no one hurt, just a minor bumper car event in the slippery conditions over in charlottsville va day before yesterday
looks like we need a header panel but for the moment,,, if anyone has a grille, that would be nice.
now,, technically speaking..........
the way the header panel attaches to the upper portion of the bumper cover, i have told my son that we should never install metal bolts again.
if for some reason he hits something again with the bumper, then these plastic bolts should shear off and save the header panel.
there really is no structural reason i can think of to use metal bolts along the bottom of the header where the bolts pass through the bumper cover to catch those welded nuts.
thoughs anyone on this ??? again this would only be for the bolts that are along the bottom of the header panel that attach the bumper cover.
also, again, a grille would be nice if anyone can spare one!!
easier to just call me,, 304 772 3411 or 304 772 4082,, ask for scott
Ouch. That sucks. Oh well, at least nobody was hurt, and it's just a minor bit of damage.
I have a NOS 83-86 header panel, but that won't help you much (unless you had a 4-eye conversion planned for the future, heh).
I got a grill in decent shape from a 87 bird, ill hook ya up. I've had it for 5 years now.
I don't remember the thread of the header panel, but in model airplanes we use 1/4" nylon wing bolts for the exact sane reason. they are pretty cheap and you can generally find them at hardware stores. I would worry about bumper flex though. I have to touch the nose on my cars to shut the gate for the driveway. I could see those bolts breaking loose pretty easy. id guess a sheer strength of less then 6lbs each bolt.
There's nothing structural for support whatsoever between the bumper cover and the header panel. All those bolts do is keep the bumper cover from flopping like schlongs at the strip club lol.
bummer! Glad nobody was hurt.......
we have a tc nose and hood conversion ready for when mason is home long enough to swap out stuff and have a paint job done.
for now, we will repair the header as good as possible, then add a grill.
thanks Stacks!
if you can get it in the mail that would be great!, mason is home for the 25th - the 27th.
ill pm you ,,,
I have a cat grill, you can confuse a few.
The local pick a part has an 88 Sport. I know the grill was intact as I pulled the header and bumper cover from it as spares. I left the grill in the car but I have no idea if it's still there or not. I'd go back but there is 6+ inches of snow on the ground and they don't shovel the yard.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Grille-1987-88-Ford-Thunderbird-interchange-1248-exc-Turbo-coupe-/370738835077?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3AThunderbird%7CSubmodel%3ATurbo&hash=item5651c1ae85&vxp=mtr
A grille listed on ebay.
thanks everyone! and Haystack!
seems there is a couple TC an hour from my son,, nokesville va area,,, and one is silver already.
so,, a little update...
the driver of the other car called in to our insurance co,, not really sure at this time what is going on. there was no damage to his trailer hitch / ball
"My neck! My back! My neck AND my back! I want a hundred and fifty thousand!" -- Ezal, "Friday" 1995
Hopefully I can help you with the parts that you need. I just bought another silver 88 TC parts car yesterday with a non running motor. I have lots of good rust free body parts.
well, its saturday morning,, 50Racer ,,, my son is hopefully already up your way pulling parts. i moved some money over to his account to get some parts,, and to help fund this. He is attempting to put back spares and i do as well. hopefully he can spend his money wisely and you can know the parts are going to a good home.
He drives his bird like there are no remaining parts on planet earth.. and yet he still had this happen.
We appreciate you allowing him to come up and get things sorted.
here is the damage to the other drivers S10
Well, he came and retrieved a bunch of parts and I even through in a couple extra. I shoulda taken a pic of his car as it pulled out with that hood strapped to the top! :) He was loaded down. Hopefully everything went ok. At least someone here has seen my inventory now. I NEED TO SELL SOME PARTS!!!
The business is greatly appreciated also!! Enjoyed meeting your son!
Uh you mean Ranger don't you?? :-)
thank you very much!
i do have pics of him loaded up.. too funny!
he totally forgot to spend some time getting goddies i had asked for,, dang it!!!!
50racer~ did you know the hood liner of that TC hood you sold him has a full bird emeded in the fabric?
i thought those were only aftermarket..?
I didn't notice the emblem. I just picked up that car on Wednesday. I was just really surprised at how good the shape it was still in. Best I've seen! Just let me know if there are pieces you may need. Chances are pretty good that I have them. Thanks again!
here is a shot of the hood liner.... he already has the hood on yesterday afternoon. I hope he got the header panel on today after his work,,, havent heard from him since the hood was done.
That really is pretty cool. I completely missed it. I just picked up that car on Wednesday and I haven't really had a chance to look it over real good. PO said it had a rebuilt motor when he got it two years ago, but the head was from a normally aspirated 2.3 and after a year of driving it, it blew the head gasket. I haven't even checked out the engine compartment very well. It does have a lot of good parts though.