The restoration of a 1957 Factory Supercharged Thunderbird By Tom Maruska
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| PAGE 4 Jim Weatherly reproduces the crank damper as well as the blower control cable and brackets and a few other parts. He can be reached at Weatherly Classic Cars, 2303 W COMMONWEALTH AVE, Fullerton CA 92633, 714-525-9477. Don Antilla has been involved in the supercharged Fords and Thunderbirds since 1961 when he first bought his first three speed Bronze Thunderbird. This may make Don one of the longest standing F-engine people in the supercharged engine arena since he has been active in F- Birds and Fords for more than 45 years. "As a young kid I always wanted to go faster and started collecting original supercharger parts and Ford documentation on the Paxton-equipped engines well before most hot rodders were aware of the existence of the Ford factory supercharger option. Thinking back to the early sixties , I remember that most car enthusiasts asked me why I wanted to play with a temperamental supercharger on a five year old Ford. My answer was direct: "I want to go fast". That statement cost me my license more than once for excess speed as a youthful hot rodder. I persevered, hunted down and absorbed pieces of information from Ford Service Engineers, Ford Parts Managers, and a few guys who were running the Paxton supercharger at the drags. Most importantly, I collected the detail parts from Ford's inventory while the parts were still available, and got the opportunity to photograph original, untouched F-engine Thunderbirds before they were disturbed and modified by their owners. This information is important to have when restoring these blower cars." Don is the source for accurate reproductions of the supercharger and generator mounting brackets and the idler assembly. He also has reproduced the mandrel-formed molded pressure hoses for the "F" Thunderbirds. Don lives in Connecticut and continues to restore several Ford powered muscle cars as an active hobby. We understand that he has moderated his driving habits and obeys the speed limits. Don can be reached at 203 264-8301 or by email at fast427@sbcglobal.net |
Frank Stubbs reproduces the "F" Thunderbird special air cleaner and mounting brackets and he does a beautiful job. When I received mine it looked like I should put it in the china hutch and display it rather than put it in the engine compartment of a fifty year old car. In addition to his love for Tbirds Frank has a passion for "F" code passenger cars and station wagons as well. He has a registry for these rare cars similar to the one John Shields keeps for the "F" Birds. If you own one of the "F" Ford cars please send the VIN and DATA plate information to Frank Stubbs at 8331-144th Pl. SE, Newcastle Wa. 98059 or you can call Frank at 425-228-1012. Frank Rices "Rebop Castings" was started out of desperation. "I was in the middle of attempting to re-create a 1957 Ford "F" Code 312 Y block car. The original intent was to drive it on the street and race it once a year at the 'Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag' in Stanton Michigan. I'd assumed that since the car was a Ford the parts to build one would be available and easy to find. I was aware that there were not a lot of the cars built but really had no idea of the scarcity of the pieces required to clone one." Frank went on to find people who would let him borrow their rare parts to built foundry tooling and obtain measurements for machining. He was able to reproduce the blower mounting bracket for the "F" cars. That bracket differs from the bracket required for Thunderbirds in that the Ford cars had more room under the hood and the blower is mounted higher on the engine than is possible on the Thunderbirds. Frank Rice reproduces the carburetor bonnets for the supercharged Thunderbird and Ford passenger cars. He also makes some pulleys, idler assemblies and intake manifolds. Frank Rice can be reached at Frank Rice/ Rebop Castings, 52946 Eby Rd, Bristol, In 46507 or by email at peglegrice@msn.com and phone 574-848-1103. If you need any information or unique parts for "F" Thunderbirds or other Ford cars get ahold of these guys. If they can't help you they'll certainly direct you to someone who can. All of the other parts required for this restoration were purchased from Rod Olmsted at Larry's Thunderbird and Mustang Parts. The team at Larry's gave me a very good deal for purchasing all of the reproduction parts required from them. They include new glass all around, Completely new interior, all the weatherstripping and new suspension and steering parts to name a few. From the pictures you can see the extent this car has disassembled and may imagine how many parts will be used to make it that "New" 1957 Supercharged Thunderbird again. Return to TOM MARUSKA CARS TO PAGE 5 |