1968 Thunderbird w/429 Thunderjet

[RichLo]

I just picked this up, a deal so good I couldn't pass it by. 1968 Ford Thunderbird with the 429 option.

Runs and drives great but I have a question about electronics for you guys... the windows worked when I test drove it but were slow, then were slower when I drove it home, now nothing. I can hear them click when I press the buttons but no go. It has a newer battery and the charging system is good. Also the radio clicks when I turn it on and off but no sound. Same with the blower motor, and door locks, and horn, and blinkers, lol. Basically everything inside has some power but not enough to do anything. Any ideas???

 

[RichLo]

More pics

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

Basically everything inside has some power but not enough to do anything. Any ideas???

My guess would be a bad/weak ground? Years ago I had a 66 T-Bird with the 428. It had vacuum actuated door locks, convenience center (A/C, defrost, heat) actuators. The selector switches were just valves to direct the vacuum. Under the hood was what looked like a V-8 tomato juice can painted black for the vacuum accumulator. The power steering pump also drove the windshield wipers (infinite speeds ha ha). The sequential turn signals were driven by a motor in the trunk. The emergency brake release was vacuum also.

The steering column slid towards the center of the cabin when in park but that was broken so I could be driving down the road and almost hand the steering wheel to the passenger.

I had an intermittent bad ground on the headlights where they would go dim until I hit the hood hard, LOL. I fixed that by grounding the lights up front and under the dash. Even had power wing vents too!

I'd go through a starter and alternator each year too. This was when I lived in Milwaukee, the winters killed that thing!

I'm sure your 68 is different in a lot of these means of operation but, Ford did some weird things back then. With so much going on inside if you have a bad ground they'll find their own path to complete the circuit

Good luck with your project, I love those Birds!

 

[Erik the Awful]

If it has an ammeter, check it first. They can burn the car to the ground when they go bad. Then I'd check grounds.

 

[stutaeng]

Wow. I don't know anything about these cars, but was that restored? What's the story with it?

 

[0xDEADBEEF]

Are you sure they aren't vacuum driven? They did all kinds of stuff with engine vacuum back in the day.

Ah, nevermind. I didn't read far enough.

 

[RichLo]

Fist of all THANK YOU @PlayingWithTBI !!!

So this car has not been 'Restored' as the normal term would be, Its just been well taken care of. It has been repainted at some point as I can knock on it and hear some bondo in some spots, but everything points to it being paint matched to the original color. The PO said that the interior and vinyl top are original I believe him about the interior but the vinyl top seems Really nice to be original, either way I'm not complaining, lol.

The PO bought this car around 10 years ago basically in the same shape as its in right now and put less than 500 miles on it per year in those 10 years. The odometer shows a little over 60k miles and I believe its that and not 160k with the condition of the rest of the car. No rust in the trunk or frame, only slight surface rust on the underbody.

And LUCKILY everything that is oddly powered with engine vacuum and hydraulics from the power steering pump works the way it should. I was able to get down to 19 in/hg when tuning the carb (spec is 15-20). I just have to fix the electronicals. And this car has a volt meter not an ammeter, thanks for that advice too!

Now here is the kicker... The PO is an uncle to my best friend and was just talking to my friend about needing to 'thin the herd' to make room for his 65 mustang frame-off restoration. So just in passing he said that he would sell it for what he paid for it 10 years ago and I was the first call my friend made so I promptly unloaded it from him before he could look up the NADA value of it.

 

[RichLo]

And a cool tidbit of info for you guys and gals about this 429... it has 10:1 compression and made 360hp and 480ft/lb torque! This 4500lb yacht could do 13.8sec in the quarter mile from the factory!!

 

[Coveman]

Nice ride, I had a 69 4 door. Did you check voltage with a meter? My ammeter never seemed to move from the middle. Also, the window motors were a lot more happy if they were used frequently, that helped keep the brushes clean. If they’re not turning, easy to remove and clean the contacts with some emery cloth

 

[DerekTheGreat]

Suicide 'birds are quite rare. Love me some sequential tails, very nice!