I've recently got my first classic car. It's a 1968 Thunderbird tudor Hard Top. The original Bench seats are in bad condition, And I planned to restore the car, it has a rip on the driver's side, and on the passengers. Should i take this to sewing shop or something? Also, The passenger visor is broken off. Any idea on fixing that? It has a 429 in it, Do i need to add lead to the fuel? "If you don't know, Go ahead and ask.." Sorry for the newbie questions.

You should be able to find a shop that does automotive upholstery in your area. Around here, most places doing convertible top replace/repair also do this if this helps you locate them in the phone book. Also, they may be listed under auto detailing. Check with John Draxler at the Thunderbird Ranch,host of this website, regarding the visor he may have one or the Ranch website has the names of parts suppliers who will have this.

You do not need to use leaded gas any longer. The valves are coated with enough lead now to protect the seats. You can burn unleaded from now on. If you ever decide to rebuild the engine, "hardened" valve seats should be installed by the machine shop. Most do this now automatically but be sure to ask.

The only gas problem you may have is ethanol. If the car is original, some of the gaskets in the fuel system may not be ethanol compatible. Eventually they will start to break down and you will notice leaks.

Welcome to the hobby, have a great time.

Vince

Rebuilding the Engine is one of the first things i am doing.

On the rebuild, probably you are going to do the carb at the same time. The current rebuild kits have gaskets useable with all fuels. Same with replacement filters. I don't know if the fuel pump diaghram is a problem or not. Maybe the machine shop knows. Regardless a new pump is not that much in the scheme of things.

Think about yanking the radiator and get it serviced while you wait for the engine to come back. Gives you more room to work on pulling engine and you'll know it won't be the next thing to go after the fresh engine is in.