Hot Rods How about some love for the T-Bucket?

I love mine, almost a daily driver spring and fall up here. It has N50’s and a tunnel ram so doesn’t really fit the pre-‘65 age here, but it is probably my funnest car I have!!

 

Okay thanks I'll go back and look again. It just looks right from that angle

 

Dad requested a few more shots. Here are a couple and the ones he wanted

 

This is a really good looking car. Hope you 2 have many more miles and smiles with it.

 

Dave,

It a bit like its owner -a retired horod.

It doesn't Get used much. Hes moved on to 32's.

 

What engine is this?

 

153 Chevy.....or could be a 181 (?) Cu. In. marine version of the same engine. The 1st year for the 153 4 banger was '62 I believe and came in Chevy II's. Eventually got used in a lot of mail trucks and boats.

Lynn

 

Sure looks like the answer to my Model A problems. I'd love to find one. Stuff like that is hard to come by in my area.

 

I have liked T buckets since I saw them on TV, when I was a toddler. Some of the early sixties examples I have seen here are outstanding. If you don’t like T buckets, I say you might have a lack of imagination. The can be crappy, but can turn out very cool.

 

The first hotrods I ever saw were a pair of buckets at a large local show. My dad and I were walking down the rows of cars (I was around 5?) and I heard this wild racket and looked up to see a pair of T's rolling up the street. It was like a scene out of a cartoon to me, just these crazy looking cars with a pile of chrome, color and exhaust coming my way. This was around 1990 so I am sure they were what I would consider gaudy fad-T's now but that sure left an impact.

 

Been a buckethead for decades..

 

Your first experience was very similar to mine. I took a picture of the first bucket I saw, and I recently dug through the ol' shoebox of photos to find it. That was a deep dive down memory lane I could have done without..... and I came up empty handed on the photo. But... from memory, it was purple, had a Caddy engine with 4 97's on it (very Grabowski inspired), but had been updated elsewhere to "Fad T" style. This is from the memory of me as a 12 yr old, so it could have been very different.

 

Looks like Amarillo has marina's , thousands of mercruiser , OMC , volvo , cobra out drives used 153 or 181 based on the chevII architecture from the 60's thru the 90's , mail trucks , forklifts manlifts & other industrial applications as well Shouldn't be too difficult to find one .

 

I still have the original 1/8 scale model kit from '62 er '63....

 

I fell in, then out, of love with T-buckets. They went from what we called hot rods
to over the top showboats. An acquaintance traded a nice, nondescript, running T
for a stripped down non-powered '32 coupe. I don't believe he ever did anything
with it. Shoulda' kept that bucket, Rudy.

Give me a baseball bat and permission to send coach lights to Neverland.

 

I like this shot from another thread.
This T has great proportions. Maybe a shakedown run, it has a little more work to be done and I notice it doesn’t appear to have plates. I like the short wheelbase and level stance but the seating position needs to be a little lower.
The look on her face is priceless. (Yeah I know who it is). My girlfriend used to love to take a late night ride by the beach in the summertime in my ‘27T.

 

Those early buckets don't have much leg room and would be worse with a lower seat. It's like you're riding on it instead of in it

 

LEGG SHOW, was a car I saw at the Visalia, CA Roadster Round-Up.
I was about 10yrs old, 1973ish, that "T" blew my mind! I was so inspired, I went home and drew a picture of it! My mom saved that picture too!
Jim aka Sanford & Son
Swap-O-Rama

 

I know what you mean. When I had my '27 upholstered we were a little too generous with the thickness of the bottom cushion and I really was riding on top of it. So I cut "butt holes" in the plywood seat base and put springs over them. Then we thinned the padding in the back and the seat bottom. I sat much lower, I just bent more at the waist and knees. The pedals remained the same and I lowered the steering column just a bit. It was a moot point though, I was never going to get down behind the DuVall windshield but at least I wasn't "riding it".

The radiator and shell in the lower left was my '29 closed cab pickup with my buddy driving.