Thank you Jim.



I feel a bit like a leech as I have little knowledge about Y-Blocks. (I come to you from the dark side).



If the group doesn't mind, I suspect I will have a lot of questions.



I would like to reciprocate in some way..... Does anyone need to know anything about tower cranes?

pops (AKA) Clay

'56 Thunderbird

I'll echo the others, welcome to our house! You will find a lot of really great guys on here, come to think of it, we don't have anyone on here that doesn't fit that description! Just jump right in, I know of multiple cars that are on the road today directly because of the knowledge sharing that goes on here.



Enjoy!

Jim (site owner)
'56 Club Sedan - Ted Eaton built 429 hp '292/318, '54 Sunliner - stock '302

Steve,



Checked your car out at H.A.M.B. Looks great. Nice looking engine in it as well.



My Wife informed me that there is little to no heat from the heater. You, living in Tucson, are probably smirking right about now.



I've read the vacuum operated system sucks, so I opted for CASCO's manual heater control valve. Have to add that to my list of items to take care of.

pops (AKA) Clay

'56 Thunderbird

Compared to these guys on here - my project's a beater....(it had over 100,000 hard miles and was going to be more expensive to fix than it is worth)....so now it's my perpetual learning/stress relief project.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=2249

I like the "no bumper" nerf bar look for a hot rod roadster - so the stocker parts are now stored in the attic.  

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

I was told it was a front bumper fitted to the rear. I guess I should be able to confirm this by measuring the center to center distance between the bumperettes as I believe them to be a different spacing from front to rear.



The previous owner had to cut the rear (?) panel below the trunk lid to get the bumper to fit tight to the rear of the car. He did a great job as the panel was not just cut, but it was cut and a rolled edge was formed on it.



How 'bout some more pics or a link to more pics of your car Steve?

pops (AKA) Clay

'56 Thunderbird

Is your rear bumper a "front"  - or is it a rear from a '55? Either way - it really cleans things up a lot.

I've got a front bumper for mine that has had the bumperette holes welded shut, contour ground to match, and then re-plated. Gets rid of the "bolt collection" you end up with if all of the bumperette holes are just filled with hardware. Keep your eyes open for a straight '55 or '56 bumper that needs a "re-plate" and that way you can save your original. Now that its over with - I kind of wish that I'd had them weld them all up and fit it with studs - so there are no external bolt heads at all.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

While looking for my bird, I was bound and determined to get one with a continental kit. This car was sold to me with the original kit un-mounted. But the more I look at this car with the front bumper custom fitted to the rear, I'm inclined to leave it "as is" and enjoy the clean look you mention. The car was missing the bumperettes and I've invested in buying a set (ouch) and do have them in a box. However, I'm torn with putting them on or just placing carriage bolts in the holes that mount them and let that clean look carry over to the front as well.

pops (AKA) Clay

'56 Thunderbird

Nice Bird. Always liked '56 without the continental kit. Almost bought one in '64-65. Ended up with the '57 Bird that I still have. Good group here and a lot of knowledge.

Hey Pops,

Great to have you aboard. You're going to love this site.

These guys know their stuff . There is always something

interesting cooking,and if your experience is like mine,

even when you aren't asking anything, you'll still be

learning stuff.

55f100

West Monroe,La.

Welcome from akron. Thats a nice looking bird.

1959 and 1960 f-100sAkron OH