest is goooood advice at a price we can all afford. the best move i made was to this digest. thanks john
Bless you kind sir for this WONDERFUL site! I own two Thunderbirds ( 87 Sport and 97 Limited Edition ) and they are the loves of my life. The 87 is truly my baby, I fell in love with that car the minute I saw it. I've had it for 6 years now and she runs better now than she did then. I've had very few problems in the last 3 years ( there were multiple problems when I bought it and it "nickled and dimed" me for a while ) and at 130,000 miles I can't complain. It's a daily driver ( 100 miles round trip to work ) and still gets up and can run with the big dogs.
Thank you so much for putting a bright spot in my day!
Angi
To all out there in Birdland. Got a question you can't get answered anywhere else. Call John Draxler. I called Sat 26 Feb with problem I was experiencing with power windows on my 62; in a few minutes he set me straignt and probably saved me several hundred dollars. Thanks John, windows work just fine now. Fred C.
I have ordered many things from the internet, but never before have I been able to order something so easily and quickly. I was very pleased with the sticker, with your helpful tips ,it went on easy, and it looks great. I will surely recommend the Thunderbird Ranch to any of my "T-Bird friends" Thanks again for the great service.
Hi John, It looks like you saved me some money. My top system is working fairly well now and I didn't need to replace the flip panel. I was able to reassemble the flip panel limit switch and now the adjustments on it work correctly.
Hi John, Thankyou very much! I received the parts in todays mail. Three of my windows now work almost perfectly. The electronic sequencer was a breeze! twenty minutes from start to perfectly working directionals. The marker lights never worked properly (always on when using). Now they work correctly I think. Thanks again! Greg
You might be interested - I emailed John Draxler a couple of days ago to see if he had decals to redo the black stripes inside the '61 taillights. I wasn't looking forward to painting them. He's just replied to say he's made me a set @ $15. That's service! Regards David
I've just received a set of decals to redo the black stripes inside my '61 taillights. John Draxler made them up for me when I asked him if they were available. They look great.
Dear Mr. John R. Draxler,
I had recently bought one of your T-Bird decails, and had damaged it. You just sent me the pieces that were damaged in the mail for free!!!! I just wanted to thank you for doing that. It saved me money, and it showed me that you are running a great company. I really think that your customer mean alot to you and again thank you for being so generous. Brian
Mr. draxler the lenses have arrived thank you very much for the excellent service it has been A pleasure doing buisness with you . I will definetly tell anyone I know in need of thunderbird parts to look you up. Sincerly Frank
No disrespect was meant to John. I would love to buy everything from him, but, unfortunately, he's 2000 miles away from me, and I can't drive there on my lunch hour (even though the bird really does fly). I'm only 20 minutes from Nick's, and this was an impulse buy. I have ordered from John, was very happy with the service, parts, and price, and he is my first contact for hard and soft parts. -Ted
John is always willing to help with advice and sometimes good used parts. A Tbird supply house closer to us would not even discuss the possibility of used parts. I am sure that other Tbird houses are willing to impart advice and suggestions but John makes himself accessible above and beyond the call. Thanks John.
I feel a need to chime in on this .......... I have never actually purchased anything from Mr. Draxler, but I have called him a couple of times and he always took the time to listen to what I had to say and suggested a solution to my problem(s). I recently went through an aggravating time trying to find front shocks on my 1964. After checking several places, I wound up buying a set from .......... and they were the wrong ones. Without getting into specifics the front shocks that most all the places sell as replacements for the 64 - 66 fronts will not work correctly. Oh sure, you can force them to fit, but they are not the same design that Ford put on as original equipment. And my opinion is that it could be dangerous to use the wrong shocks. I sent the set back to ..........and had to eat the postage costs because they still claim they are the correct ones and would not refund that part of my purchase. Out of all the people I spoke with regarding front shocks for my car, JOHN DRAXLER WAS THE ONLY PERSON THAT KNEW WHAT THE PROPER SHOCKS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE FOR A 64 THUNDERBIRD. He told me that he has them specially made to order and they are not cheap. As it turned out, a local parts counterman that I deal with took my old shocks and gave them to a guy that he knows that 'rebuilds' them. It must be some super-secret method or something because I couldn't get any questions answered about how he does it. $75.00 and they work great and FIT PROPERLY! Before you buy parts elsewhere, give Mr. Draxler a call - this guy knows Thunderbirds!
Thank you JOHN,
Not all of us get to go to car shows and such. Not all us know all there is about vintage cars . But all of us love our Thunderbirds . John gives us the space to share our love of Thunder. Do you count how many times someone comes up to you out of the blue and tells you " You got a great car there !" NO you just drive away with a restored sense of pride . Here we get to share that pride . Thank you John for all your time .
Your a credit to T-Bird owners everywhere
John Draxler has been VERY helpful in restoring our 68 T-bird...down to the original hubcap we needed. (We have found him fair and honest with his "Quality" merchandise. Yes I'm plugging John...he's great and I found him on the internet by just surfing. A good and honest man is a rare find !!! ) You will probably find yourself searching junk yards and surfing the auctions (ebay and yahoo) for some of the parts and even the manuals. You'll be surprized what you find at those auctions sights. Good Luck in your restoration Lillian
WHY doesnt anyone recommend John Draxler here on the list????? he is a vendor also i bought a booster from him over a year ago and have had no problems what so ever with it and it was allready painted as well this fella also takes the time to give his advice and share his knowledge with just about any who ask for it. from what i have seen very seldom have i had to ask for help BUT when i do John is always there ready to. wouldnt it be wiser to buy from a fellow t birder like him that ALSO has very reasonable prices as well
I saw the decal you offer on your web page. Man this is really a great addition. I was thinking of having a shop cut me some decals awhile back but figured it would be worth the hassle. Now you have taken the hassle out of it for me. I will be getting up with you in the future to get a few when I get my 88 TC repainted. I'm taking my time right now because I refuse to have a so-so paint job done. If I'm going to go to the trouble and expense to have it painted then I'm damnsite gonna have it done right so until my funds say it's right then I will have to hold off for the time. I want a few for my ground effects but I need to have a friend of mine sketch them on a print so I can see what they will look like before I put them on for real. Anyway, thanks for coming up with the decals. Really is a nice addition and I like the other folks ideas for them especially the guy who put the proper year decals on his garage doors for the car that was in each bay. Nice touch.
Hi John, just letting you know that the parts arrived on Wednesday and are already on the car. I have to say a huge thank you for sending them so quickly and for the quality and price. Your help has been really appreciated. I know that I can rely on you and so will be buying more from you for my 65 resto project. Again, many thanks. Steve
You have the most extensive manuals for sale that I have come across. I am looking forward to doing business with you and getting my car on the road!
..John's been there everytime I've had a question re: my '65. He's found a couple of trim items for me, plus front end suspension parts. Go to John first...if he can't supply it, he will lead you in the right direction!!!!! brian
Hi john,
The new photos on your web site look great. I really like the photo of you too. You look like a honest, fair dinkum bloke. (That's a complement in "Australian")
Now I can put a face to the name.
Sure do like your aircraft hanger too. NOW THAT'S A HOUSE. :-) Do you run your business from there too?
Wiring diagram - available through most Tbird suppliers. I recommend John
Draxler, Thunderbird Ranch, Pittsville, Wisconsin. He's a great technical resource also.
You can trust John Draxler. He is a very good guy to do business
with, as Ron says. Dale
I received the decal package in the mail today. Looks great! Can't wait
to try them out. Thanks for your always splendid service; it's always a
pleasure doing business with you! Merry Christmas and a Happy 1999!
Kevin
My mechanic got a new master cylinder locally to replace a "re-built" unit
I had put in that had a bore too small. The booster came from John Draxler,
at the T-Bird Ranch in Wisconsin (jdrax@badger.tds.net). John's prices are
fair and he ships as soon as you tell him the "check is in the mail". John
has found gears for my rear power windows for around $50.00, where others
want to sell me the whole window system for $175.00 each side, as well as
door latches for around $30.00 where others want $75.00 for the same parts.
He ships priority mail and guarenteees his parts. John has also given me
tips on my brakes that have helped, even though your suggestion hit the mark.
Enjoy your "Bird".
Thanks for all your help and you can
be sure that I'll call on your experience the next time something stumps me
or I need a part I can't find.
John
John you are a champ. You will always get my buisiness
So as a very satisfied customer John, let be take this opportunity to give you
one great big ATABOY! You're a good man John. This business needs more people
like you.
John Draxler, this forum, has T-bird assy manuals for the 65 for $15 plus shpg
that are the best that are available.
Regards,
O.
Enjoyed your story of the Thunderbird Ranch. Having done a little business with you and a little correspondence, it was fun to read how it had come together for you. Thanks for sharing.
Craig
Hi John,
Just to get back to you. I had written about 3 starter burn outs, you suggested it might be the exhaust leak and you were right. Put new starter in two weeks ago, and fixed mainfold leak and voila, problem solved thanks.
Ray
John:
Thanks so much for the new page you've set up with sequential turn signal info and diagrams. I really appreciate your consistently helpful content and dedication in helping those of us who are less technically conversent while no less enthusiastic about our T-birds.
Mickey G.
John: I just wanted to thank you for your newsletter. The first one I received had the detailed troubleshooting guidelines for repairing sequential tail lights. I looked it over and was able to finally fix my sequential lights. I have been fighting this one since I purchased my 65 in 1997! Thanks again for the information! Jeff
Hello John, I just wanted to tell you thanks for the advice that you've shared with me about my T-Bird. A couple of 5 minute conversations with you saved me much time and grief! I pulled my fuel tank today, and with your help removed the sender assy. My question is this: Can the float be replaced individually,or do I have to replace the entire unit? Man, I'm glad I made the effort to drop this tank
Hi John,Well I must say it has been some time since I have talked with you. I did order some parts from you and as of today I have not recieved anything. Since I placed my order with you I have found many other places to get parts from. I have not ordered any parts from others because I have been waiting for the parts from you. Well it has been over three weeks now and I am saying I am not going to recieve any parts from you. I will be ordering my parts else where and cancel any orders you have from me. I will refuse anything from you. It is funny I did read all your do good on the internet, but with me it has been totally different. I guess you think that I am just a nobody and do not know what I am doing. Well that is OK as I am going to get my T-Bird restored and it will be with out your help, as you clam on the internet. Why do you not post this message on the internet to let all the new people oming on what they can expect from you. Yes by the way this is not the only car I have restored just my first T-Bird and I love the year of this T-Bird.
Best wishes to you
Richard