newbie with lots of question marks!

[bebufire]

Hi there folks!

We bought a 63 Bullet Bird Coupe and want to register the car as soon as possible. Before we can register the Bird we have to fit some regulations to pass the German state inspection and here start the problems :banghead

1. As we bought the car the engine ran smooth but there was a quiet "tick tick" noise. The noise became louder and louder. As I took of the drivers side valve cover I found a broken push rod at one cylinder. I guess this was the noise. How can this happen? Only from bad material used for the pushrods?
My problem now is to order some new pushrods. I am not sure about the right size. All the parts supplier I found offer different sizes e.g. rockauto.com offers at least 5 different lenghts. Of course, one thing would be to disassemble the camshaft and measure a intact one. But the question is how long should they be? I could not find a figure in the shop manual.

2. To register the car in Germany a must have as an emergency flasher. I found the thread about the pre 65 emergency flasher but if I understood it right, with this explanation only the rear flash lights work with the emergency flasher. I need a circuit where all four lights flash. How would you fix it?

3. Our doors close good but they sag a little bit as you can see on the pics. Is it a big thing to fix this?

These are the first questions I have in my mind. Hope you can help me a little bit. Thanks a lot!

Ben

 

[tbird5866]

I have found that valves sticking in the valve guides will bend (and maybe beaks) push rods. Check to see if the valves move freely in the guides. Why would you disassemble the camshaft??? You can, of course, remove all the pushrods and measure them. All should be the same length. Dose your car have adjustable rockers? If so, could you not use any of the lengths offered? You should be able to find an aftermarket flasher that uses all four lights. Try again!

 

[Jimz Bird]

Hi Ben,

For #2.

See if this helps. It is for older Fords but you may be able to adapt it. In the older Fords and Birds there is a single bulb for brake and turn light.

http://www.y-blocksforever.com/files/4wayflasherdiagram.pdf

HTH

Jim

 

[vincep99]

I would check Mac's for parts, they have a good selection and good service.

On the sagging doors, you have to rebuild the hinges. I did that on my 'Cuda and it was very easy (My T-Bird does not need it). You can buy the whole hinge (expensive!) or just the pins and bushings and do it yourself.

Support the door (with a small jack) and only remove one hinge at a time (to make alignment easy).

Good luck getting it through TueV!