Remove Continental Tire from '56 Bird?

[Anteek29]

Is it an easy job to remove the continental tire 'kit' from a 1956 Bird and make it like the cleaner back end of a 1955 Bird? I know the bumper treatment is different for the '55. What about bumper brackets?
Thanks Guys!

[dmsfrr]

Most of it unbolts. But there is some extra horizontal bodywork just forward of the bumper.
If it's cut off to fit a '55 rear bumper & brackets to the car it may make the car slightly less valuable to a subsequent owner, since it won't be as easy to return to original. If that matters to you... or the next owner.

Maybe you could just remove the center section of the bumper? Like this yellow '56.
.

[flatrod]

Along with the tail pan dmfrr mentioned being shortened, there is a issue with the bottom of the quarter panel where the 56 exh came out, then the licsene plate doesn't fit where the 55 plate went. But once the pan is shortened a 55 bumper and brackets will bolt right on.

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by flatrod

.... there is a issue with the bottom of the quarter panel where the 56 exh came out, ....

Here's a photo of the lower rear corner of a '55 Bird fender,
that isn't there on a '56, to make room for the exhaust pipe.
.

[KULTULZ]

SOURCE- http://vintagethunderbirdclub.net/ph...pic.php?t=9912

[Herman Munster]

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The rear end looks a bit too clean without the 55 bumper guards. Would the sedan guards work? Also I've read the the conti-kit helped tame of the handling characteristics of the 55. Taking it off might make it handle in a way you might not like.

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by Herman Munster

The rear end looks a bit too clean without the 55 bumper guards. Would the sedan guards work? Also I've read the the conti-kit helped tame of the handling characteristics of the 55. Taking it off might make it handle in a way you might not like.

I've heard some folks say the 56's feel a bit tail-heavy and bottom out more easily.
But they look excellent anyway.
Sedan bumper guards? That could be a very good idea.

"Placing the spare tire at the extreme rear of the car caused some changes to the way the car handled. Drivers soon became familiar with the tendency of the rear to fishtail, and experienced some instability during strong crosswinds. This was a new concern, and one that Ford would need to address before the next model year."
http://automotivemileposts.com/tbird...lections.shtml

[miker98038]

There’s a story about the Connie kit. First one was the 55 wouldn’t holding 2 sets of golf clubs. So they added the Connie to solve that. I found that hard to believe till my buddy bought a Caddy STS, and it had a plaque in the trunk on how to fit 4 sets of clubs. Ha!

The other story is the 55 floated in the rear at high speeds, and the Connie weight and drag kept the rear end down at speed. That’s opposite to the rear heavy wandering story, and I have no clue which one is true.

At one point I had a custom Connie kit on my 55, I used a reduced size spare off an Aerostar van. Had the right bolt pattern, rolling radius, and cleared the front disc. Those are all pretty old now, but I’m pretty sure you can find a light reduced size spare at the junkyard that would take up less trunk space if you want to carry a spare.

I personally like the 56 rear panel (no exhaust openings) and the 55 bumper with pipes turned down under the rear quarters. Clean and light.

[fordrodsteven]

the only issue I was ever told about the addition of the continental kit was that the early '56's had the same frame as a '55. The frame would flex too much with the continental kit hanging off the back. Ford then added some plates to the frame to beef it up to stop the flexing. One of the guys in my Thunderbird club told me of a guy once restoring a '56 who cut those plates off the frame which caused the flexing problem to rear it's ugly head.
The sedan bumper guards sounds like a good idea if you want to add that "dress up" to the area. I don't think the '55 guards would look right.

[KULTULZ]

Or, you could...

Originally Posted by miker98038

I personally like the 56 rear panel (no exhaust openings) and the 55 bumper with pipes turned down under the rear quarters. Clean and light.

The first and second attachments show the rear bumper-ettes with what are called bullets inserted and the exhaust outlets under the rear bumper.

[KULTULZ]

Originally Posted by miker98038

The other story is the 55 floated in the rear at high speeds, and the Connie weight and drag kept the rear end down at speed. That’s opposite to the rear heavy wandering story, and I have no clue which one is true.

I believe both are true. I read an article somewhat recently (didn't save it) describing how the 55/56 rear would float at speed (similar to 59 CHEV). The moving of the fins on the 57 created more down-force, eliminating the problem.

As far as the 56 frame reinf kit, that most likely would have been described in a PRODUCT SERVICE LETTER of the period.

If an owner experiences the 56 malady (CONT KIT), a stronger rear spring, shock and possibly rear sway bar would correct it (while retaining the reinf kit if so equipped).

IMO of course...

[KULTULZ]

Finally got my copy of May-June 03 Early Bird - here is the response to Rich Morrill's question from Gil Baumgarten, CTCI Authenticity Chairman on Page 42 ...

"All 1956 Thunderbirds until mid-February 1956 had a metal strap approx. 1/2 inch thick welded to the bottom of the frame for additional strength. The last known 1956 model with this reinforcement was built the 19th of Feb. 1956; after that all 1956 models had a beefed-up X- member. This information is covered in the Restoration Manual on pages 210 and 211,

SOURCE- http://www.tbirdforum.com/forums/ear...d-chassis.html

Frame reinforcement early 1956 models, page 211

SOURCE- https://www.ctci.org/restoration.php

[miker98038]

I stumbled across these guys selling the bumpers on eBay a while back. No visible bolts. You need to build your own brackets off the frame (or modify the existing). But you might be able to shift the bumper enough to accommodate a filler panel. I don’t own a 56, so I don’t know. Might be worth a call.

http://www.regalroadsters.com/gallery_custom_01.html

[flatrod]

Originally Posted by miker98038

I stumbled across these guys selling the bumpers on eBay a while back. No visible bolts. You need to build your own brackets off the frame (or modify the existing). But you might be able to shift the bumper enough to accommodate a filler panel. I don’t own a 56, so I don’t know. Might be worth a call.

http://www.regalroadsters.com/gallery_custom_01.html

I bought a set of there bumpers about a year ago, haven't even unwrapped them yet! They were good to deal with, and supplied a plans to build new brackets.

[cb]

I removed the continental kit off my 56 a while back, I never liked the look of it myself nothing against the guys that do. I purchased 55 rear brackets from one of the many t-bird vendors and found a very nice 55 rear bumper. I cut off the rear valance down to about an inch and welded on a trimmed down 64 galaxie front bumper to grill filler piece perfect contour to match the bumper, and filled in the bottom rear corners were the exhaust use to go through with pieces of left and right 57 ford lower quarter patch panels another perfect match. For the license plate I made a bracket and mounted to the existing holes from the cont. kit, also used a 55 license plate lite mounted to the existing holes in the deck lid.

[cb]

Tried adding pictures to big ?

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by cb

Tried adding pictures to big ?

Since the server change a few weeks back I haven't had any luck attaching any images 2mb or larger. Have to shrink them first before they'll upload, kind of a pain.

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by dmsfrr

Since the server change a few weeks back I haven't had any luck attaching any images 2mb or larger. Have to shrink them first before they'll upload, kind of a pain.

Yes, I had to go back to using Flickr to upload pictures.

Someone mentioned car bumper guards. Look into StationWagon or Sedan Delivery bumper guards. They are shorter to clear the open tailgate. I think they would look nice.

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by dmsfrr

Since the server change a few weeks back I haven't had any luck attaching any images 2mb or larger. Have to shrink them first before they'll upload, kind of a pain.

Yes, I had to go back to using Flickr to upload pictures.

Someone mentioned sedan bumper guards. Look into StationWagon or Sedan Delivery bumper guards. They are shorter to clear the open tailgate. I think they would look nice.

[cb]

If you go over to Vintagethunderbirdclubinternational and click on 1955-1957 modified/custom thunderbirds and go down about 8 threads and click on 56 bird minus continental kit I some pictures of mine.