Your thoughts on 1962 Thunderbird

[mickw]

Hi Forum,
Would like your thoughts on possible purchase of 1962 Thunderbird for 12K. I have a stang which is garaged and only comes out on special days but I was thinking of this car as a daily driver to and from work (only 15 min each way) but the car would have to sit outside without cover. I know many people drive classic cars as daily drivers but are many of these cars left outside all day and night?  Am I kidding myself thinking of this car as a daily driver as the Stang from time to time drains my bank account so is this going to be a case of the car simply rotting away. i would like feedback please:feedback:

[78mg]

They are nice cars. Quite luxurious for their day.  Much cheaper than the 1950s verisons and should feel a bit more modern to drive.

If you are going to use one as a daily you would at least want to upgrade to an alternator and dual circuit brakes - not sure if the 1962 would have these as standard.

Otherwise, using it as a daily just means you have to maintain it a lot more than a modern daily and a lot more than a seldom used classic.

Parking it on the street isn't unheard of.  They don't rust as badly as European cars of the era, but it will increase chances of rust.  But its a car, if it rusts you can fix it or if it gets stolen you can replace it.  Some people baby their cars, but if its going to be a daily anyway then who cares.

But parking it on the street will mean that most of the classic car insurers (like LSV) won't cover it, which means you ned to get it insured with a more genral insuerer and pay a bit more $$$.

[bonnevista]

I'd be using the Mustang everyday and putting the Thunderbird in the garage.  Mustangs are everywhere and Thunderbirds are somewhat rare and waaaaay nicer.  

[cluxford]

I literally just purchased this...last Fri.  Selling my 04 Grange and this will become my daily...

160 Ks round trip to work....
Parked outside each night (driveway) but secure parking in the city

here is the photo that 5 years ago made me want to buy this car.



with a 160K round trip each day thus reliability is the key to this build.

Not a show car, just one hellava cool commuter taxi

My plan was to rip the 364 Nailhead and Dynoflo (and possibly diff) and swap for a more common LSx Chev for EFI, parts availability, local knowledge etc

Having read a lot last night though on nailheads (and in the spirit of keeping a Buick in a Buick) I'm keeping the nailhead and the Dynoflo and the diff.

A bit about nailheads for the novice.

The 364ci Buick is a great motor (4.125in bore)x(3.40in stroke) and 300HP stock with 4 barrel. Buick motors put out more torque than Chevs and are quite reliable. They are a stout motor that can be built pretty sweet. The Nailhead had a big-bore, short-stroke design that offered tremendous torque, spread out over a wide RPM range. Introduced in 1953, the overhead valve Buick design incorporated vertical valves (the small size of which gave rise to its somewhat uncomplimentary nickname of  "Nailhead") and a pent-roof combustion chamber. With its small valves and tight intake and exhaust ports, Buick used a very interesting camshaft as its stock offereing, with higher lift and longer duration. The distributors were in the rear and the starters were on the driver's side, unlike later Buick engines. The less timing advance needed  in an engine means it has a good combustion camber design; the Nailhead has the least timing advance (30 degrees) that I know of and the spark plug is right in the middle of the chamber for a short flame travel. The blocks have a tall deck height (Great I now own 2 tall deck V8's   ) for a good rod stroke ratio (the taller block allows for a longer rod). The short stroke lets the engine spin quicker than a longer stroke engine. The small bearing sizes mean the bearings run cooler and need less oil. Every Nailhead, not just the high performance models, had forged rods and cranks. Rocker arm shafts are much stronger than studs with rockers on them. The whole valvetrain is very light so softer valve springs can be used for less engine wear and quicker revs. The small exhaust valve heads don't have as much pressure against them when they are being opened, meaning less preasure againt them when they are being opened. Cracks are rare in a Nailhead cylinder head, and they rarely leak oil because of the way the valve covers are designed. The ports are smaller than most HP engines but designed with high velocity.  They are externally balanced.

OK so my plan on arrival into Oz:

Change the generator over to an alternator but at the same time put all new front runner system on it.  March have a bolt on for Nailheads.  But need to get black anodised I think, no bling for this motor given it's a daily.  But having said that this looks way way cool with the finned rockers and air cleaner...Hmmm..I can see the bills racking up now...




Clean up the engine bay
- Tidy up the electrics so it's a bit cleaner - won't rewire at this stage, but may later
- Paint the engine bay black and general clean / tidy up - will get Stylerod to do this for me
- EFI and electronic ignition
- Needs a fan shroud or a swap to a new radiator with thermos given the driving I'll be doing
- change all the fluids, filters etc etc
- general check for wear and tear, replace any bushes / bearings that might be a bit suspect

Then hit the streets !

So minimal outlay and quick time to cruising

Later on, well after she has a lot more miles on it I will probably:
1. 9" with rear discs on it so I don't have to sleeve and replace 50+ year old drums
2. Vintage Air
3. More modern wipers - with melb rain they may come earlier than planned


I say...but the Tbird and enjoy it !

[mickw]

Thanks everyone, I think one money pit is enough at the moment. So will stick to my current daily driver which is a "soon to be classic" nissan navara !!!
Rgds
Shadow

[LeighP]

Big believer in one "toy" at a time. I find that $ start getting spread over multiple older cars, so they all suffer from a combined lack of money.

I did daily drive a 76 Trans AM for 5 years.....easy maintenance as they are quite low tech.