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Volume 25 Number 2 September/October 2015

Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony

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Page 1: Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony

Volume 25 Number 2 September/October 2015

Page 2: Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony

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Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. PO Box 505 Mt Gravatt QLD 4122

[email protected]

Membership dues are $65.00 per annum which includes a hardcopy magazine or $35 per annum for electronically distributed magazine. Fees payable on April 1 each year.

Club magazine “SOUNDS OF THUNDER” is published bi-monthly. Contributions are encour-aged and should be emailed to the Editor: [email protected] or posted to address above.

The Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. is a non profit organization dedicated to the restoration, preservation and enjoyment

of Thunderbird passenger vehicles built by the Ford Motor Company.

A Chapter of the International Thunderbird Club

facebook.com/groups/TOQinc

Join the TOQinc Facebook Group

Page 3: Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony

4 President’s Report

5 Club Calendar

6 Events Calendar

7 Editor’s / Treasurer’s Reports

8 New Members

9 TOQ Calendar “In Appreciation” Presentation

11 Muscle on the Mountain

13 33rd All Ford Day - South East Queensland

14 Brisbane Antique Centre Loganholme

15 Long Term Tbird Friends in Sweden

19 Tropical Treat - TOQNQ on the Strand

21 Fingal Fantastic – Sheoak Gallery Café’

24 Technical Talk - Michael’s 390 Freshen

28 Parts and Service

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www.tbirdregistry.com

On the cover.. Leif Fredriksson and Steffan Nordstrom of Sweden own these two fine ‘56 Thunderbirds. The inter-esting story of their ownership history and restoration of these cars is the feature for this issue.

This story was originally published in the CTCI Early Bird Magazine in June 2010 I was offered this article for our magazine by Trevor Poulsen from the QLD Early Ford V8 Club and have been given permission by Leif and the CTCI Early bird Magazine to reproduce it here in Sounds of Thunder.

facebook.com/groups/tbirdregistry

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A big hello to all our club members.. Our run to Maleny for the Muscle on the Mountain Car show was a great day with about 20 club cars attending. It was a lovely fine day with about 800 vehicles on display of all varieties. A few of us attended the annual Viva Surfers Paradise Elvis tribute the following weekend which included a car show of the era. The weather bureau’s dire prediction of showers and thunderstorms never eventuated (as usual) and we enjoyed a fine sunny day. A couple of us backed up again on Sunday amid predictions of strong winds and low temperatures. But... wrong again. Apart from the cars the highlight was the Roy Orbison tribute show which was free. Athol Matcham and his backing band where simply brilliant.

What to go to was a difficult decision to make the following weekend. A few went to the final days of Viva Surfers Para-dise and the All American Day at Rocklea (formally Super Chevy Sunday) but the majori-ty of members attended All Ford Day at Willowbank. I was not there but I’m told it was a great day. The club run to the Sheoak Shack at Fingal was a lovely day with approx 17 cars and around 40 people attending. The weather was kind with the threat of showers a non-event. We had a great turnout the previous time we went there and will look at making this run a fixture on our calendar if not each year, maybe each other year. Also, a great big Hi and welcome to our newest members of which some were on the Fingal run for the first time. I hope you enjoyed the day and it will the first of many more.. Keep an eye out for the run reminder emails in the coming weeks as our next major run is to Bribie Island on the 13th of September.. The run will include morning tea at Lions Park Woorim Beach then lunch at the new Sandstone Point Hotel. We have a booking at the hotel for 11.30am. This should be a great day, check the calendar for meeting places and times. I hope to see you all there…. Barry

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September 4th

13th

27th

Club Committee Meeting & Social Night: Doug and Sandra’s Place 7.30pm Bring a plate.

CLUB RUN: Sandstone Point Hotel for lunch.. BYO morning tea at Li-ons Park, Woorim on Bribie Island. Meet Shell Nudgee 8.30am for 9.00am for departure. Meeting point for Northsiders Sundowner Ho-tel car park cnr Bribie Island Rd and Aerodrome Rd 9.30am. Run Coor-dinator Barry Ralph

CLUB RUN: Kingston Butter Factory Museum. For morning tea and tour of museum. Meet Palmdale Shopping Centre car park Logan Rd upper Mt Gravatt Opposite Garden City. 9.00am for 9.30am depar-ture. Google Map Route http://goo.gl/7kDEg1 Run Coordinator Doug McCammon

October 2nd

9th

18th

CLUB RUN: Friday Night Club Cruise to Village Rock Diner 512 War-wick Rd Yamanto Meet BP Truck Stop Boundary Rd Rocklea 5.30pm for 6.00pm departure Route via Ipswich Motorway and Centenary Hwy Extension. Run Coordinator Bill Flanagan

Club Committee Meeting & Social Night: Max and Carol Herbert’s place 7.30pm Bring a plate.

CLUB RUN: Harrigan’s Rod and Custom Show Harrigan’s Drift Inn Ca-lypso Bay Jacobs Well. $15 entry for car, driver and 1 passenger. Spec-tators $5 entry. Meet Yatala Pies 7.30am for 8.00am departure Run Coordinator Barry Ralph 0417 62336

November 1st

6th

8th

29th

CLUB RUN: Yankee Doodle American Car Cruise to Burleigh Town Tavern. Hosted by Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. Meet Logan Hy-perdome front car park behind Caltex Servo Exit 28 off M1 9.30am for 10.00am departure. Run Coordinator Dennis Williams

Club Committee Meeting & Social Night: Dennis and Merron’s place, 7.30pm Bring a plate.

CLUB RUN: Redlands Rockabilly Revival Bloomfield St Cleveland. One day street celebration of the fun elements of the classic era of rock n roll. Live music, dancing, classic car and hot rod show. A free event. Meet Alexandra Hills Hotel car park Finucane Rd 8.30am for 9.00am departure Run Coordinator Dennis Williams

CLUB RUN: Thunderbirds of Queensland Christmas Party Redlands Sporting Club Anson Rd off Birkdale Rd Wellington Point. Northside members meet Skyway Airport Shopping Centre in front of Wool-worths 9.15am for 9.45am departure to Cannon Hill Shopping Centre. Southside members meet Cannon Hill Shopping Centre in front of Autobarn 10.00am for 10.30am departure. Run Coordinator Dennis Williams

December Club Committee Meeting & Social Night: Bill and Lyn Flanagan’s place, 7.30pm Bring a plate.

CLUB RUN: TBA

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September 12th - Gympie Show n Shine and Swap Meet Gympie Show Grounds. Gympie Historic Auto Club Contact Noel or Annette 07 5482 2303 or 0408 708 321

19th - Rodders Rumble Cannon Hill Plaza Carpark next to Hungry Jacks from 6pm. Meeting every 3rd Saturday of the month there after info 0412 302619

20th - Eliminators Hot Rod Show, Beenleigh Showground, Beenleigh, swap meet, vendors, bar, rods and classics, enter on the day, contact Steve 0420 817919 or www.eliminatorscarclub.com.au

27th - Rocklea Auto Roundup, Mega Swap and Car Show, Rocklea Showgrounds, gates open 5am for swappers $5 per person no site fee, 6am for entrants $20 for judging, $10 for display per car includes 2 people, 8am for public $5 per head [email protected] or contact Shane 0408 076834.

October 2nd - 5th - Garterbelts and Gasolene Kustom Kulture Festival Mt Tamborine www.garterbeltsandgasoline.com.au for tickets and information.

4th - Noosa Beach Classic Car Show, Lions Park, Noosa Parade, Noosa Heads, entrants $25, spectators $10 adults, family $20, food and coffee vendors and trade stalls, more info www.noosacarclub.com.au

17th - Gympie Gold Rush Festival Car & Bike Classic, Nelson Reserve, Gympie, 11am till 3pm, Gold Rush Street Parade at 4pm, market stalls, live entertainment and food, contact Jan on (07) 5481 2775 or 0413 022 318 or vis-it www.goldrush.org.au for further information and entry form.

November 15th - All American Thanksgiving Day at Lakeside Park. Open to all American built vehicles. With over three hours of cruising throughout the day, Show n' Shine, 1/8th mile drags and kids entertainment! Gates open 7.30am

Get those rides out on the road and have some fun...

Friday Nights

Munchies @ Elizabeth Street Shops, Acacia Ridge.

Harry’s Diner Old School Night every Friday

Village Rock Diner 1st Friday of the month

512 Warwick Rd Yamanto

Brisbane Retro Cruise Nights Wellington Point every 4th Friday

Saturday Nights

Luv My Fish, Browns Plains Rd, Opp Grand Plaza.

Yank Tank Display/Cruise In 2nd Saturday of the month

Masters Old Coach Rd Upper Coomera

Rodders Rumble Cannon Hill Plaza next to Hunry Jacks from 6pm every 3rd Saturday

Ol Skool Cars n Muscle Machines 1st Saturday of the month.

Westfield North Lakes Cnr Anzac Ave & North Lakes Drive

Page 8: Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony

From the Treasurers laptop.. not to be confused with my love of laptop dancing? A busy

month with our calendar being sold out in no time at all. Tony Lake was on the ball and ordered another run of 50 from Lava Print who miraculously did the smaller run at the original price. Well done you! I made two attempts to get to Neill Ford's presentation @ Yellow Cabs, but was rained on from a great height, so I wimpishly retreated to my dry shed. On a recent run the topic of travelling in a group was raised, with different view points being expressed. There were conflicting ideas of speeds, so I went to the Police to seek an official response. That adventure took me to the 350 page book of Qld legislation on the Internet, Carina Police, Cannon Hill Police and Capalaba Highway Patrol who all thought I had been fined for travelling too slowly. Haha NEVER! And this was the result boys & girls. There is no specific law for travelling slower than the posted speed limit, however there is a law for careless driving or lack of consideration for other road users. Travelling at 30-40 kmh under the speed limit shows a distinct lack of common sense and drivers can be fined. I met one chap who copped an $40 fine for travelling at 85 kmh in a 100 zone. Here is another one to make you think.. You can be fined for not having water in your windscreen washer. True! Cheers Tex

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Hello all.. It’s been another busy couple of months since the last mag. I hope you all enjoyed the 25

year history Bill and I put together for you. A lot of the older members commented on how it brought back some great memories and the newer members intrigued with the scale of some of the events we have organised in the past. Certainly a lot of good times have been had over those years. Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony Bullock ‘55 Thunderbird, Vince Blanchard ‘65 Mustang, Thomas Gerke ‘60 Thunder-bird Hardtop, Deb Severino ‘60 Thunderbird Convertible and her partner Kevin Murphy with his ‘55 Thunderbird. I hope you all enjoy being part of our club. Club caps are now available and they are very nice. See a photo of one being modelled by Max on the Merchandise page. They are only $15, basically cost price. If you are interested call Merchandise Officer Doug McCammon 0412 988544 to order. Thank you Lyn Flanagan for organising these for us. I want to thank those members who have contributed to this issue of the magazine. Michael Ruddick sent me a great write up and photos about some of the work he has been doing on his 65 Landau. You can read about Michael’s motor freshen in Technical Talk. Melonie Thomas from North QLD sent me a report and some photos from the recent Strand Car Show in Townsville. They had a great get together of TOQ members flying their TOQ flag and banner with pride. I would also like to thank our Treasurer Ted Stocks for his contributions in the past two issues.. He certainly has way with words does our Ted and to Bill McGregor who is always happy to help out with a run report. Don’t forget our 2015 - 2016 18 month calendar is still available. If you haven’t purchased one yet you don’t know what you are missing out on! They also make a fantastic gift for any classic car en-thusiast. $10 free post how could anyone complain about that. An order form can be downloaded here: www.toqinc.org/calendar_form.pdf

Until next time Keep Cruisin’ Johnny

Page 9: Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony

Thomas Gerke 1960 Thunderbird Hardtop

Vince Blanchard 1965 Mustang

Tony Bullock 1955 Thunderbird

Deborah Severino 1960 Thunderbird Convertible

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Page 10: Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony

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In AppreciationIn AppreciationIn Appreciation

The 2015-2015 calendar produced by Thunderbirds of Queensland has been very suc-

cessful with the first print selling out in just three weeks. The calendar is excellent quality and showcases 19 Thunderbirds owned by club members. It celebrates 2015 as the 60th Anniversary of Ford’s unique vehicle and remains current till Dec 2016. The club has been able to sell the calendars for a very low $10 each which includes postage and is less than cost price. This is possible because of the generous sponsor-ship from Yellow Cabs. It was my privilege to present Neill Ford, General Manager of Yellow Cabs Queensland, with a plaque of appreciation and complementary calendars when I met him at his office on July 21. – Tony Lake, Calendar Coordinator.

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Our visit from Bill and

Vicki Pritchett was a wonderful experience. They are from Brisbane, Australia and are mem-bers of the ITC and Thun-derbirds of Queensland. They came to Texas and took my wife Shaun and I out to dinner at El Fenix here in Burleson.

It’s not every day you have someone from another country hit you up and say, "Hey Mate, would like to have a visit with you when we come to Texas" I know they enjoyed the (insert Australian Accent here) "The Big Blue Beast" Bill brought me an 18 month Thunderbirds of Queensland 2015-2016 club calen-dar, which has the members Thunderbirds in it, along with a magazine, sticker and pen from Johnny Carlisle.. Thanks Johnny!! I’m curious how you took our Texan Accent!! Can’t wait till next time!! I’ll never forget it! Thanks Again! Grant Payne Lone Star Thunderbird Club www.lonestarthunderbirdclub.com

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Page 12: Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony

Muscle on the MountainMuscle on the MountainMuscle on the Mountain

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Muscle on the Mountain in Maleny turned out to be just a brilliant motoring event, as it

has for the past 5 years. We met as two groups firstly at Nudgee Shell, then a very brief stop at Caboolture BP where over 200 other marques of vehicles had also gathered to do the drive up past Australia Zoo. The morning was brisk to say the least (driving topless) but fortunately Merron kindly gave my passenger Merle a travel rug to keep her warm. Thank you Merron. Kevin & Nathan copped a flat tyre in their 1969 Mustang at Nudgee but were quickly on their way. I have attended the last 3 events and my first attracted over 400 ve-hicles, the 2nd over 600 and for this one they estimated about 1000. Circle the date on your TOQ club calendar for next year if you have not been there, as it will be even bigger-er. They raise $1000's each year for Prostate Cancer Research and their secret is a Gold coin donation either to enter, or view the machinery on show. I was very surprised howev-er by the group of FIVE in the Statesman in front of us, who tossed ONE $1 coin in the bucket. Are you serious? Food was catered well by local groups and the money stayed in the town. Excellent. An event not to be missed... Tex

We had a fantastic turnout of club members both in their cars and others spectating that dropped

by for a chat. Great also to catch up with some of the Sunshine Coast crew we don’t see all that

often. Oh and we signed up two new members..

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Finally got to meet Sunshine Coast club member Barry Ellis and his beautifully restored 62 Hardtop. ...and one of the standouts on the day new member Tony Bullock’s superb Thunderbird Blue ‘55

Some stunning classic Fords littered the show field as well as a large number of other interesting marques. All in all a varied and interesting turnout of vehicles with numbers approaching 800.

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Page 14: Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony

33RD ANNUAL33RD ANNUAL33RD ANNUAL

ALL FORD DAY ALL FORD DAY ALL FORD DAY WILLOWBANK RACEWAYWILLOWBANK RACEWAYWILLOWBANK RACEWAY

Another fantastic All Ford Day at Willowbank Raceway this year. A massive turnout of cars and

people. There would have to been nearly two times more cars than last year. The drags are a hit with many more drag strip specialised cars trailered in this year. The turnout from TOQ was a bit on the small side this year. The All Ford Day was competing with the new All American Show at Rocklea Showgrounds which was held on the same day. A few of our guys had attended that show instead. Thanks to those members that came along and to those that dropped by for a chat. Some damn sweet rides were in attendance. Congrats to Craig and Karin Roberts for being awarded 2 year run-

ning the trophy for best car Thunderbird Club. Cheers Johnny

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Suppose this is one way to have fun in a brand new

2015 Mustang GT

Page 15: Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony

We recently had a most successful run to

the Woolloongabba Antique Centre. We like in-depth comparisons so we've followed up with a run to the Brisbane Antique Centre at Loganholme. Again this makes for a beaut morning out, a run for the cars, lots of inter-esting stock to check out and we're safe once we know there's coffee available on site.

It was the perfect Brisbane winter morning, comfortably warm and sunny. This is the type of day appreciated by all but especially those of us with open classic cars that don't have an avail-able roof. Just check with Ted about Cobras and days of unpredictable weather. But not for us this run !! Brisbane Antique Centre: Should you be after something collectable, we would say they have a great range in all categories, household items, jewellery, books, records, vin-tage clothing and fashion, etc ... at what we thought were very favourable prices. Beaut that Gina and Karl had a day off and we're able to come along. Regret that I failed to get the camera out to record Karl modelling the vintage clothing. Looking exceptionally fine in both the Safari Suit and the Seersucker Jacket. As always, a great Sunday morning out !! Bill

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Leif and his 56 Thunderbird circa 1965 and below under restoration in 2009 freshly painted in fiesta red

Reproduced for Sounds of Thunder with the permission of Leif Fredriksson and the CTCI

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Tropical TreatTropical TreatTropical Treat The Birds and the BeeThe Birds and the BeeThe Birds and the Bee

On the 26th of July, the northern members of

Thunderbirds Queensland attended the Cyclones 10th Annual Strand Show n Shine in Townsville. A good roll up by the Thunderbirds members with 13 in total. Shorty Millard did well organising everyone from Gordonvale to Gracemere. Though ironically he was the one everyone was waiting for when it was time to roll in. We had Barry ‘Shorty’ Millard 69 Thunderbird 2 Compact Fair-lanes, Peter Olivetta 56 Thunderbird, Raymond Granata Aussie ZG Fairlane. Russell Walker 64 Thunderbird, Melonie Thomas 71 Dodge Super Bee, Arnold Smith 56’ Mainline, Keith Lavaring 71 Mustang, Lance Cairns 1960 Thunderbird Convertible, Lee Carpenter 70 Mustang Fastback and Phil Marshall 63 Compact Fairlane.

The two trophy hunters were Lance Cairns for “Longest Distance Travelled” and myself Mel Thomas for “Best Chicks Car” A great day was had by all and good to be able to make a contribution to the club even though we are so far away from Tbirds base in Brisbane. Cheers Mel

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FINGAL FANTASTIC!!FINGAL FANTASTIC!!FINGAL FANTASTIC!!

We are very lucky to be living in beautiful Queensland.. but venture over the border into Blues terri-

tory and you will be greeted by more beautiful beaches and stunning coastal countryside. Fingal Head is one of those places that you can only say is a top spot! We’ve been there before on a num-ber of occasions over the years but more re-cently in 2013 when we had lunch at the She-oak Gallery Café along the Tweed River. We enjoyed it so much we decided to return. We met at Yatala Pies around 9.30am on Sun-day 16th.. Before long there was a pretty de-cent group of cars lining the road BUT! talk about a mixed bag! It was starting look like a Ford v GM day was unfolding. There were nearly as many Chevys on the run as Thunder-birds thankfully we had the two Mustangs, Graham’s trusty Falcon XL wagon and Slack’s XC Fairmont along with the 7 Tbirds to keep the numbers in Ford’s favour LOL. It was great to have Don and Eileen along in their gorgeous Inca Gold 57 and also to welcome new mem-bers Vince and Sylvia Blanchard in their 65 Mustang along with Deborah and Kevin in their 60 Convertible. I also must make mention that it was Ray and Ali Tyndall’s first run in their Mustang after getting it registered in the past week or so.

Page 23: Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony

The run down was typical Sunday morning M1 pretty hard to keep everyone together, but by the time we got to the border we were pretty much in one long line and before long heading along Fin-gal Road next to the Tweed River. Last time we were there John Anderson had taped off a parking area for us across the road from the café, this time it was take your chances amongst the fourbies, utes and boat trailers. In the end we still managed to get most of the cars grouped together and fly our flags.

On arrival we welcomed Thunderbird own-ers and fellow International Thunderbird club members Ross and Shona Heathcote from New Zealand. Ross and Shona were holidaying here in QLD and took the oppor-tunity to meet up with us on the run. It was great to meet you guys and I’m glad we were able to share our club run with you... The Sheoak Café was very busy but I think everyone enjoyed their meals and the friendly service and of course each others company. All in all It was just another great day out with the club...

Keep Cruisin’ Johnny

A good day was had by all and the run home was trouble free, with traffic moving at the posted speed limit.. Very busy place with a lovely outlook and most said they could happily live there. Our Raffle raised $85 (less maybe $20 for gifts) and quite a few good people, having won a prize, asked that it be redrawn. Thanks go to Sandra & Lyn for donating lovely items for the Raffle. Many thanks girls. Suggestions for future prizes include a set of wine glasses, bottles of wine, chocolates and movie tickets, so I will look at that today… Cheers Tex

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Page 24: Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony

Hi Guys and Gals, Upon my wife Monique and I joining the club last year, I was asked to do a write up on our experi-ence. I would like to talk about the actual purchase of the Car another time. This time I would like to talk about the basic engine mods I completed last year to the stocko 390ci FE Motor. Now I don’t want to upset the people out there that are of the Concourse type, but stock just doesn’t do it for me. I wasn’t happy with the performance of the ol girl so decided to take the motor out and give her a couple of basic mods that would just give her a bit more pep. While the engine was still in the car we removed all the plugs and did a compression test. All the

cylinders read over 150psi and I was ok with this so it was decided the crank and slugs would stay in

the block. Oil pressure was good as well so I wasn’t concerned about the bearings. The Motor was

removed and removal of the accessories was completed.

Parts were purchased with the aim of just giving it a bit more pep. See below for parts list.

9” Air Cleaner

Holley Street Avenger 670cfm Carburettor

Edelbrock Intake Manifold – PN. 2105 (idle – 5500rpm)

eBay Electronic Distributor

Comp Cams – Camshaft – Dual Energy (1500 – 5750rpm)

Comp Cams - Springs

Rollmaster Timing Chain

Sanderson Headers / Extractors – with twin 2.5” Exhaust

New Water Pump

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Upon removing the Valve Covers it was a surprise to see everything was clean up top. The Sump was removed and same again, everything looked rather clean. I was thinking I had a win for once. The stroke was measured and she came in as a 390ci The Valve Springs were replaced with the heads on. A few dents were knocked out of the sump. The camshaft was installed with the new timing chain. The old timing chain was rather slack. The water pump felt really tight and disassembly of the water pump found the bearing had collapsed. Oh well, a new water pump it is. A six pack later of Qld’s finest and the remainder of the motor was assembled and given a quick kero clean and then a paint.

The old style Air Con Compressor wouldn’t fit back on due to the large size of the Ebay Distributor. That’s ok, coz I had always planned to have the window down and ‘fat arm’ when cruzing. The engine was fitted with the help of a proper engine sling allowing the motor to remain straight but allowing to be tilted. This is required because the Torque Convertor on the Cruise O Matic has studs… If you’ve ever fitted an engine, you’ll know the pain this could’ve caused if a proper adjusta-ble engine sling had not have been used. Once she was going again, she was off to the Dyno Tuner. This was the test and anyone that’s done engine work knows of the nerves you’ll get wondering if the motor will fail or rise up. The motor was strong throughout without blowing any smoke. We adjusted the timing up to 18 Degrees at Idle. With the Air Cleaner off the air fuel ratio was perfect, however, with the air cleaner on, she was running a bit rich. We decided to put in some smaller jets which got the air fuel ratio perfect with the air cleaner on. I was really happy. There was a lot of restraint when carrying out the mods to this motor in that I wanted to go bigger and louder. However, for the cost of around $2,500, I got a setup that gives a bit more pep, is relia-ble and is tuned... Stay tuned for my next article, where I am currently having a Cruise O Matic built for the old girl. The box will be reco’d and built with shift kit and 2200 RPM Stall Convertor. Michael and Monique Ruddick 1965 Thunderbird Landau

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Page 26: Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony

We have compiled a list of repair or service shops who have been found to be of great help in the res-toration of our Classic Cars, this is not a commercial ad nor do the Thunderbirds of QLD Inc. take any responsibility for workmanship or service! However if you have found a good shop that has provided what you require then let us know and we shall list them for others to try out. EXHAUST INNOVATIONS - Custom Exhaust Systems. 5/33 Steel St Capalaba. 3390 3200

ANNVID Auto Upholsterers - 24 Smith St Capalaba. 3390 3444

COL ROBINSON & CO - Power Steering Boxes 2/19 Kitchener Rd Kedron Ph 3350 5000

GLEN HENDERSON - Parts & Advice Anything Thunderbird. Greenbank 3297 5342

KEITH 4 WHEELS - Whitewall tyres, wheels and quality wheel alignments by Kiwi Pete. 11 Smallwood St Underwood. 3841 6244

INNOVATIVE AUTO DESIGN - Specialising in compliancing of American & European Classic Cars. 3/14 Lapis St Underwood. 3290 2177 or 0411 311473

MODIFICATION PLATES - Club member Luke McCammon fully licensed engineer for all your blue plate needs. Contact Doug McCammon for info and bookings 0412 988544

KNIGHTS OLD SCHOOL BRAKES SERVICE - Wynnum Ph 3393 3188

OZ RODS - Hot Rod and Street Machine Specialists. 3805 7155 www.oz-rods.com

BRIAN ARMSTRONG AIRCONDITIONING 0447 349495 AH 3802 2994

NO BULL ACCESSORIES - Hard wearing vehicle accessories.. moulded carpets for classic & European cars 18 Ferguson St Underwood 33414988 www.nobullaccessories.com.au

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Page 27: Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony

Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. Club Polo Shirts They’re Back !!

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Club Logo Stickers.. Small $2 Large $4

One of each for $5

New Club Caps $15 Contact the Merchandise man to purchase

Doug McCammon 0412 988554

Denise Ramsey

Unit 7/121 Kerry Road

Archerfield QLD 4108 Ph: 3277 5039 or 0408 012957

[email protected]

Check them out on the TOQ web site.. Just click on the Merchandise link choose your colour then

follow the instructions to download the order form. Not online contact me, Johnny directly on 0412 458434

and we’ll post you an order form

Page 28: Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony

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JOIN THIS GREAT CLUBJOIN THIS GREAT CLUB

Page 29: Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony

International Thunderbird Club http://intl-thunderbirdclub.com/

Thunderbird Registry http://www.tbirdregistry.com

Thunderbird Headquarters http://www.tbirdhq.com

The Bird Nest http://www.tbirdparts.com/main.htm

Thunderbird Ranch http://www.tbirdranch.com/

Home of the Thunderbird Italien and XM400 Mercury Concept Car

http://www.tbirdsquare.com/

Squarebirds.org http://www.squarebirds.org/

Automotive Mileposts: Thunderbird http://automotivemileposts.com/contentstbird.html

Jim Wulf's Tbird Garage http://www.tbirdgarage.com/

All American Auto Parts - Ballarat VIC. http://www.allamericanautoparts.com.au/

Jim Osbourne Reproductions http://www.osborn-reproduction.com/

The Old Car Manual Project http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/

Colour Codes - Tbird Cross Reference http://goo.gl/qCrQee

Vintage Ford Publications http://mustangtek.com/Litterature.html

Auto Colour Library http://www.tcpglobal.com/autocolorlibrary/

Plan 59 - Museum of Mid Century Illustration

http://www.plan59.com/

Original Auto Interiors http://www.originalauto.com

Ford V8 Workshop http://www.wrljet.com/fordv8/

Permanent Painted Coatings Australia http://ppcco.com.au/

Cruzin Magazine http://www.cruzin.com.au/

Pinky’s Car Shows and Swap Meets http://www.pinky.com.au/queensland.htm

QLD Historic Motoring Council http://www.qhmc.org.au/

QLD Motorised Sports Council http://www.qmsc.org.au/

Roadside Architecture http://www.agilitynut.com/roadside.html

Internet Movie Cars Database http://imcdb.org/

Thunderbird Junior Central http://www.jrcentral.com/

Page 30: Thunderbirds of Queensland Inc. - Volume 25 Number 2 … · 2015-08-27 · Since the last magazine we have had another four new members join our club. Its my pleasure to welcome Tony