1956 Ford Thunderbird

[mrmike]

I got this model from Joe Baril of my Model Club and I have been staring at it for over a month. It was part of a give-away from another passed Club member and it was offered to me since I built the Vega$ '57 T-Bird a couple of years ago. It needs the front suspension, the fourth wheel and tire and a few other parts and pieces plus painting. The model is built basic and it seems to be built by a child with some skill, but not a lot. I think I will dismantle it further, paint it and rebuild it as a restomod or hot rod with wider whitewall tires and mag wheels and leave the fender skirts on.

[TNT]

Good luck. Sounds like a good plan

[slusher]

Getting it apart might be the hard part..

[mrmike]

Thanks Tony and Carl!

3 hours ago, slusher said:

Getting it apart might be the hard part..

So far it has been a little bit of a challenge, but nothing I can't handle.

I dismantled the T-Bird as much as I wanted to and now for some painting and reassembly. This Thunderbird is a glue bomb behind all of the chrome and assembled parts. It still looks like a child assembled it!

[slusher]

Will you be able to use all the original parts that came off?

[mrmike]

7 hours ago, slusher said:

Will you be able to use all the original parts that came off?

Most of them.  Some I can repair, but I might have to replace 1 or 2 pieces.  Joe Baril of my Classic Plastic Model Club says he might have a parts kit for me.  We shall see.

[customline]

I'm on board, Mr. Mike!  I just "won" one of these old Monogam kits a couple weeks ago. Mine is a bit better than what I see here, though ?.  Good luck and don't break anything!

[mrmike]

Thanks Jim!  I will be sure not to break anything important!

[mrmike]

1956 Ford Thunderbird

Tear down of the '56 T-Bird is complete and I have started repainting and rebuilding the Bird. The engine is mostly complete with rebuilding the motor and repainting it. Now, on to other parts.

[mrmike]

The rear suspension has been completed except for touchups.

[slusher]

Looking good Mike!

[mrmike]

Thanks Carl!

[mrmike]

I performed a mockup this morning before I set the front suspension in place permanently. I wanted to get a sense of where and how the body will look on the chassis. So far, so good!

[Kenmojr]

Looking good!!

[mrmike]

Thanks Ken!  I appreciate it!

[slusher]

You have made allot of progress…

[customline]

I hope you stick with those rims, Mike!

[mrmike]

Jim, those rims are going to stay on that T-Bird!

[customline]

53 minutes ago, mrmike said:

Jim, those rims are going to stay on that T-Bird!

Well they are a very fine choice, Mike, and I was wondering where they came from ?.

[mrmike]

From any 2006 Ford Mustang kit!

[mrmike]

I did some detailing today. After viewing some Google pictures of several '56 T-Birds, I noticed the rear bumper had notches for the exhaust and the windshield has blobs of adhesive and I didn't have any material to make a windshield, so I use the old one. I detailed the rear taillights and the front indicators based on those pictures.

[customline]

23 minutes ago, mrmike said:

I did some detailing today. After viewing some Google pictures of several '56 T-Birds, I noticed the rear bumper had notches for the exhaust and the windshield has blobs of adhesive and I didn't have any material to make a windshield, so I use the old one. I detailed the rear taillights and the front indicators based on those pictures.

Oh heck, you can fix that windshield. ?

[mrmike]

Oh, no I can't!  Too much glue on the windshield to make it repairable.  The glue is all around the edges in spots.

[customline]

1 hour ago, mrmike said:

Oh, no I can't!  Too much glue on the windshield to make it repairable.  The glue is all around the edges in spots.

It does look pretty bad. If the frame could be separated from the glass without wrecking it, and the glue is CA, it can be scraped off with a sharp blade and the "glass" can be sanded out and micro-polished. If the glue was the thick melting type, your chances are much slimmer but unless you are using it as is, you have nothing to lose by trying, Mike. The glue is somewhat clear and if it's old and brittle it can be sanded down smooth and polished. I have repaired glue smears like this on clear parts because there was no other choice.  Try it.

[mrmike]

I do thank you for the info, but I don't dare take the windshield apart to repair it.  This was suppose to be a quick rebuild and it has gone on much longer than I had hoped for.  It will stay as is for now.  Thanks again!