1957 Factory Supercharged Thunderbird

PAGE 2

I'm sure this was instrumental in saving the car from rust but it sure is a lot of work to remove it.
There are only minor amounts of over spray on the frame so that will be pretty easy to clean up.

After I get the body and frame scraped free of the undercoating and old dirt and grease build up,
and finish disassembling the frame and suspension I will sandblast everything down to bare metal.
Except the outer sheet metal parts of course.
On those I will use Aircraft stripper to remove the old paint and primer.

The engine is already in the capable hands of Bob Shykes at Midwest Engine getting rebuilt.
I anticipate having the frame & suspension painted and back together sometime in February
at which time I will also set the engine and transmission back in place and then get to work on the body.

I'll also introduce you to some guys who reproduce
some very important parts for the "F" Bird supercharger systems and I'll give you a little history of these rare birds.

I've been a little slow getting going on the restoration of this rare "F" Bird
because of the excitement surrounding the consignment of the Thunderbird Italien to Barrett-Jackson,
all the media attention it garnered and finally selling it on January 19th.

It was a very exciting time in my life and I feel pretty fortunate
to have been a part of the history of that rare Ford concept car.

For those of you that didn't follow the Italien through the sale,
it sold to collector Don Williams (no, not the country singing star)
who owns the Blawkhawk Collection Museum in Danville California.
He is also involved with the Auto Collection at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas.
Don paid a whopping SIX HUNDRED SIXTY THOUSAND DOLLARS
(with buyers commission added) for the Italien.

I've heard many times the "F" Birds hailed as the "Holy Grail" of Thunderbirds
and always wondered how there can be 211 Holy Grails.
I always thought there should be only one.
I don't think there can be any argument as to what single Thunderbird now holds that honor.

I understand the "Holy Grail" of Thunderbirds, The ITALIEN,
will be displayed at the Blackhawk Collection Museum so stop and see it if you get a chance.

Ironically, I'm still learning more about the early history of the Italien as the son of the second owner just contacted me after he heard about the sale at Barrett-Jackson.
I also met the third owner while he attended the auction.

Well enough of the Italien, I'll get on with the "F" Bird.
I had gotten the car completely disassembled a few weeks before heading to Arizona
for the auction and had completed stripping the paint from the exterior of the body,
doors, hood and deck lid using Klean Strip Aircraft Remover.

A few years back I purchased a Hobby Air "Supplied Air Respirator"
for use particularly with Aircraft Remover as it contains Methylene Chloride, Methanol and Ammonia and if you get a good whiff of the stuff it'll take your breath away
so be sure and use proper protection.
The 3M disposable paint respirators are not effective with Aircraft Remover.

The Hobby Air systems are available a couple different ways
and I use the full face mask option which also protects your eyes from splashes.
It works great and you'll never smell what you're working with.

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