Why do T-buckets get no respect?

The post asking for pics of traditional T-buckets has me wondering why everyone looks down their noses at T-buckets? They are actually the first hot rod and are very traditional in the hobby, much more traditional than alot of so-called rat rods. Is it just the fiberglass kits that get a bad rap, or what's the deal here? I like the way they look and have thought about building one but I get a little put off by people's reaction to the things.

 

Yeah, funny how they're not as popular as 32 roadsters. I love the sixties Fad T style - as basic a car as you can get. big-n-littles, blown hemi. c-cabs are cool too.

 

they seem to be very cookie cutter...fiberglass body...350/350 combo....i liked them when i first got into roddin but i then realized that if it aint steel it aint real...on the other hand if you bought a nice original roadster body and went from there i think that is way cooler...and a-lot more unique then a kit...kinda like kit car ferrari's...there not really ferraris's...i didn't mean to stir any thing up this is just my opinion

 

Who cares what they think. T's are lot's of fun, quick, simple and cheap. (sometimes) build what you want. It is your money and time and have fun building it.

 

there is a HUGE deliniation between T-Buckets (a style of Model T)
and T-roadster hot rods. T-Buckets are a highly evolved subset of hot rods with a very recognizable (and displeasing to many) style. It's hostility towards the overblown, gaudy, tasteless creations that many t-bucketeers turn out that gives the other Model T owners a bad rep. T-bucketeers are usually of the gold-chainer variety, not fitting with many do-it yourself traditonal rodders.

It's all semantics!

Cool:


Not so much:

 

Here's my 2 cents and I'm sure nobody cares.

I have a Fad T and love it. It is a blast to drive. Yes it has a 350 but that is in there because I bought it that way. It's a car and it's fun and that's all that matters. If you think that T's aren't original then go to the T-Bucket nationals this year put on by the National T-Bucket Alliance and find 2 alike. They are just as original as any of these traditional rods. So they are fiberglass, who cares.

I'm building a steel 30 closed cab pickup right now and it is no different than building the T aside from rust. My T is pieced together from parts from other cars and homemade stuff just like my truck, only thing different is the glass body. It's all about building cars and having fun.

Again, all of this is my opinion and yours doesn't matter to me.

 

That's probably the only Model T I've ever seen that I really liked.

 

you're funny!!!! now this is ugly!

 

Build what you like and to hell with what the others think. You won't be able to make all of them happy anyway. It is hard to tell fiberglass at speed.

 

Model T's are neat cars, but I think they got a bad rap with all the "cookie cutter" fiberglass kits. Every tom, dick & harry had one and they all had small block chevy's in them.

We were able to save one of them from fiberglass hell.

Before & almost Complete

 

That car owes you big time.

 

Years of all that fiberglass junk, which seemed to attract even more junky builds, turned a lot of people off.

Those little gas tanks & no storage space don't help with road trips, either.

Otherwise, they make great hot rods!

 

lol, thanks. Here's the story behind the car.

 

I had one @ 10 yrs ago. Wish I still had it. I know it would out run 3 different corvettes and a barracuda "S" model my buddies had easy.
It had an early corvette running gear in it too.

 

They just look ugly 99% of the time, I can only think of a handfull that look good to me............ Track Roadsters and Lakes Modifieds are ANOTHER car style alltogether.

 

Back in the '60s they were considered an entry level hot rod.

I think there are just rods that are more popular these days. I think there was a time that they got the wrong type ( non-traditional) attention and that's still what a lot of people think about.

That doesn't change the fact that there is absolutely nothing in the world wrong with building a trad type of bucket T. It can be done and has been done very successfully.

 

I hate when people think all T's are kit cars, like it's a snap together kit or something. Fiberglass has been around for 50 years so how is it not traditional ?
I know my own car started as bare rails and I put every mounting point on it. I didn't get a book to tell me where to measure this from or that from.
My chassis doesn't know what's sitting on top of it, could be anything.
That's the end of my rant.

 

Because they're like Cheerleaders.
Whether true or not, they both have the reputation of being too easy to make!

I liked them up to the time when guys with bad taste started mixing Brass era parts with chrome and adding "accessories" that make them look more like a gypsy circus wagon than a hotrod.
When they look like a street version of an altered is when they look best.

Check this 348 powered one out

 

I really dig this one!

 

The majority of them miss the mark, or miss the mark by a mile, and they end up ugly or worse.
They are of an abstract style, and look like they would be easy to design and build. The ones that end up in proportion, with all the right parts, in all the right places, end up really KQQL.
They are a lot of bang for the buck........and get respect..... IF they are done right.

Just my opinion.

 

Hell, I like em'

 

Here's a couple of good 'uns from the UK!

 

i have one ....that ended up as a track t....the other one i had i put together for my wife....wifes car had a 355 in it.....but the car had some past hot rod history......well at least it had something.....7 color changes tells a tale....lol....it was a late 60's / early 70 build originally....tri 5 chev rear....hairpin front....lots of rake.....my other one was on its way to being a early 70's show car.....but got shelved shortly after being started.....16x12 cragars....18.50x16 m&h slicks....chrome headers.....tri 5 chev rear....and a brand new bird body and nose and bed....molded and smoothed frame and rear suspension....high arch spring in the back.....was found in 94 in the rafters of a pole building in southern ohio......nothing's wrong with a t bucket....as long as you keep it reasonable on the investment......lord knows there are some t's that probably cost as much as a 32 running around.....brandon

the pics is of my wifes t ....before interior and painted grille.....last seen leaving for los angeles......in 03

 

I say piss on people's opinon and build what you want. And those who say they are ugly maybe they need to look in the mirror! T-buckets have been a mainstay for the hot rod industry for 50+ years! I'm building a '50's style T-bucket using period parts (or at leat as many as possible) flatty, '39 crash box, banjo diff, F-1 steering box, etc. I've got a '70's T- bucket frame and a glass body I've also got a steel body that I'll eventually use once I get the thing driveable. I think T- buckets have gotten a bad rap as some are cookie cutters with the typical boring 350/350 combo but they are an intro level hot rod. Some I've seen are really awful as far as looks and construction and make the rest look bad along the way. But the truth of the matter is no matter what it is that you decide to build you are contributing to the hobby by spending money in the hot rod industry! Nest time somebody disses on your rod ask them where their rod is and most of the time they don't have one! So build what you want and can afford!

 

To quote from an older post, "That's a cute little dune buggy!"

Seriously though I think a T roadster pickup is just as cool as an A pickup if it's done in a traditional style and not the typical T bucket look. But that's just my preference. Really doesn't matter what you build someone will criticise it.

You can hone your fab skills on a T frame just the same as you would a '40 Ford frame. I'm sure the affordability of some of the kits is what attracts alot of people and in my opinion anything that gets people into hot rodding is good for all of us. If you want to build one, build it and don't worry about what others say. Build it for you.

 

hay I got one *** all I can say is that they are go~carts on steroids, and they are alot of fun,

 

I don't care what anyone says....as soon as I get my other 89 projects done I am building a clone of the Drag T model.

 

My 2 cents:

As the hobby matured, other options made the T bucket too impractical: room for only 1 passenger, limited storage for an extended rod run and driving a roadster (even with a top and side curtains) leaves you exposed to the elements.

The early kits (remember Bird Manufacturing and those cool ads in Hot Rod?) made a fad-T an easy build, but the hobby has made so many other options available, who wants a car you can only drive 4-5 months a year?

All that being said, nothing says "period hot rod" to me like an early T roadster.

 

I would like to build a T-Bucket some day but I am not tall enough, it seems everybody I see that own one is about 6 ft. plus and a min of 250 lb.. I think that is why I give a T-Bucket owner respect.