AS for the steering, has the fluid ever been changed in the P. S. unit, if the rack's going, this will not help, if the rack is o.k., start changing the p.s. fluid every year or two, this will try to keep rack alive.......now, wandering around in your lane at highway speed sounds like a issue with inner or outer tie rod ends or both, the only other thing that would give slop and help it wander would be upper/lower ball joints.......in my case with my Bird several years ago, inner tie rod ends was causing a lot of my wandering at highway speed.......... As far as calipers and rotors, I don't kn ..read more

Based purely on actual calculations , not based on gas gage. Again, it makes no sense but fairly consistent. Statistics: Posted by klogsdonjr — Fri Apr 26, 2024 10:47 am ..read more

Where you live can also make a difference in mileage as the additives that some states/municipalities require, decreases the energy content and so mileage suffers. Ethanol has ~30% less energy per volume than gasoline so as ethanol increases (mandated in some areas) , mpg decreases. I used to live in California and traveled to Utah frequently in my truck. After fill ups in St George, my mpg always increased ~20% while in Utah going from ~14mpg to 17mpg. When I did some on line checking I found Cal gas had many additives and about 18% less energy in it than "normal" gas sold in other states. I ..read more

Hard to find good solid originals so does anyone know if reproduction cylinder guards are available for the convertible; I'm referring to the metal guard that surrounds the trunk lift cylinders so that nothing in the trunk can roll underneath and damage the cylinder,,, Statistics: Posted by 62roadster — Fri Apr 26, 2024 12:35 am ..read more

No. On occasion it will have a slight glow when in gear. but otherwise I never see it. All original so no extra loads. 13.5+ at about 1500 RPM. Good enough for me. May tweak the regulator later but I'm happy. From my experience that's too low a voltage if that's at 1500 and you have nothing at all on, no lights, no blowers, no foot on the brake. That's how mine was and battery would slowly drain. I adjusted the voltage points in the regulator to get it up around 14.2 at 1500 and it's been much better. It will drop down to around 12.4 - 12.6 at idle with the AC running full blast. Once moving ..read more

It doesn't make sense to me either. Gas tanks are not square as in my wife's car when filled up the gauge does not move much with a full tank but when it starts getting low it moves much faster as the volume at the bottom of the tank is much smaller. Kinda like a 'V' but the milage remains constant as per the computer. Statistics: Posted by ward 57 — Thu Apr 25, 2024 7:55 pm ..read more

Good morning, everyone, I have been working on a 1985 thunderbird restoration for a little while now. It runs great, but I have had some problems with steering and brakes. The steering is hard to describe, but it kind of feels like it is simply “floating on a cloud” when I drive it on the highway. If you don’t pay attention to it, it will start to drift all over the highway. Also, I have had some braking issues. I replaced the master cylinder, and I am planning on bleeding the brakes soon. Any advice on some new calipers/rotors for improved braking? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! T ..read more

If anyone can get a measurement of how many wires per inch in each direction the mesh is, i.e. 10x10 mesh means 10 wires/inch each direction, once that's known it should be a 'simple' matter of sourcing replacement material. I have a few spare original dashes/frames in storage but lack time to measure right now (something about putting tech articles together for the July-August 2024 Scoop and meeting deadlines for VTCI's International convention in Grand Rapids, MI in August). Statistics: Posted by Alan H. Tast — Thu Apr 25, 2024 4:31 pm ..read more

Are you going by the gauge or the numbers at the pump? Statistics: Posted by 55blacktie — Thu Apr 25, 2024 4:22 pm ..read more

No you're not imagining it. viewtopic.php?p=125596 When I took my dash apart, I had this wire mesh between the pad and frame. There were some plastic clips that held them in place, but again fit between the pad and frame (if I recall correctly). It's been about 2 years since I removed it so it's a little hard to remember the exact details. I haven't glued the new pad to the frame yet just in case I do need to place something between them. I have an idea in my head for a chromed trim piece but I don't think I have the metal skills to pull off what I envision. But I have a few friends with 3D ..read more