Projects The bucket of ugly! A de-uglifying thread...

I Have used the PC680 in two 32 fords with 350 engines with no problems. Well i did replace one this week after 7 years!

 

And... enter bad luck. See, I'm one of those people who gets on alert when things are going good. And my build has been going kinda good. When I'm on a good run, that means "bad" is right around the corner. But sometimes, bad is good. Thursday morning, I hop in my daily to go to work and.... the transmission is dead. No gears at all. No signs of trouble prior. Just.... dead. Bad. I'd been waiting for... bad.

So, I'll be taking a 10 minute bus ride to work, while I get it fixed. I'm glad I didn't fill it with gas the night before. My land lord is kind enough to let me use his shop truck to run errands. But what that means is, I'll be putting money away to get my daily fixed, instead of buying car stuff. But, there is a silver lining. Everything I need to do my interior panels is on the way. The vinyl showed up yesterday. The 1/4" foam is on the way and the stainless steel cup washers and screws will ship Monday. All I'll need after that is the luan and I'm not sweating that either. Little set backs, just firm my resolve. Good.

Oh..... it freaking snowed in Houston, this morning. Being from upstate New York, I called it a dusting. The locals, however, were catatonic.


How's your luck been holding out?

 

Just put the final coat of black paint on the seat base. Moving on!

 

And done.

 

Im a little surprised Fred did not start with this fine example:

Must be the coupe version of our other favorite yellow bucket...

 

Cardboard templates for the interior panels.

 

Inside firewall?
Shifter boot?

I would suggest covering the back of the seat back with more fabric for a finished look, and then add a junkyard-sourced netting to allow carrying stuff without it flopping around.
Something like this
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-OEM-20...710988&hash=item5d60eebce5:g:9xoAAOSwzgBY3oT3

Cheap generic
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Nylon-Car-...Elastic-Mesh-Net-Holder-4-Hooks-/172662528316

Small version for side panels?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Car-Auto-R...et-Mesh-Storage-Bag-Pocket-Cage-/322612890337


PDF of the speedway interior kit installation
https://static.speedwaymotors.com/pdf/tbucket_interior.pdf

How's the trans in the DD?

 

Thanks, Rod. Actually, tonight's project was to install a panel on the seat back because the S/S screws finally showed up. As for the rest of the interior, I've posted my latest idea in the interior thread. As always, it's subject to change, but I doubt it.

 

Well dang, I've been relying on topic notifications to jump between this thread and that one (among others) and it's been quiet. Went over and caught up.
I still think the net would be a nice addition to keep the various stuff collected, but as you've clarified many times, it's YOUR build. Just suggesting!

A cloth tape measure makes a nice tool to space out those screws evenly around borders. Measure in from the edge a set amount (say 1/2") and chalk a line. Measure the entire line and divide so the screws are even all the way around. (say 70" = ten screws 7" apart would space too far, but 20 screws 3.5" apart would look nice) Measure all the panels and hope there is a spacing that works the same on all of them. You can 'fudge' this by moving the inset in or out slightly to lengthen or shorten the diameter and match them up.

P.S. I'd also suggest taking a beer can or something similar and use it to mark off rounding off the upper rear corners of the side panels. The tight sharp corners will not cover easily with foam backing and/or straight material. It will end up bulging or torn. At the very least, use a quarter as a curve pattern for those.

 

Some of you guys are taking my "my build" statements out of context. Not sure why, I thought I was clear with suggestions. Oh well. Something may have been lost in the translation.

 

Naw, you are asking for suggestions, tips, hints and opinions, but it's ultimately your car, your way. I get that.
Just as I might post a thread on color suggestions for my car, but in the end, I gotta buy, spray and live with it, so I will select what works for my ride.
Just trying to convey it through this medium.

 

Finished interior.

 

Looks pretty good Fred,you must be pleased with it! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

 

And.... the back panel.

 

Paint dried and I tossed the seat in.

 

Today, I was bored and decided to see if I could swing my leg over the edge of the body and get in like, "the good old days". Let's just say.... there's no turning back. Oh, I can do it. It just takes a little more thought.

 

Yes Sir, those doors are a handy item. JW

 

I’m never shopping at auto finishers again


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Well, nothing to do today, so my mind wandered to what I had planned, when I first started my build. This is from my first post on my build thread at http://www.tbucketeer.com/threads/black-dahlia.17229/

"A T Bucket with a slightly nostalgic feel and as much HP as I can afford. On that note, a few things I have planned may seem like over-kill, but it's because I don't want to find a bad ass motor and not have a strong platform to handle it. Next, wish bones in the front instead of radius rods and ladder bars for the rear. Ron's got some great ideas for a set, but I'll let him introduce them.

The body will be a stretch design. My first T Bucket took a few road trips to get used to, interior wise. This time, I want to sit a little lower and/or have some more leg room. Interior color will be red.

Wheels and tires, I'm not sure yet. My wallet is saying chrome reverse, but my heart wants something more El Mirage inspired. We'll see what happens. No wide white walls, this isn't a custom.... it's a Hot Rod."

That was 2 years ago. So far, I think I stuck to it pretty good. "Slightly nostalgic" went out the window. I changed my mind on Ron's ladder bars and in hide sight, I should have went with them. They are a great design, but when I switched from a "competition style" build, to more of a cruiser, I passed on them. And as things go, I have changed back to a slight "competition style", so Ron's ladder bars are still on my list of things to do in the future.

Next, the red interior. I always liked black cars with red interiors. Period. But when I truly embraced the idea of an all black car, I nixed that red idea. Again, switching to a slightly "competition style" look is what made me do the interior in all black. But now that I know how to do the interior and panels, switching to a red interior could be done in a weekend. As far as the interior panels go, I did a crap load of researching on T Bucket interiors. WAAAAY to much, actually, but I had a vision and just couldn't put a finger on it. But when I saw a few pics of a road race car and an interior with snaps to hold the panels, the S/S screws would be my version of a "purpose built" interior. See, IMO, Hot Rods don't have posh panels and seats. Just what's needed to go down the track/road. The idea was to take stuff off the car, not add to it. So, my panels are as close as I can get to no panels at all. And my seat? Old age creeping in (my back) dictated a need for good support. Rotten Leonards side brackets gave me that "competition style", I keep mentioning. But I still would have liked separate seats and that's still a possibility, but way down the road.

I stayed true to my desire for a stretched body and I'm so glad I did. The CCR body was never a second thought. I didn't originally want a door, but Diane at CCR "talked" me into it. A HUGE thanks to Diane, "Resinator" and the crew at CCR. This body is so good, I probably won't even paint it. And that's not out of lack of funds. It's because of the way I treated my old T Bucket. I never once worried about getting a chip or scratch. Never. When I climbed in, I did so without worrying if my shoes scuffed the body. I drove my old T Bucket just about every day and I'll do the same with this one. "Black Dahlia" ain't a damn show car!

Wheels and tires? Well, I still like chrome reversed wheels and a "dry lakes" style wheel (smooth) is always cool. But when I stumbled on those all black Cragar's, there was no other wheel that would work. They aren't what I consider a "dry lakes" look, but they grabbed me hard and at about $69 each, that was a done deal. Originally, I didn't want trim rings because I didn't think they'd go with a competition look. But I yielded to Exjunk and Gerry's thoughts on them and I'm glad I did. They are just the amount of flash an all black car needed.

And that's it. Nothing else going on, except trying to fix my daily driver. Anybody know anything about computer codes or something like that, on transmissions in a 2006 Ford Taurus? So, now I'm going to go sit in my car for a while and figure out my next step. I honestly don't have an idea..... yet.

 

Damn fine words Fred, cant wait for the next stage. JW

 

Hello all,
I am new to this site and I am Looking for information on this front suspension. I've read a lot about Dan Woods and his front end but can't find anything on where to buy them today. Her is my car a 24 T, her former owner said she was built in the late 60s to 70s. Have registrations prior to him from the Museum Quality out of Huntington Beach in California who had it from 86 thru 92, also with the paperwork where a R.D. Carrisosa sold it to Museum Quality in 86. Just looking to see if this is a real Dan Woods suspension and chassis?

 

Looks like it could be or a variation of his style. A few people used that design for a while.

 

Is there a way to tell who's it is??? I have never seen this before until this bucket.

 

That would require better pictures and a keener eye than mine. Maybe it's this car.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/original-dan-woods-t-bucket.797122/

 

No it's not that car. I'll have to take some better pics of it and post tomorrow.
Who else made this type of front suspension?

 

Guys sorry to be the bearer of sad tidings but Gary Defer (steel rebel) has passed away


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Seriously? That's awful. Details? Thoughts and prayers for his family...

 

Oh man I’m sad to hear that. I liked Gary a lot and he was a great part of the family here.
I’m proud to say that Gary was a friend.

RIP Gary

Hopefully we can hear more about what happened and I will also add my prayers for his family.

 

Thats sad news. Gonna miss him here.

 

His daughter posted on his Facebook page apparently had a fall a couple of days ago


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