The Thunderbird Chronicles: What's in A Name; Repair and Maintenance

Today I get to the business of living with and getting the Bird to the minimum state articulated: Sunday Driver worthy. However, there is still one bit of high jinks left and that is the issue of a name. I have never named a car before and thought it was kind of silly to give names to inanimate objects. I never went around naming each of my screwdrivers and my computer does not have a name. I would definitely like to meet the person that had a name for their computer or tools.

Nonetheless in thinking about the story of getting this car, it made me realize a basic and obvious point. Everyone has their own experiences and naming those experiences through an object can give it place, meaning and memory that can not be taken away. One can argue that it already has a name, Thunderbird; but that is Ford's vision of what the car is. My wife, who likes to remain nameless, owns a 2004 Honda Civic named Paquito. She thinks her Honda is cute and she likes the name. She dreads the day that she might have to get a new car and we have done our best to keep him roadworthy. Paquito reliably soldiers on as her daily driver in all four seasons. She has even done some DYI projects for Paquito. She will never admit to it and/or think I am full of it, but to me this makes her a car gal. With that said, what's my vision; what's my experience? Not sure yet, but I would not mind suggestions for a name.

rusted left side parking brake cable

So with that sloshing around the ole noggin, I can officially say a clean title with no liens or blood is in hand. A mechanic went through the Bird to see what it needed to get a state inspection sticker. There were a few things I knew were already questionable in terms of passing inspection, such as the passenger side seat belts that has been gnawed on by one of Joe's pets. Other items that were noted were a inner/outer tie rods on one side, end links, brake line and parking brake cables (left, click on for larger image). The one that caught my attention was brake line. This was not a problem when I first saw the car as there were no leaks underneath and no spots on the frame. So, I wonder if there was an issue when getting the car towed and if the practice of loading and unloading the car on a flatbed caused any damage. The mechanic showed me an obvious leak while the car was on the lift. Regardless, glad there were no issues the times I was driving. Also, I am undecided on a plan to deal with the transmission and its shifting. My question to myself is does it need to be rebuilt or would a fluid flush improve it?  Well, a fluid flush should be done anyway and that will probably inform me of next steps. At this stage, locating these parts are not a problem. Rock Auto seems to have what I need so far and several model specific suppliers like Thunderbird SC Shop and Super Coupe Performance have replacement and performance parts new and used. Still, I figure at some point surfing Thunderbird car forums will be a needed resource for parts.

Over the next couple of days I will be ordering the rest of the parts on the list and just have the mechanic install them in addition to fluid maintenance that has not been performed. I will tackle the seat belts and some exterior trim as they are small jobs. I am still navigating the pitfalls of city life over the space needed to do other work as we get deeper into fall and eventually winter, but not a big hurdle; communication and courtesy can go a long way. So as it stands, I have a car with no name and a list of parts that need installing.