1962 Ford Thunderbirds
On February 27, 2021, I lost my mind and purchased three 1962 Ford Thunderbirds from an estate sale in Petaluma. The three birds had been parked in a large barn since about 1984. One was a pink coupe, one was a white coupe, and one was a white landau. Two of them had locked rear wheels and rusted brakes that fought surprisingly hard, but I was able to get them home and start the clean up process. I spent hours scrubbing away years of dirt and grime, and polishing chrome, but the cars all responded well and looked great after! The bodies were in astonishingly good condition, very straight and rust free overall, and the chrome shined up nicely.
Next, I started working on the engines. I could only get the engine to turn over on one of them, so after cleaning and polishing, I posted it up for sale and found a local buyer. I picked the next nicest one, soaked the cylinders for a few days, then used the starter to break the engine free. I posted that one up for sale and sold it as well. I was left with my favorite one, the pink 'bird with black interior. The engine however was stuck badly. I soaked the cylinders for a week, no progress. I tried a prybar on the crankshaft bolt, and tried bumping the starter repeatedly, but still nothing. After soaking more ATF and down the cylinders for another week, I was able to directly hotwire the starter and after a few rapid bumps the engine started spinning freely! I had planned to work on the pink 'bird a bit and get it running and stopping, but ultimately decided I needed cash and space sooner than later. I posted it up for sale, and on April 29, I sold the last bird of the flock.