Welcome, nico71 !!

[YellowRose]

Welcome to Squarebirds, nico71! Nicolo hales from Michigan and does not own a Tbird. If you are looking for one let us know what year, model, color, etc., and we can help you find one. If you do find one, look at the Technical Resource Library (TRL) on this Forum. Down at the bottom of it next to last, you will find the Vehicle Check List that members created to help someone who is looking to buy a Tbird. The link to it is always part of my signature element. Print it out and go over it. Take it with you, if you wish, or at least learn what to look for when inspecting one of these old Birds as a prospective buyer. The check list can help you select or reject the car you are looking at. It might save you a lot of money and headaches down the road or confirm that you think the car is worth buying. I would recommend that you save my phone number should you ever need to contact me. Should you have any problems navigating our Forum, please contact me, Ray Clark ~ YellowRose, John Pizzi ~ jopizz, or Dave Dare ~ simplyconnected, our webmaster. His phone number is 248-544-8834. Enjoy The Journey!

[nico71]

Thanks, Ray. I'm considering a '60 hardtop a friend of my father's owns. It is, apparently, "a show winning" survivor from California. I know little about it other that it is white with a red interior. I know it also has some gremlins that need to be addressed, such as the headlights not turning on and the windshield wipers moving very slowly. I am sure a car this old will need a thorough going-over and may need quite a bit of elbow grease to bring it up to reliable driver status. For discussion's sake, the gentleman selling the car has indicated he wants $5,000 for it as is. My father is convinced this is a good deal, but I just don't know...

I am planning on doing quite a bit of reading here. It looks like you folks have amassed quite a bit of knowledge. Thanks for that. The pre-purchase checklist will be going with me when I check out the car.

[YellowRose]

Welcome, nico71 !!

Hi Nicolo, I see you have one in mind, and from what you have said, the price seems reasonable. The headlight problem could be something simple, like a blown fuse on the back of the headlight switch, a ground problem, or something else. The wiring diagrams are in the Technical Resource Library. As for the windshield wipers, they never worked that well to begin with, being vacuum wipers instead of electric. Many have made the conversion to electric for a couple of hundred bucks and never looked back. You have found the Technical Resource Library I see and printed out the Vehicle Check List to take with you and run against that car. You will want to, if at all possible, get it up on a lift, and check the undersides for rust issues. Or get down on the ground and under the car to check those possible problems out. Check out the floor pans for rust and holes, the rocker panels, etc.. There is much more that I would like to tell you, but instead of trying to do all that here, if you would give me a phone call, I would be glad to talk with you. You can either send me a Private Message here with your phone number and I can call you on my dime. Or you should see my phone number on my signature element and call me. There is much to tell you.

[nico71]

Email sent, YellowRose.

I do plan on bringing a floor jack and jack stands. Some of my reading here has me looking into a cheap borescope to try to inspect the insides of the rockers.

Dad says this is a California car. In his mind this means it should be very rust free. In my mind, I think "there is a heck of alot of ocean-front in Cali". Salt is salt, regardless it being misted in the air or dropped on the roads in winter.

[jopizz]

Email sent, YellowRose.

I do plan on bringing a floor jack and jack stands. Some of my reading here has me looking into a cheap borescope to try to inspect the insides of the rockers.

Dad says this is a California car. In his mind this means it should be very rust free. In my mind, I think "there is a heck of alot of ocean-front in Cali". Salt is salt, regardless it being misted in the air or dropped on the roads in winter.

One of the most rusted cars I ever bought was from California. It looked great in the pictures. I won't make that mistake again. You are wise to be skeptical. I'm glad you are going to do a thorough inspection before buying.

John

[YellowRose]

Welcome, nico71 !!

Nick, I received your email and responded to it. I see that John Pizzi ~ jopizz just responded to your posts. He is one of THE most experienced mechanics/restorers on these old Tbirds of ours. He is an excellent person to get to know. He also can give you a lot of great advice and assistance in repairing/restoring this Tbird. I saw what he said about California cars! Is this Tbird still in California, or close to you? The latter, I hope!

[nico71]

This T-Bird is close - a short half-hour drive from my house.

Thanks for the quick responses, gentlemen. Great site!

[simplyconnected]

Welcome, Nicolo. I used to work at Ford Romeo Engine (in Bruce Twp.) Are you near 32 Mile? - Dave

[gregz]

Welcome Nico71 nice to see more Michigan people on board. I own a 59 T bird that came from Calf. that for the most part is a very solid car. I stripped floor pans inside and out and sheet metal looked brand new, just some minor rust pits. The original undercoating protected most of the bottom of the pans. The one area on my car I need to address is the inside of the door hinge pockets at the top of the rockers. They had some very scaly rust to a point that their is holes. This is a hard area to get to for repairs. Easiest way would be to cut lower part of front fenders off to get access to this area which I hate to do because my paint is in very nice shape on my car, but I know I will have to take care of this area soon.