![]() ![]() A handsome facelift brought a prominent bumper/grille and a longer deck (again enclosing the spare) wearing modest bladelike tailfins. The '57 was thus the last two-seat T-Bird - and arguably the best. So for 1958 and beyond, that's what the T-Bird would be. Also, market surveys indicated much greater demand for a four-seater. McNamara, who'd replaced Crusoe as head of Ford Division, wanted much higher volume. Production eased to 15,631, but was still five times Corvette's. Porthole hardtops heavily outsold the nonporthole kind in 1956, and virtually all '57 Thunderbirds had them. Changes were limited to a larger 312 V-8 option with 215/225 bhp (nonoverdrive stickshift cars retained the 292, now up to 202 bhp), plus exterior-mounted spare (answering cries for more trunk space), softer suspension (for a smoother ride), and no-cost portholes for the hardtop (a Boyer idea inspired by vintage coachwork). You don't mess with success in Detroit, and Ford didn't with the '56 T-Bird. It whipped the rival Chevy in 1955 production by nearly 24-to-1 - 16,155 for the model year. With European style and American comfort, convenience, and go, the Thunderbird proved well-nigh irresistible at just under $3000 without options. Styling, conceived by Walker lieutenant Hershey and executed by a young Bill Boyer, couldn't have been better: simple and smooth yet clearly Ford, with rakish long-hood/short-deck proportions recalling the classic early-'40s Lincoln Continental. And there was no plodding six-cylinder engine but a burly 292-cubic-inch Mercury V-8 delivering 193 bhp with stickshift or 198 bhp with optional self-shift Ford-O-Matic.īill Burnett supervised the engineering, which relied heavily on passenger-Ford components. Instead of an ill-fitting soft top was a snug convertible top, a detachable hardtop, or both. In place of creaking fiberglass and clumsy side curtains was a sturdy steel body with convenient roll-up windows. It rode the same wheelbase as the first-generation Corvette - 102 inches - but was far more luxurious and practical. Barely a month later, Ford was hard at work on the car that would ultimately be named for the god worshiped by America's Southwest Native Americans as the bringer of rain and prosperity.First displayed as a wood mock-up at the Detroit show in early 1954, the Thunderbird was a "personal" car, not a pure sports car. Let me know if you need anything else.But in January 1953, GM threw down a gauntlet Ford couldn't ignore: the Chevrolet Corvette. You don’t want to have the rod length too long because then it’s just prematurely pushing on the master cylinder piston. to get a good adjustment in the op rod position I myself used some grease or something like white lithium grease so when you set the master cylinder on it you can see inside the master cylinder when the rod is at the right length, and that it’s just touching. You don’t want it emptying out and sucking air back into it.įor the power booster. Remember during all of this to keep the master cylinder topped off. Close then pump back up again until all the air is out. pump the brake petal up until firm then open the bleeder. Otherwise you can suck air back into the system. Make absolutely sure the person in the car is working with you and that they DO NOT start pumping the petal until you close the bleeder. You open the bleeder screw and the fluid and bubbles come out. have the person pump the petal until firm then they hold it. This makes it easier to see bubbles, and it doesn’t leave a mess.Īfter the passenger side go to the drivers rear wheel. The kit is usually some length of tube and a cup to catch the fluid. Your local parts store will usually always have it. Then you open the bleeder screw and watch until no more air bubbles come out. Have someone sit in the car and pump the petal until firm. Then you can reinstall it.īleeding is done by starting on the back passenger wheel. ![]() You can tell that the air is out because the piston gets stiffer to push on. Repeat this process until all the air is pushed out of the master cylinder. ![]() There are actual tools, but a punch will work fine. DO NOT USE A SCREW DRIVER! You can gouge the inside of the master cylinder piston. After both ports are leaking fluid you close them up and get something with a round tip. First you fill it up then gravity bleed it. Click to expand.Because you will not get the full length stroke while on the car. ![]()
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