I had 2 of these about 15 years ago. One after the other. The first had the C6 and the 2nd had the cruise-omatic. I much preferred the C6 Great cars. I used my second one as a daily driver for almost 2 years. Beautiful cars especially the interior. Both mine were Town Landaus.
Enjoying your videos. I need to repair the parking brake on my '66, too. It's a little hard to tell in the video, but you may have had the gear selector on the green dot that's next to neutral. That one locks out first gear so that you start in second gear each time. Use the green dot next to the low position. That one takes you through all three speeds. The green dot on the left is for starting out on slippery roads. Good luck with it.
Thank you for the info, I will keep that in mind when I take her out next. It looks like it may also be missing a kick down spring on the throttle assembly.
I remember mine to start had to jiggle the shift lever to start ,replaced the starter drive and neutral switch didn't happen after that. Nice car you have!
I need help with my 66 thunderbird. It runs but after a few minutes it dies. I changed the battery and the alternator. I’m not sure what else I need to do.
You can buy a new one online, or fix it with a spot weld. This video explains why this problem exists, and how to fix it. th-cam.com/video/dwq-UwCZjbs/w-d-xo.html
The transmission gets its signals from the engine. Sort out your idle and general tune-up issues first before condemning the trans. Not being in the car, its hard to tell if it shifted into all 3 gears. You even mentioned that you didn't know what gear it was in. There should be 2 specific shifts, first to second, and then second to third and you should feel these shifts. It sounded like you were in second on that straightaway but its hard to tell not being in the car. Remember that the normal drive position is the big green dot, not the dot next to neutral. The steering column has issues like every other Thunderbird, bad lower steering column bushing and bad shift lever. With that steering column, don't ever leave the car running without someone holding the brakes. Next video, hey I fixed all these problems and look how nice it runs and shifts, right?
First off I love your videos and have spent many an hour watching them, so I am thrilled you are watching mine! Secondly, you are right, I need to address the the idle and engine issues first. The person I bought the car from had said the engine and transmission were recently rebuilt, maybe something was missed when they put it back together.
@@thedadlife1080 I find your videos and others as interesting as I hope people find mine. Hey, I'm a Tbird guy, I'm not going to watch Jaguar videos lol (but I have watched Trabant videos, they are a crack up). I think they all help to get people more familiar with the car. Its not uncommon for the little things in and around the engine to be majorly out of sorts, especially after a rebuild. Its scary to see what "I know everything" mechanics do to a persons Thunderbird when in actuality they don't know anything about the car and it shows. Most people have little choice and must trust someone. I try my best to show people what a bone stock Thunderbird should look like and run like and how to properly fix them. Then they have a frame of reference. I hope it helps. Thanks.
I realize this video is almost a year old, but a C4/C6 shouldn't kick like that. The transmission still may have good life left, but keep an eye on it. Make sure the shift doesn't get 'longer' or rev up between gears.
It was in the right gear. The problem was the springs on the transmission kick down rod. They were misplaced and the transmissions wasn’t responding to the throttle and engine speed properly. It has since been fixed.
I had 2 of these about 15 years ago. One after the other. The first had the C6 and the 2nd had the cruise-omatic. I much preferred the C6
Great cars. I used my second one as a daily driver for almost 2 years. Beautiful cars especially the interior.
Both mine were Town Landaus.
I kinda regret not getting a Town Landau, I really like the way they look. Thanks for watching!
Hi I love your Thunderbird I have a 66 town coupe her name is Morticia !!
That’s a great name! Thanks for watching!
Enjoying your videos. I need to repair the parking brake on my '66, too. It's a little hard to tell in the video, but you may have had the gear selector on the green dot that's next to neutral. That one locks out first gear so that you start in second gear each time. Use the green dot next to the low position. That one takes you through all three speeds. The green dot on the left is for starting out on slippery roads. Good luck with it.
Thank you for the info, I will keep that in mind when I take her out next. It looks like it may also be missing a kick down spring on the throttle assembly.
The hard kick into gear may just be due to your fast idle issue. Get your idle speed and timing right, and it should slip into gear nice and smooth.
Dave, I’m glad you found my videos!
I remember mine to start had to jiggle the shift lever to start ,replaced the starter drive and neutral switch didn't happen after that. Nice car you have!
I’ll have to look into that fix. Thank you for the suggestion.
My dad's 1964 had the same gear selector start issue.
From what I have researched it is a common problem on this generation of Thunderbirds. The 65 I had in the late 90’s had the same issue.
You have to tap the accelerator when the car Warms up and that will knock off the choke then you can put it in gear without any type of a clunk
Thank you! I will try that the next time I take the car out.
put an after market tach on her. Love the smell of the carburetors lol.
wow front disc brakes in 66? Way ahead of the times
These cars had all the bells and whistles.
I need help with my 66 thunderbird. It runs but after a few minutes it dies. I changed the battery and the alternator. I’m not sure what else I need to do.
It could be the fuel pump?
Is there any way to fix the bouncy shifter?
You can buy a new one online, or fix it with a spot weld. This video explains why this problem exists, and how to fix it. th-cam.com/video/dwq-UwCZjbs/w-d-xo.html
Is it a 390 or 428?
It’s a 390 that has been recently rebuilt.
The transmission gets its signals from the engine. Sort out your idle and general tune-up issues first before condemning the trans. Not being in the car, its hard to tell if it shifted into all 3 gears. You even mentioned that you didn't know what gear it was in. There should be 2 specific shifts, first to second, and then second to third and you should feel these shifts. It sounded like you were in second on that straightaway but its hard to tell not being in the car. Remember that the normal drive position is the big green dot, not the dot next to neutral. The steering column has issues like every other Thunderbird, bad lower steering column bushing and bad shift lever. With that steering column, don't ever leave the car running without someone holding the brakes. Next video, hey I fixed all these problems and look how nice it runs and shifts, right?
First off I love your videos and have spent many an hour watching them, so I am thrilled you are watching mine! Secondly, you are right, I need to address the the idle and engine issues first. The person I bought the car from had said the engine and transmission were recently rebuilt, maybe something was missed when they put it back together.
@@thedadlife1080 I find your videos and others as interesting as I hope people find mine. Hey, I'm a Tbird guy, I'm not going to watch Jaguar videos lol (but I have watched Trabant videos, they are a crack up). I think they all help to get people more familiar with the car. Its not uncommon for the little things in and around the engine to be majorly out of sorts, especially after a rebuild. Its scary to see what "I know everything" mechanics do to a persons Thunderbird when in actuality they don't know anything about the car and it shows. Most people have little choice and must trust someone. I try my best to show people what a bone stock Thunderbird should look like and run like and how to properly fix them. Then they have a frame of reference. I hope it helps. Thanks.
I realize this video is almost a year old, but a C4/C6 shouldn't kick like that. The transmission still may have good life left, but keep an eye on it. Make sure the shift doesn't get 'longer' or rev up between gears.
The transmission kick down lever wasn’t connected to the throttle correctly. It has since been fixed.
@@thedadlife1080 Ahhh. Sometimes the easiest solutions are the right ones.
Ur driving in the wrong gear it should be in the second D. to the right then the transmission Will shift correctly.
It was in the right gear. The problem was the springs on the transmission kick down rod. They were misplaced and the transmissions wasn’t responding to the throttle and engine speed properly. It has since been fixed.