55 t bird ?

[yngrodder]

Are these exhaust factory or aftermarket? I'm looking at this car but I have no knowledge of older birds, any thing that I need to look at on it?

[raceron1120]

They don't look factory to me.

[miker98038]

I'm on the road, so my references aren't available. Based on my memory, I don't recall the knurling (or whatever), and seem to remember those covers being painted body color. I don't recall if the Connie kit was a factory option or aftermarket.

[billwill]

They are not factoryDone enen look good goodluck

[dmsfrr]

It's a '55 with an aftermarket continental kit added on. They look passable enough but mostly they're good for getting hung up on the ground going thru angled driveways. (or floating the front end like an overloaded pickup truck)
What is it? See this link....
http://www.portholeauthority.com/thu...tbirddesc.html

[yngrodder]

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Thanks. I like the car but I'm not liking the continental kit,

[paul2748]

Only little TBird that came with a factory continental kit was the 56.

[yngrodder]

So if I end up getting this car and I take off the continental kit what would I need to get to return it to stock? Original bumper brackets and is there a shorter panel between the body and bumper or does the bumper just move back to the body? What would the continental kit be worth if I would decide to sale it?

[dmsfrr]

I've never seen under one of those to be sure but yes, probably stock bumper brackets at least. (there's an extra jacking support bar on them too) Those 4 repro pieces new are about $200/ish, the original ones might still be under there. The stock bumper & bumperettes go up against the body. The black filler piece may be fastened on in a way that put some (screw?) holes in the body. Expect some repaint work. The longer exhaust pipes might be bolt-on parts easy to remove. In the photo it looks like they may have drilled & bolted chrome side extensions on the ends of the stock bumper so those holes would need repair & chrome -or just put the chromed bolts back in the empty holes if there's no other damage behind the bolt-on piece, but don't count on it.
If you find the right buyer at the right time (ebay?) I'm guessing you might get a couple hundred out of it unless a couple folks get into a bidding war, if you're lucky.

[y'sguy]

ok, I hafta jump in here. That continental kit is aftermarket. BUT ford and some others maybe dealers, experimented and made them or installed them. I've seen several in my years around the little cars. I just saw one this summer at Nationals.They are not my favorite but can be removed OR kept because of their uniqueness. In other words thy are worth more than you might think to the right person! They definatley have value and I sure wouldn't let it keep my from owning the car if you wanted to have that option. JMHO!

[y'sguy]

The "knurling" as Miker called it is Stainless steel heavy flexible tubing. My dad had one of these 55's back in the mid 60's.
The first complaints that FORD got back from customers were the 55 had no trunk space. OR backseat! Fords "improvement" of the car for the sake of sales continued on till 2-seaters were no more. the 4-seaters I believe outsold the early birds, bigtime. But history hasn't sustained that move.

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by y'sguy

ok, I hafta jump in here. That continental kit is aftermarket. BUT ford and some others maybe dealers, experimented and made them or installed them. I've seen several in my years around the little cars. I just saw one this summer at Nationals.They are not my favorite but can be removed OR kept because of their uniqueness. In other words thy are worth more than you might think to the right person! They definatley have value and I sure wouldn't let it keep my from owning the car if you wanted to have that option. JMHO!

I'll admit my opinion of these kits colored my low estimate of what it might be worth if resold. Also not wanting yngrodder to take my word for a (rose-colored?) estimate of what someone might pay for it, especially if it didn't work out right away. The re-sale price of a kit like this one depends on finding the right buyer at the right time.

[Ford coupe]

When I added a cont kit to my 55 crown vic the kit came with extensions to the original bumper brackets..So you may not need new bumper brackets..Good luck..