newbie advice

Hi everyone. This is my first time posting here, so please forgive me
if I state the obvious or ask a really dumb question.

I was wondering if anyone might be able to help me with a little
information. I have just inherited a 1962 Thunderbird convertible.
It's gloss black, with a black interior and a black ragtop. The paint
is flawless. It runs great, with a very smooth idle. It has a 390,
an automatic transmission, an electric/hydraulic roof retraction
mechanism (did they come any other way?) and electric windows, along
with the original owners manual and shop manual. The hubcaps are
smooth chrome hemispheres, with no wires or spokes or anything. All
the chrome trim, including the bumpers, is pretty smooth. Very little
pitting. It has about 80,000 miles on it, but as far as appearance,
it doesn't look like it has more than 20,000 on it. It's been kept in
a garage for the past 15 years, only driven occasionally.

The things I know that are wrong with it a

*The top will retract fine, but it won't go back up very easily. It
stops about half way, like the power has been cut. I suspect it's low
on hydraulic fluid, since the hoses leak a little bit.

*It's a little difficult to start if the engine is cold.

*When I washed it, I found that the roof leaked a little bit at the
very front where it contacts the windshield.

I was wondering might this automobile be worth? I'd really appreciate
any advice anyone can offer.

Thanks,

Eric

I forgot to add, it has the swing away steering wheel, too.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

-Eric



"Ayar15" > wrote in message
om...
> Hi everyone. This is my first time posting here, so please forgive me
> if I state the obvious or ask a really dumb question.
>
> I was wondering if anyone might be able to help me with a little
> information. I have just inherited a 1962 Thunderbird convertible.
> It's gloss black, with a black interior and a black ragtop. The paint
> is flawless. It runs great, with a very smooth idle. It has a 390,
> an automatic transmission, an electric/hydraulic roof retraction
> mechanism (did they come any other way?) and electric windows, along
> with the original owners manual and shop manual. The hubcaps are
> smooth chrome hemispheres, with no wires or spokes or anything. All
> the chrome trim, including the bumpers, is pretty smooth. Very little
> pitting. It has about 80,000 miles on it, but as far as appearance,
> it doesn't look like it has more than 20,000 on it. It's been kept in
> a garage for the past 15 years, only driven occasionally.
>
> The things I know that are wrong with it a
>
> *The top will retract fine, but it won't go back up very easily. It
> stops about half way, like the power has been cut. I suspect it's low
> on hydraulic fluid, since the hoses leak a little bit.
>
> *It's a little difficult to start if the engine is cold.
>
> *When I washed it, I found that the roof leaked a little bit at the
> very front where it contacts the windshield.
>
> I was wondering might this automobile be worth? I'd really appreciate
> any advice anyone can offer.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Eric

[Description of really enviable '62 T-bird]

>> The hubcaps are smooth chrome hemispheres, with no wires or spokes
or anything.

AKA "baby moons" -- dunno if they're correct for this car, but they're
definitely an old-school aftermarket touch that I can really imagine
looking sharp (or, perhaps more accurately, smooth) on that very
rounded generation of Thunderbird.


> > *The top will retract fine, but it won't go back up very easily. It
> > stops about half way, like the power has been cut. I suspect it's low
> > on hydraulic fluid, since the hoses leak a little bit.

Do nothing until you've learned the inside skinny about this
mechanism.


> > *It's a little difficult to start if the engine is cold.

So am I. Seriously, that "FE" V8 is one big lump of iron and it's
quite without some of the aids to faster warmup that we take for
granted today.



> > I was wondering might this automobile be worth?

Enough to make getting it appraised by an expert worth your while.
High teens, at least, I would guess. An appraisal is good to have
(for insurance purposes) even if you don't want to sell the car.


> I'd really appreciate any advice anyone can offer.

Not knowing how much experience you have with older cars in general,
pardon my sense of the obvious in some of these bits of advice. Here
goes...


1. Swing away the swing-away steering wheel and set the brake should
you ever have to leave it idling when unoccupied. Or better yet,
don't ever do that. The transmission linkage for these cars is prone
to slipping into Reverse, especially as it gets a bit of wear on
certain parts. Whereupon the power of a healthy 390 and then the
momentum of a car that probably dresses out at 5000 pounds will soon
overmatch most attempts to stop it short of the herbaceous border, the
school playground, the neighbor's swimming pool, or whatever else
stands in the way.



2. The first thing to overhaul is the brake system, which is old
enough to be "guilty until proven innocent" (it's been down there in
harm's way since the JFK administration, after all). Unlike modern
systems (more or less '67-up), it has only one circuit, such that any
rupture anywhere can compromise pressure in, and ultimately drain,
the whole system. Fortunately there are T-bird specialty vendors who
can sell you everything you may need.

2a. Even a husky drum brake on each corner is not the modern formula
for repeated quick stops to say the least! Drive accordingly.


3. Cars this old have no (0) pollution controls; they put out he-man
exhaust that can make you sick or even knock you dead with carbon
monoxide. Examine the system for leaks that could make their way
into the passenger compartment, and don't warm it up in a closed
garage or in front of the air intakes for your house.


4. http://www.tbird.org is your friend -- to paraphrase Mae West, I've
fixed up old cars with and without the Internet, and with is better.


Best of luck,
--Joe

Thank you very much, Joe. From the bottom of my heart.

:-)

Eric



"Ad absurdum per aspera" > wrote in message
. ..
> [Description of really enviable '62 T-bird]
>
> >> The hubcaps are smooth chrome hemispheres, with no wires or spokes
> or anything.
>
> AKA "baby moons" -- dunno if they're correct for this car, but they're
> definitely an old-school aftermarket touch that I can really imagine
> looking sharp (or, perhaps more accurately, smooth) on that very
> rounded generation of Thunderbird.
>
>
> > > *The top will retract fine, but it won't go back up very easily. It
> > > stops about half way, like the power has been cut. I suspect it's low
> > > on hydraulic fluid, since the hoses leak a little bit.
>
> Do nothing until you've learned the inside skinny about this
> mechanism.
>
>
> > > *It's a little difficult to start if the engine is cold.
>
> So am I. Seriously, that "FE" V8 is one big lump of iron and it's
> quite without some of the aids to faster warmup that we take for
> granted today.
>
>
>
> > > I was wondering might this automobile be worth?
>
> Enough to make getting it appraised by an expert worth your while.
> High teens, at least, I would guess. An appraisal is good to have
> (for insurance purposes) even if you don't want to sell the car.
>
>
> > I'd really appreciate any advice anyone can offer.
>
> Not knowing how much experience you have with older cars in general,
> pardon my sense of the obvious in some of these bits of advice. Here
> goes...
>
>
> 1. Swing away the swing-away steering wheel and set the brake should
> you ever have to leave it idling when unoccupied. Or better yet,
> don't ever do that. The transmission linkage for these cars is prone
> to slipping into Reverse, especially as it gets a bit of wear on
> certain parts. Whereupon the power of a healthy 390 and then the
> momentum of a car that probably dresses out at 5000 pounds will soon
> overmatch most attempts to stop it short of the herbaceous border, the
> school playground, the neighbor's swimming pool, or whatever else
> stands in the way.
>
>
>
> 2. The first thing to overhaul is the brake system, which is old
> enough to be "guilty until proven innocent" (it's been down there in
> harm's way since the JFK administration, after all). Unlike modern
> systems (more or less '67-up), it has only one circuit, such that any
> rupture anywhere can compromise pressure in, and ultimately drain,
> the whole system. Fortunately there are T-bird specialty vendors who
> can sell you everything you may need.
>
> 2a. Even a husky drum brake on each corner is not the modern formula
> for repeated quick stops to say the least! Drive accordingly.
>
>
> 3. Cars this old have no (0) pollution controls; they put out he-man
> exhaust that can make you sick or even knock you dead with carbon
> monoxide. Examine the system for leaks that could make their way
> into the passenger compartment, and don't warm it up in a closed
> garage or in front of the air intakes for your house.
>
>
> 4. http://www.tbird.org is your friend -- to paraphrase Mae West, I've
> fixed up old cars with and without the Internet, and with is better.
>
>
> Best of luck,
> --Joe