My elderly parents are in poor health and I need to raise some money for some long needed house repairs at their place. My dad has had this fad T frame for years and we decided to try and sell it. First I need to try and figure out what it is. He has had it since the 80s so I am assuming it was built in the 70s. It does not look home made so I am assuming it came from a rod shop such as Speedway. The wheelbase looks to be around 92 inches. It has tabs for motor mounts, tranny mount, steering box mount, front and rear 4-bar brackets and pockets for rear coil springs and tube shocks. We were told when he bought it that it had a Mopar rear end. The bolt circle is 5 on 4” which I believe is what came in a Plymouth Valiants and Dodge Darts. The rear end also has brackets for 4-bars and a sway bar. It has a tube front axle and 4-bar. The 4-bars look to be 10 inches too short to make it to the frame’s 4-bar mounts. The front bolt circle is 5 on 4-1/2”. It has drum brakes on all four corners but is missing the rear drums. Anyone have a guess on who made it and around what year? And what be a fair price to ask for it?
It looks like a lot of frames built in the early 70's The spring buckets say that they intended to use Corvair front coil springs as rear springs. Quite a common T bucket thing then and I had that same setup on mine. 4 bar setup is either move the mounts or have new proper length rods threaded to fit. Not a big deal nor an expensive deal. A slight deduct in price for that though. A guy might be able to swap to 5 on 4-1/2 bolt pattern axles on the rear end . I put the same rear end out from under a Duster under my 69 Barracuda back in the early 70's when the little rear axle it had went out. Good rear but the little bolt pattern wheels are hard to find now. A guy can buy that and have it be a roller with an engine and trans in it in a week or less. New bars for the 4 link, Maybe swap rear axles for the larger bolt pattern and easier to find drums. I think but may be wrong that it is set up for a Mustang steering box. Front brakes are probably Econoline but a bit of research might tell there. Frame looks well built and solid an with the other pieces is a pretty Good start on a T. I don't think it is worth a fortune but would ask close to 1000 for it to start and see what cash offer I got. It's a lot easier to take a six or seven hundred dollar cash green money in the hand offer for it than offer it up for six or seven hundred and get a four hundred dollar offer.
About 20 years ago I bought a roller chassis built the same way. It had the complete 4 bar front and radius rods on the rear but used a GM metric rearend. It had the springs and shocks in the back and complete front suspension. I gave $300 for it. It also had 1964 American Racing magnesium 5 spokes on the front, that was really the only reason I bought it. Speedway sells a complete bare frame for $400 or a complete roller with all new parts for $2000. Might give you an idea of range of value.
************************************************************************************** AGREED! Find the numbers cast onto the center section. This will tell you what case you have. (Different cases are more desirable than others.) There are correct length axles available for that rear, that will convert it to a 5-on-4.5" pattern like the front. It's probably the dinky 9" brakes back there, but someone could have been doing a conversion, and couldn't find the correct drums that was needed. And try to determine if it's a "Sure-Grip" diff. (Posi, for you GM guys.) If it does turn out to be a S/G rear, that'll jack the price up, too. (I'd like to have that rear myself, but my checkbook ain't thick enough.) Roger
OK, you have a "741" case. The sure grip I.D. would be on a tin/aluminum tag held on by one of the center section bolts. That would also tell you the ratio, if the tag is still there. If the tag is gone, stick a breaker bar, or some other scrap of metal into the axle studs on one side, so that it won't rotate. Then, attempt to rotate the opposite side axle. If you can't rotate it, or it's quite stiff, then it's probably a sure-grip. With what info you're digging up, you can justify your asking price to whomever might be looking to buy it. Here's some good reading for you. http://www.mymopar.com/Mopar8_75RearEndGuide.htm Roger
Last year I bought a never used 1970's built 1926-27 TCI chassis minus rear Axle but complete tube front with steering in place and brakes for $500.oo. Seller started at $1500.oo Seller worked the add for 6 weeks on Craigs List. The Wizzard
Same rear end I put in my roadster, it came out of a 70 or so Demon or Duster. 5 bolt on a 4 inch circle. It was a poor choice from a dollar standpoint and I got the housing for $100.00. By the time I had a set of gears and brakes in it I had about $600.00 in it and still had a bolt pattern that no body makes a wheel for. I'd sell the rear on a Mopar A body web site for $400.00 or so and get what you can for the frame. My guess is the frame and front axel are worth $300.00 to $500.00 . If you sell the frame with the rear end it's worth $300.00 to $500.00. separate them to get the most money. My opinion only.
Is there a T-bucket forum where you could Post it for sale Sent from my SM-G550T using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
You might go to Spirit Industries web page www.spiritcars.com and click on the heading "The Experience", that will get you to their forums and classifieds. Good luck...
There was a T bucket body and kit manufacturer here in Marshalltown in the 60's. I think the name was Bird, but I could be mistaken. I remember seeing old ads in the magazines.
$300 at most a guy can build the frame for a $60 stick of 2x3 steel and some scrap plate. $100 or less for frame
Thanks for all of the advice. I was able to sell the frame, front axle and rear axle for $500. The money is going for repairs for my parent's house.
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