Hot Rods T Bucket Interiors

You must have been looking over my shoulder when I called CCR to tell them what's going on. They've got their people keeping track of all this crap. 2 weeks from California to Texas is not good business.

 

This morning at work, I was driving a fork lift and noticed some styro foam sheets in a recycle bin. A little voice said, "You need that!" So, I scooped them up. 4 sheets, 24" x 1.5" x 48". It's not on my list, but it's mine now.

 

Now..... as if the delivery truck wasn't cool enough, Fedex dropped off Rotten Leonards seat braces! Might get a lotto ticket tonight

Here they are.


This is a quick mock up for my bench seat. The cross brace has 2 tabs with a hole in each. These holes will secure the bench seat in the front. I plan to have the bench extend about an inch in front of the brace. I'm doing this for 2 reasons. 1. I plan to have the rear of the bench 3" high, so combined with the angle of the seat, this will set the back of the seat about 1.5" from the rear of the body. 2. With the seat back being away from the rear body wall and at an angle, removal of the seat will be a simple "lift up and out" movement. Here are a couple pics with the rear of the brace 3.5" high or 1" below the front brace.




Who tha hell is this guy!?

 

Go Fred, Go!!!

 

Look, man! No knees showing! In a T Bucket!?

 

Gad you got the body.You like the door yet? Cool B-Whaler also

 

Ah....... the door. Having been used to climbing into a T Bucket, the door as of now is a novelty I'm getting used to. I used it today without a thought and truth be told, it's cool to be able to step in. I'm sure more people will enjoy the easy entry. With my last Bucket, the number 1 excuse for refusing a ride, was having to climb into in the car. Sometimes it wasn't mentioned, but I could tell by the look they gave the side of the car.

So, being able to share the fun of these cars with more people, makes the extra cost worth it. Plus, I'm getting up in years and I'd hate to wake up and not be able to drive my Hot Rod, if it didn't have a door. So, the door is a "win win".

 

These are rear seats from a Camaro.

 

i see you got your T body , now they will never wipe the grin off your face lol

 

Black Dahlia's Bench Seat

Today I started my bench seat. I had already made out a list of materials and I drew out a plan. Took 4 attempts before I was pleased with it. Went to Lowe's and got my supplies.


Here are my 2 pieces of 3/4" marine grade plywood. I had a 4'x4' piece cut in half.


I drew out my cuts on the plywood, with the plans close by. I only bought 2 pieces of wood, so there was no room for error. Mark once, measure 3 times and cut!


When I had my pieces cut, I set them up to get an idea what the seat would look like.


Using the seat frames as a template, I marked where the bolts would go to fasten the frames to the wood. Now, I knew if I ran bolts through the wood and seat frames, I'd have no way to fully tighten the nuts, once everything is covered with foam and vinyl. My solution was inserts. They screw into the wood, then you can run your bolt into it and won't need a nut on the opposite end, when you tighten things up. . Simple, right? WRONG! They were a pain in the ass to screw in! But, I stuck with it and finally got all six in. I also installed the 2 pins for the seat brace using the same inserts.


Test fit. SUCCESS!




I bolted things together and checked for fit in the body.




If you look closely, the back of the seat touches the back of the body. I'M NOT DONE YET, MAN! Next installment will be taking it apart and installing webbing, foam and maybe the vinyl.

 

Today was a little redo day. Remember the inserts I used yesterday, to run my seat bolts into? Good. Today I replaced them with the type that you put it by drilling your hole and putting them in with a hammer. I think they'll hold just as good or better. Yesterday, no one had them. Well, today I was visiting a friend and he suggested a mom & pop hardware store near him. A quick trip and they had them! So, when I got home, I swapped out the others for these. The new ones are on the right. Why the swap? A couple of the brass ones broke, but still had enough thread to hold the bolt. Basically, using them was a half assed job and I kinda knew I could do better.


They went in a lot easier and have a much cleaner appearance. I also replaced the washers.


Then, it was time to do the webbing. This little project took longer than expected and I stopped working when I was done. It was pretty easy, but my hand is stuck in a "clenched fist" from using the stapler. I found some good, heavy webbing and I used 1/2" staples. Those straps are on for life.


I'm letting the foam sit another day, as per the manufacturers instructions, so I probably won't cover the seats, until this weekend.

 

Seatbelts should not be bolted to the frame of the car. If by some chance the body of the car was to shift or tear off in an accident the belt would cut you in two. I have not seen a single aftermarket seat belt company that provides hardware for or suggests bolting seat belts to the frame of a car.

 

With a fiberglass body I would much prefer the belts to be bolted thru both the body and frame.

 

This makes zero sense to me. The idea, I assume, being that the belts are more likely to pull through fiberglass but that also means the body is far more likely to separate from the frame for the exact same reasons making it even more likely you will get caught attached to the frame as the body tries to leave chassis.

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I want to do everything I can to make sure the body and frame stay together and if it doesn't I don't believe that it would matter which piece I would be belted into!

 

You can do as you please. I will follow what the seatbelt companies suggest. I assume they know more than either of us.

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K13...how many T buckets have you built? Bolting the belts to the frame is the only way to go. Been putting aftermarket belts in cars since 1957.

 

While I usually didn't use seat belts, my thought is if I did, it wouldn't matter where they were attached. A hard hit in a T Bucket is a closed or open coffin decision. I'm going to bolt mine to the body and that's it. When I decide to wear them and why, is my own decision.

 

i would think if they were bolted to just the glass body, it wouldn't take much of a hit to rip the mounting hardware and split the glass and rip it out. in oem mounts they are mounted to the floor in reinforced plates. the floor being steel and not likely to pull through in a wreck. i have broken glass mounts before in floor bolts and such. so i know it happens. i would think it more secure to mount them through the glass and onto the frame. in a severe wreck maybe the belts will rip through the glass but your still going to stay in your seat.

 

If you are going to mount them just to the body, at least use large plates as the mounting points, so that they can't be ripped out easily! Remember the seat belts have just one bolt mounting it where the body will be attached more securely to the frame and that will give you a lot more strength! Just saying, do what you feel is the best, then do it to the best of your ability!

 

I'm thinking if I am wearing a seatbelt in a small car, fiberglass T Bucket or even steel, in a collision I want to go with the main part of the car not fly out with the body or just the bolts that hold the belt to the body. Of course all this would be better with a roll bar unless the roll bar is so low that your head could be smashed between it and whatever you hit.

Rebel

 

Okay..... decided to install the foam and cover the seat and back. They came out good and I'll have pics tomorrow. But a problem popped up. The tee nuts won't hold. So, I've got an upholstered bottom and back, but can't figure out a way to attach them to the side braces. If I can't come up with something, I'll order some more vinyl, take everything apart and start over. Luckily, I have more time than money.

 

Fred, when I did the wheel pants on my old coupe, I had the same problem with the T nuts I used. I ended up fiber glassing them to the backer board
before I had the upholstery done

 

I think I may have a solution. I'll run it past you guys, so tell me what you think. I could drill new holes in the brackets and use wood screws to attach them to the base and back. The wood is 3/4" so some 3/4" screws wouldn't come through the other side. I figure..... 4 or maybe 5 screws on each leg of the brackets would hold. As of now, that's the best I can come up with. Opinions?

 

Cafeteria chairs, LOL

 

That's how I did mine seemed to hold fine.

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Did you hammer the threaded inserts into the correct (other) side of the plywood?

 

First time using them. Now, I feel like a real bonehead. I'll use screws tomorrow and be done with it. Wow. I hate when learning something hurts. The screws will be hidden, so it's all good. wow

 

This would have helped 24 hours ago.

 

Okay. New day, fresh start. Just got back from Lowes with the lag bolts (which are actually screws). I marked and drilled the brackets. I also got a piece of 16ga to make a support in the middle of the assembled seat. Now, after my bonehead move with the tee bolts, I am treading a little slower. Taking my time and thinking things out.

Some may ask, "Why not take everything apart and use the inserts?" If it had been any other part of my car, I would have. But the bottom and back pieces came out a lot better than I thought they would. I'm really not sure I could do it that good again. Plus, I used a LOT of staples, so taking it apart would ruin the material. So, I'm adapting and over coming yesterdays screw up and moving on. The new bolts won't be visible or inhibit the final goal. Which is a nice, comfortable seat.

Gonna watch a little TV, drink some coffee and get started.