Welp I bought a new car
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 141
From: Lewisville, TX
Welp I bought a new car
And it's a Ford.
Im not by any means a Ford guy. I love my GM vehicles, but I got one hell of a deal. I've owned one Ford product, a 1991 Mercury Capri. Anyhow, always had a thing for Thunderbirds. There's one I've been eyeing for quite some time, a 1978 Thunderbird (my favorite bodystyle, the 77-77). It was on Craigslist in early summer for $2900. I talked her down to $1500, and was going to buy it, but then she wanted to hold off for a week, because other people were coming by to look at it for $2500. I understood and bought my 1983 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser. She calls back and accepts my offer, but I turned her down, as I just bought a car.
Fast-forward and here i am with a dead Custom Cruiser needing some wheels. After some talking, I got the Thunderbird for $1000. This woman got it from her grandmother and drove it through high school. It's been driven hardly since. Her gma bought it brand new, and it was her first and only car, and naturally was garaged all it's life.
This car is in GREAT shape. the 351M runs smooth, and the car looks sharp. There is a dent in the rear left quarter panel above the wheel where someone backed into it in a parking lot and took off last year. Otherwise, dent free with perfect paint. Vinyl top is great, all original glass. The interior is immaculate, and even has the original AM radio (not stereo) in it. 3-speed automatic, 351M V8 with only 72,000 miles on it, not rolled over either.
But don't worry! I still have two Oldsmobiles. So I can still say I'm a GM guy. There are some really good (but big) pics in the album. Check it out.
EDIT: BTW, it even has working cruise control!
--Ryan
Album: http://s202.photobucket.com/albums/a...20Thunderbird/
July4th2009LH004.jpg
Im not by any means a Ford guy. I love my GM vehicles, but I got one hell of a deal. I've owned one Ford product, a 1991 Mercury Capri. Anyhow, always had a thing for Thunderbirds. There's one I've been eyeing for quite some time, a 1978 Thunderbird (my favorite bodystyle, the 77-77). It was on Craigslist in early summer for $2900. I talked her down to $1500, and was going to buy it, but then she wanted to hold off for a week, because other people were coming by to look at it for $2500. I understood and bought my 1983 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser. She calls back and accepts my offer, but I turned her down, as I just bought a car.
Fast-forward and here i am with a dead Custom Cruiser needing some wheels. After some talking, I got the Thunderbird for $1000. This woman got it from her grandmother and drove it through high school. It's been driven hardly since. Her gma bought it brand new, and it was her first and only car, and naturally was garaged all it's life.
This car is in GREAT shape. the 351M runs smooth, and the car looks sharp. There is a dent in the rear left quarter panel above the wheel where someone backed into it in a parking lot and took off last year. Otherwise, dent free with perfect paint. Vinyl top is great, all original glass. The interior is immaculate, and even has the original AM radio (not stereo) in it. 3-speed automatic, 351M V8 with only 72,000 miles on it, not rolled over either.
But don't worry! I still have two Oldsmobiles. So I can still say I'm a GM guy. There are some really good (but big) pics in the album. Check it out.
EDIT: BTW, it even has working cruise control!
--Ryan
Album: http://s202.photobucket.com/albums/a...20Thunderbird/
July4th2009LH004.jpg
Last edited by yzzerdd; Dec 13, 2009 at 07:51 PM.
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 141
From: Lewisville, TX
Yes, the hideaway headlights work. The doors stay down when they should, open right up, and close back nicely. The car runs and drives like a dream. I haven't had the chance to look, but from what I've read, the Variable Venturi carb was standard. Whats the issue with the carb? The car runs smooth, starts up even cold. The choke works properly, too, couldn't say that about the Custom Cruiser.
IDK what to do with the wagon. I'm going to have to go through ALOT of trouble to properly fix the lines, even as far as dropping the trans. Not worth it to me, for a trans without reverse. Now that I have this car, I'll likely sell the Custom Cruiser. I'd rather have a 70's Vista Cruiser, or even a mid to late 70s Custom Cruiser.
--Ryan
EDIT: Probably a stupid question, but thats what forums are for. The car has an AM push-button radio. That is, there are 5(I think) spring-loaded buttons below the tuner. These buttons tune the radio to a preset station. Now, all the stations mine are set to are still active. So this leads me to believe you can set these buttons to go to the station of your choice, much like a modern radio preset. How does one acheive this? If it's possible, I can't figure it out.
IDK what to do with the wagon. I'm going to have to go through ALOT of trouble to properly fix the lines, even as far as dropping the trans. Not worth it to me, for a trans without reverse. Now that I have this car, I'll likely sell the Custom Cruiser. I'd rather have a 70's Vista Cruiser, or even a mid to late 70s Custom Cruiser.
--Ryan
EDIT: Probably a stupid question, but thats what forums are for. The car has an AM push-button radio. That is, there are 5(I think) spring-loaded buttons below the tuner. These buttons tune the radio to a preset station. Now, all the stations mine are set to are still active. So this leads me to believe you can set these buttons to go to the station of your choice, much like a modern radio preset. How does one acheive this? If it's possible, I can't figure it out.
Last edited by yzzerdd; Dec 15, 2009 at 09:39 PM.
car nut farmer
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 595
From: SE KS
Yes, the hideaway headlights work. The doors stay down when they should, open right up, and close back nicely. The car runs and drives like a dream. I haven't had the chance to look, but from what I've read, the Variable Venturi carb was standard. Whats the issue with the carb? The car runs smooth, starts up even cold. The choke works properly, too, couldn't say that about the Custom Cruiser.
IDK what to do with the wagon. I'm going to have to go through ALOT of trouble to properly fix the lines, even as far as dropping the trans. Not worth it to me, for a trans without reverse. Now that I have this car, I'll likely sell the Custom Cruiser. I'd rather have a 70's Vista Cruiser, or even a mid to late 70s Custom Cruiser.
--Ryan
EDIT: Probably a stupid question, but thats what forums are for. The car has an AM push-button radio. That is, there are 5(I think) spring-loaded buttons below the tuner. These buttons tune the radio to a preset station. Now, all the stations mine are set to are still active. So this leads me to believe you can set these buttons to go to the station of your choice, much like a modern radio preset. How does one acheive this? If it's possible, I can't figure it out.
IDK what to do with the wagon. I'm going to have to go through ALOT of trouble to properly fix the lines, even as far as dropping the trans. Not worth it to me, for a trans without reverse. Now that I have this car, I'll likely sell the Custom Cruiser. I'd rather have a 70's Vista Cruiser, or even a mid to late 70s Custom Cruiser.
--Ryan
EDIT: Probably a stupid question, but thats what forums are for. The car has an AM push-button radio. That is, there are 5(I think) spring-loaded buttons below the tuner. These buttons tune the radio to a preset station. Now, all the stations mine are set to are still active. So this leads me to believe you can set these buttons to go to the station of your choice, much like a modern radio preset. How does one acheive this? If it's possible, I can't figure it out.
You make me feel old.
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 18,225
From: Edmond, OK
The variable venturi carburetor was a step between standard carburetion and thorttle body injection. From my understanding Ford only used it in the late 70s. Everything I've heard about variable venturi carburetors has been negative. I know, I've never seen Holley and Edelbrock making aftermarket variable venturi carburetors.
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From: Atlanta, Georgia
Registered
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From: Northeast Ohio
Low mileage and all that and no owner's' manual in the glove department??
When I was a kid my siblings and I used to play with those buttons while waiting in the wagon at grocery store for my mom while she was shopping.
I've spent years sitting in or around cars in parking lots it seems?
My mom would come back to the car and would always miraculously know we were messing with those buttons???... we always pushed them back in when we were done playing to cover our butts because we had orders never to go in the front seat???
After she started screaming that we messed up the radio or whatever we did and always then insisted we didn't do a thing she would reach in the back seat, while driving, and start blindly flailing away hoping to catch somebody, we would scatter and hit the floormats.
Then she would get really mad and slam on the brakes right in the middle of traffic, throw it in park, and crawl halfway across the back of the front seat while the wagon was still bouncing from the nose dive stop and start smacking away, us screaming and trying to avoid her wrath like scared monkeys. 
I swear she would say "Hold still so I can smack you!" and a few other choice words after it.
Lucky she was always seven months pregnant or she could of stretched farther and gotten to the little ones hiding behind the groceries in the way back.
When I was a kid my siblings and I used to play with those buttons while waiting in the wagon at grocery store for my mom while she was shopping.
I've spent years sitting in or around cars in parking lots it seems?
My mom would come back to the car and would always miraculously know we were messing with those buttons???... we always pushed them back in when we were done playing to cover our butts because we had orders never to go in the front seat???
After she started screaming that we messed up the radio or whatever we did and always then insisted we didn't do a thing she would reach in the back seat, while driving, and start blindly flailing away hoping to catch somebody, we would scatter and hit the floormats.
Then she would get really mad and slam on the brakes right in the middle of traffic, throw it in park, and crawl halfway across the back of the front seat while the wagon was still bouncing from the nose dive stop and start smacking away, us screaming and trying to avoid her wrath like scared monkeys.
I swear she would say "Hold still so I can smack you!" and a few other choice words after it.
Lucky she was always seven months pregnant or she could of stretched farther and gotten to the little ones hiding behind the groceries in the way back.
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From: Edmond, OK
When I was a kid my siblings and I used to play with those buttons while waiting in the wagon at grocery store for my mom while she was shopping.
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Thread Starter
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 141
From: Lewisville, TX
LOL ya'll crack me up.
I got the radio stations set! Thanks! Now I can go almost instantly from Dave Ramsey to all sorts of other talk radio stations. No music on the AM bands around here. In WV, there were all kinds of music.
I'm kindof thinking about getting an AM band transmitter and amplifying it. I can get an AM transmitter for $40, that is able to be used without FCC license. Hook up a big amplified antennae, and I might be able to broadcast out a few miles. That way, before I leave, I could just play a large playlist on the AM band, and have music wherever I go in the area! Option 2 is to buy the transmitter and get an adapter for it to plug up into the cigarrette lighter. Then, with only a small antennae, it'd broadcast for 1/4 mile.
I havent had a problem with the VV carb yet, except in the mornings, but the problem is unrelated to the carb. This is my first car with a mechanical fuel pump. The Olds Custom Cruiser was supposed to have one, but instead someone rigged an electric fuel pump to be powered off the radio. So I could just let the pump run to prime the carb. Well, in the mornings with this Ford, I have to crank on it for awhile before it starts. It was below freezing this morning. I guess the only thing I could do is prime it by pouring gas down the intake.
--Ryan
I got the radio stations set! Thanks! Now I can go almost instantly from Dave Ramsey to all sorts of other talk radio stations. No music on the AM bands around here. In WV, there were all kinds of music.
I'm kindof thinking about getting an AM band transmitter and amplifying it. I can get an AM transmitter for $40, that is able to be used without FCC license. Hook up a big amplified antennae, and I might be able to broadcast out a few miles. That way, before I leave, I could just play a large playlist on the AM band, and have music wherever I go in the area! Option 2 is to buy the transmitter and get an adapter for it to plug up into the cigarrette lighter. Then, with only a small antennae, it'd broadcast for 1/4 mile.
I havent had a problem with the VV carb yet, except in the mornings, but the problem is unrelated to the carb. This is my first car with a mechanical fuel pump. The Olds Custom Cruiser was supposed to have one, but instead someone rigged an electric fuel pump to be powered off the radio. So I could just let the pump run to prime the carb. Well, in the mornings with this Ford, I have to crank on it for awhile before it starts. It was below freezing this morning. I guess the only thing I could do is prime it by pouring gas down the intake.
--Ryan
Captain of my ship
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,880
From: Annapolis Valley , Nova Scotia
Low mileage and all that and no owner's' manual in the glove department??
When I was a kid my siblings and I used to play with those buttons while waiting in the wagon at grocery store for my mom while she was shopping.
I've spent years sitting in or around cars in parking lots it seems?
My mom would come back to the car and would always miraculously know we were messing with those buttons???... we always pushed them back in when we were done playing to cover our butts because we had orders never to go in the front seat???
After she started screaming that we messed up the radio or whatever we did and always then insisted we didn't do a thing she would reach in the back seat, while driving, and start blindly flailing away hoping to catch somebody, we would scatter and hit the floormats.
Then she would get really mad and slam on the brakes right in the middle of traffic, throw it in park, and crawl halfway across the back of the front seat while the wagon was still bouncing from the nose dive stop and start smacking away, us screaming and trying to avoid her wrath like scared monkeys.
I swear she would say "Hold still so I can smack you!" and a few other choice words after it.
Lucky she was always seven months pregnant or she could of stretched farther and gotten to the little ones hiding behind the groceries in the way back.
When I was a kid my siblings and I used to play with those buttons while waiting in the wagon at grocery store for my mom while she was shopping.
I've spent years sitting in or around cars in parking lots it seems?
My mom would come back to the car and would always miraculously know we were messing with those buttons???... we always pushed them back in when we were done playing to cover our butts because we had orders never to go in the front seat???
After she started screaming that we messed up the radio or whatever we did and always then insisted we didn't do a thing she would reach in the back seat, while driving, and start blindly flailing away hoping to catch somebody, we would scatter and hit the floormats.
Then she would get really mad and slam on the brakes right in the middle of traffic, throw it in park, and crawl halfway across the back of the front seat while the wagon was still bouncing from the nose dive stop and start smacking away, us screaming and trying to avoid her wrath like scared monkeys.
I swear she would say "Hold still so I can smack you!" and a few other choice words after it.
Lucky she was always seven months pregnant or she could of stretched farther and gotten to the little ones hiding behind the groceries in the way back.
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From: Edmond, OK
Option 2 is to buy the transmitter and get an adapter for it to plug up into the cigarrette lighter.
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 141
From: Lewisville, TX
Wow. I'm surprised I didn't think to just install one in the glove box. Although, I would rather spend more and put in an era-correct FM/AM radio that will fit in the same slot as the AM radio. But maybe I'll change my mind after I check out what Best Buy has.
--Ryan
--Ryan
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 141
From: Lewisville, TX
Well it should seem my car does NOT have the variable venturi, but instead a Motorcraft standard 2-bbl carb. Been running nicely.
I have discovered an oddity in the car. Seems I cannot find a decent Ford site with much traffic to the older Ford sedans (plenty for trucks though), I shall hope someone here knows the answer. The AC/Heat control has a bunch of hoses going to it. One of them I notice has a clear connector adjoining it with another hose, and I see a reddish brown fluid inside. It has a slight leak, which I noticed as there is some residue on my floor mat. This fluid leaves a residue like coolant, but doesn't look like coolant.
At first I thought my heater core had a leak, but now it seems like it is coming from this plastic tube. Any ideas? The tubing seems to control the flow of air to different vents. In my experience, this is usually done by vaccuum. Any ideas? Was Ford at this time using a hydraulic system of sorts?
--Ryan
I have discovered an oddity in the car. Seems I cannot find a decent Ford site with much traffic to the older Ford sedans (plenty for trucks though), I shall hope someone here knows the answer. The AC/Heat control has a bunch of hoses going to it. One of them I notice has a clear connector adjoining it with another hose, and I see a reddish brown fluid inside. It has a slight leak, which I noticed as there is some residue on my floor mat. This fluid leaves a residue like coolant, but doesn't look like coolant.
At first I thought my heater core had a leak, but now it seems like it is coming from this plastic tube. Any ideas? The tubing seems to control the flow of air to different vents. In my experience, this is usually done by vaccuum. Any ideas? Was Ford at this time using a hydraulic system of sorts?
--Ryan
is Fast Enough ...
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,308
From: dogtown
Well it should seem my car does NOT have the variable venturi, but instead a Motorcraft standard 2-bbl carb. Been running nicely.
I have discovered an oddity in the car. Seems I cannot find a decent Ford site with much traffic to the older Ford sedans (plenty for trucks though), I shall hope someone here knows the answer. The AC/Heat control has a bunch of hoses going to it. One of them I notice has a clear connector adjoining it with another hose, and I see a reddish brown fluid inside. It has a slight leak, which I noticed as there is some residue on my floor mat. This fluid leaves a residue like coolant, but doesn't look like coolant.
At first I thought my heater core had a leak, but now it seems like it is coming from this plastic tube. Any ideas? The tubing seems to control the flow of air to different vents. In my experience, this is usually done by vaccuum. Any ideas? Was Ford at this time using a hydraulic system of sorts?
--Ryan
I have discovered an oddity in the car. Seems I cannot find a decent Ford site with much traffic to the older Ford sedans (plenty for trucks though), I shall hope someone here knows the answer. The AC/Heat control has a bunch of hoses going to it. One of them I notice has a clear connector adjoining it with another hose, and I see a reddish brown fluid inside. It has a slight leak, which I noticed as there is some residue on my floor mat. This fluid leaves a residue like coolant, but doesn't look like coolant.
At first I thought my heater core had a leak, but now it seems like it is coming from this plastic tube. Any ideas? The tubing seems to control the flow of air to different vents. In my experience, this is usually done by vaccuum. Any ideas? Was Ford at this time using a hydraulic system of sorts?
--Ryan
If it is hydraulic or other oil it should feel a little sticky ...
Oh yeh, smell it ...
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 141
From: Lewisville, TX
db rr? You lost me there.
The fluid kindof smells like transmission fluid. Looks like it too, but thinner. Leaves a residue that a dry cloth wont pick up. Every single line going to the AC/heater control has this fluid. When I turn the AC/heat on or off, I get the sound of rushing fluid right from that spot. It just makes zero sense to me why this fluid is here and how the system works with the fluid. The shop manual says nothing about it. Nor does the Internet.
--Ryan
The fluid kindof smells like transmission fluid. Looks like it too, but thinner. Leaves a residue that a dry cloth wont pick up. Every single line going to the AC/heater control has this fluid. When I turn the AC/heat on or off, I get the sound of rushing fluid right from that spot. It just makes zero sense to me why this fluid is here and how the system works with the fluid. The shop manual says nothing about it. Nor does the Internet.
--Ryan
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 141
From: Lewisville, TX
Now this is almost as absurd as BLINKER FLUID.
I figured out the issue. The vacuum modulator MUST have a leaky diaphragm. This allowed for transmission fluid to be sucked up the vacuum tree. Most of the fluid is harmlessly burnt off after being sucked into the intake manifold, but some of it, through the years, made its way into the vacuum system of the heater/ac control, as well as the vacuums for the doors in the ductwork. Which explains the slurping I hear when I turn the heater on or off, or otherwise redirect airflow to a different vent.
So it should seem I need to replace the vacuum modulator. Then go through and blow the trans fluid out of the vacuum lines. Seems all the vacuum-controlled devices still work(even cruise!), I think I might actually be able to suck the fluid out, using a hand pump.
--Ryan
I figured out the issue. The vacuum modulator MUST have a leaky diaphragm. This allowed for transmission fluid to be sucked up the vacuum tree. Most of the fluid is harmlessly burnt off after being sucked into the intake manifold, but some of it, through the years, made its way into the vacuum system of the heater/ac control, as well as the vacuums for the doors in the ductwork. Which explains the slurping I hear when I turn the heater on or off, or otherwise redirect airflow to a different vent.
So it should seem I need to replace the vacuum modulator. Then go through and blow the trans fluid out of the vacuum lines. Seems all the vacuum-controlled devices still work(even cruise!), I think I might actually be able to suck the fluid out, using a hand pump.
--Ryan
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