This 1955 Thunderbird is a Hurricane Katrina Survivor.  It was parked inside a garage in Slidell La in 1987 from apparant transmission problems judging by what we saw when we opened up the torque conveter.  The owners had back burnered restoration, but Katrina moved it back up to the front burner.  In the first photo the water level from the hurricane can be seen by the muck on the walls and the items tossed about in the garage by the force of the storm.  When we received the car in late October the air breather, entire engine, exhaust system, and taillights were still full of water and there were a few petrified sea creatures found inside.

We immediately pulled the engine/trans, rear axle and rebuilt them.  After building some braces to tie the front to the back in the door jams we were able to lift the body off the frame.  The entire Electical System will be replaced, interior re-done as well as paint and body.

The frame and suspension parts have all been powder coated, including the rear end and the front and rear suspension has been installed.  The engine/trans were installed the week of April 24th, 2006, and the brake/fuel lines have been roughed in.  The engine, rebuilt by Bryan Maloof Racing runs better than new, and you would never know it hadn't run for 20 years and was under 9 feet of sea water.

In late November 2006, the floor pans were finished, the underside and engine bay prepped and painted, and the body was lowered on the frame. Soon thereafter, the brake system was brought to life.  The car now runs, drives, stops, steers, and backs up.  The owner has already had the first ride in it in over 20 years and is thrilled.

Major Bodywork is now underway.  The quarters have been cut where necessary, and the LH Rocker panel was cut out.  Unfortunatley the reproduction patch panels as with the floor pans leave alot to be desired and will make this a bit of a challenge.  The left quarter had been hit 30+ years ago and a quarter that was cut off another car braised on, beat down and heavily bondoed.

Painting has begun to get this girl back to looking her best!

Click on each picture below to see a larger version of the image. Also, check out the videos at the bottom of this page.