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'55 T-Bird

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SCG Classic Car Restoration: 1955 T-Bird Car Restoration Project

Read our beginning-to-end series about our 1955 Thunderbird classic car restoration project.

T-Bird Project Part 11 - We Build a New Steering System 55 Tbird We removed and discarded the old worm-gear steering box, Pitman arm and linkages. Our new front suspension included rack-and-pinion steering, so all we had to do was connect the rack to the steering wheel. Over 20 photos show how we accomplished this task . . .keep reading T-Bird Project - Part 10 - The Body Work Continues 55 Tbird After a reassessment of our progress, we decided on a course of action that we hoped will get us to the paintng stage by spring '05. (Article was written Sept. '04). So here's what we decided . . .keep reading T-Bird Car Restoration Project Part 8 - We Install the New Drivetrain 55 Tbird After the successful outcome of '55 T-Bird car restoraton project's new front suspension, it was time to install the rebuilt engine and new AOD transmission . . .keep reading T-Bird Restoration Project Part 7 - Front End Conversion 55 Tbird As we mentioned early in this series of articles, we wanted to "modernize" the '55 T-Bird as we restore it. To make our project car "road worthy" we needed to upgrade the front suspension....here's how we did it . . .keep reading T-Bird Car Restoration Project Part 6 - Two in One 55 Tbird Since the hardtop was a separate component of the car, we decided to restore it and install the headliner, if for no other reason than for the psychological lift we'd get out of a finished project . . .keep reading T-Bird Car Restoration Project Part 5 - The Rear End 55 Tbird We've been waiting for front suspension (modern Mustang) parts, and until these are welded in place there is no way to install the engine/transmission assembly into our '55 T-Bird car restoration project. So we decided to tackle the rear end while we waited . . .keep reading T-Bird Car Restoration Project Part 4 - Rebuilding the Engine 55 Tbird In spite of fuel leakage in the "teapot" carburetor the old motor started up and ran quite smoothly, but there was lots of blue smoke. We weren't worried about the smoke because we'd be replacing all of the components that might be the cause. We then took it apart for a rebuild . . .keep reading T-Bird Car Restoration Project - Part 3 55 Tbird After stripping out all the parts it was time to get the body off the frame. Limited space was a consideration, and we came up with a solution . . .keep reading T-Bird Car Restoration Project - Part 2 55 Tbird The Thunderbird is coming apart. Once it was positioned in the garage we removed the hard top, hood and trunk lid and stored them away from harm. We then went through all the boxes of parts in the trunk and sorted out what was in good condition, what wasn't, and started a list of missing pieces. In the process we discovered a number of missing interior trim pieces, so the budget will have to bulge a little to compensate . . .keep reading 1955 Thunderbird Car Restoration Project - Part 1 55 Tbird A solid project candidate revealed itself within one week of searching. What we believed would be a 6-month to one-year search turned out to be virtually instantaneous . . .keep reading