I am planing to get a 1923 ford T-bucket any advice on what to check out for while inspecting it? Sent from my 5085Y using Tapatalk
There are a million things to look for. Kinda like asking "I'm going to go buy an old house. What should I look for?" Strong foundation, good workmanship, nice finish, eye appeal.
Exactly what Alchemy says, theres so many things, basically look at everything! maybe post a pic of the one youre looking at, give us some ideas. frame, body, suspension, motor, electrical, brakes. Yep those are the first things Id look over
Quality of build, use of real hot rod parts, street-ability of the engine, comfort and fit of driving position, drive-ability of car. Lack of clown-car-ness.
There are T bucket kits that guarantee at least a minimal level of safety and good design. A home made job could be anything. How much do you know about cars and hot rods? Do you have a specific car in mind? What do you want it for? Do you want a wild show car that is undrivable? Do you want something you can use for fun weekends and occasional transportation? Turning heads at fairground shows and A&W parking lots or long drives on blue hiways?
Look for the lowest powered engine you can find. I am not kidding. The typical T bucket weighs 2000 pounds or less and has primitive suspension and brakes. The temptation is to fit the big block engine, or supercharged engine, or wild souped up engine, which makes the car a real handful and no fun to drive. A mild small block V8, or even a V6 or 4 cylinder will give you a better balanced better driving car.
the "snotty" little 283 in my roadster has more power than I can handle!`The most fun on four wheels I've ever had... You're probably not going to like giant rear tires, and skinny wire wheels with no brakes up front. Make sure that you will fit in the driver's seat and can drive it... not necessarily going to be comfortable.
I’d say overall look for the neatness of the build. Are welds nice beads or look like bubblegum smeared on. Are there electrical wires hanging everywhere or did they take the time to wrap them or form a loom. Are the bolts too long or too short for the application as in using a two inch bolt where a one inch should be used or using any old bolt that was lying around. I would first look at signs of good workmanship or craftsmanship. If the builder took care for small things chances are other things were done properly. I once looked at a car that used Craftsman socket universal joints and reinforcement rod for the steering all held together with welds that looked like bubblegum. The guy bragged about how he had done everything thing himself. When I told the guy I just wasn’t interest ( without pointing anything out) the guy got rather pissed about wasting his time. If things don’t look right walk away there are plenty of cars out there especially 23 T’s don’t get blinded by desire. Ask a lot of questions and ask to see receipts. If you can detect the seller is BSing you walk away. Most folks that are proud of their build will spend time telling you about it.’
If you're in a sun belt state , there's loads locally to choose from, the further north , the fewer .from about st Louis north , they're a 6 month car . We have no way of knowing your expertise , so advising what to look for is pointless ...
The best advice is to take someone along that knows what he's doing, has no skin in the game, and most importantly, that you trust. You'll be looking through rose colored glasses, hopefully whoever you bring along will have 20-20 vision. Oh, and listen to what he says. If the seller starts with any excuses, about anything on or about the car, run don't walk away.
As said, look at the construction and craftsmanship of it. If it's an older build, it's possible to have many hands involved, so don't be surprised by one that has great bones but terrible modifications/updates or vise versa. Get as much documentation as possible. This is much more common in England than here in the US. If the seller doesn't know anything about the car and components, subtract the price of tracking down and learning this information or run away. There are a number of threads on these cars so you can gather some knowledge before going to look. Search for Bucket Of Ugly to start.
Study this whole thread...it will answer all of your questions, and you will become and expert on all things T-Bucket! https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/the-bucket-of-ugly-a-de-uglifying-thread.824491/
Perhaps here its " all things tbucket" but in the " real" world ,its simply a fart in a windstorm ...LOL
OP may have already sorted out what he wants by now,but my experience with building a T bucket is stay away from 3 inch wide motorcycle type wire wheels with go cart front brakes,or no brakes.I went that route 40 years ago,and it only looked good.I had to slow down on city streets to go around corners under 25mph,or the tires would scrub so bad they tried to roll off the rim! Use real front hubs,brakes,and car rims.
The Jalopy Journal
