Fred Steele's White T Bucket - Ventures album cover car

All these years and I never knew that was Fred Steele's car...the album cover hangs on the wall in the office I love it so much.

I grew up in Mass and my folks were active street rodders in the 1970s, I remember hearing about Fred's antics...the last of which that I recall involved a hotel hot tub and some wild ducks.

 

Were is the green 1932 Ford Phaeton?

 

whats up with the violin? I got A bad feeling that if I ask him , I would get my teeth knot out

 

I think it may have something to do with what is in the violin case.Oh yes and if you see him tell him I'm still waiting for my "Road Fairies" T shirt!

 

I appreciate your thoughts but since I have a stock model A frame and a 23-25 fiberglass body, and access to a real steel body.

I know that the fire wall opening is 28" whereas the model A rails around where the body would channel over the frame is 29+. The frame has to have been narrowed or the body widened. My bet is that the frame was narrowed, which is actually easy to do.

The width of the rails at the center of the front cross member is 26+ inches. One has only to remove the center and rear cross members, drill out the rivets of the front cross member, replace the rear front cross member rivet with a bolt/nut, then simply move the rails in and out, pivoting on those bolts.

Thanks again… -Rick-

 

If your offer is serious I will gladly explore this with you or someone. I will need a lot more details, like who to contact (a phone number), location of the body and some photos would be nice, too. I don't buy site unseen.

I will be at the GNRS in Jan which is usually at the same time as the Turlock swap meet so other arrangements will have to be made.

Please contact me off-list at [email protected], or [email protected], or call me at 925-932-8956 (24/7)

And thanks... -Rick-

 

I also had plans of building a T like Fred's, I wrote to him about 11 or 12 years ago and got lots of info.
If you get a copy of Feb. 1966 Popular Hot Rodding it has a feature on it, titled the " Lunchbox Special " and there it says it's an A frame no kickup, Columbia 2 speed rear.
Here's a pic Fred sent me with his neighbour sitting in it and yes he sold it a while back, he always said his car collection was his superannuation!

 

Thanks for the photos and the mag reference. I bought a copy off eBay for $8.00 after reading your reference.

I am in contact now with the builder, Don Spinney. He's the man! I have some interesting information now that no one has.

I know how that indeed, as I suspected (which is really obvious since I have a frame and body) that not only was the frame narrowed but it was shortened. That's confirmed. Also, he added a '32 K member, altered, of course.

I have already started mocking this build up. There's still a bunch of decisions and measurements I still need to do but my confidence is high. Furthermore, even though I am building along the same lines as Don did, my version will be slightly different and it will not play on the connection to the Venture's album. That's Don's fame, not mine.

If all goes smoothly, I might have this car finished in time for the 2011 GNRS in Pomona.

Thanks again...

PS: If you still have some of the information that Fred passed onto you, could you please pass it on to me. There may be a little tid bit in there that will prove useful. You can post it here or send to [email protected].

 

Hi Rick
Don't have any extra info from Fred, I think Don would be the man, it's great that you've made contact.
In the meantime here's another pic that Fred " living legend " Steele sent me

 

I think this car was also on another album cover in the day. with 3 more cars.
maybe from the same photo shoot. A percusionist want to say buddy.....something

someone help me out here.

Roadster Rick, great choice for a build!! please share it with us.

 

found it! Hal Blaine on the bay 10 bucks only this one is in china.

 

Wow, that's obscure for sure. I wonder who owned the other cars and if they're still around.

 

Thanks. That photo of all those that came my way show the relative nature of the parts and the simplicity of the build. What it doesn't show, but is obvious when you're into such a build is that the frame was narrowed and there's a cut-down '32 K member due to the use of the older trans. And, of course, the frame was shortened in the back and not kicked up. The rear cross member was hacked on the ends and moved forward

The Tweedy Pie roadster once owned by Bob Johnston and made famous by Ed "BIG DADDY" Roth, and his subsequent model car deal with Revell, used shortened '32 rails, yet in his case, only the back behind the rear cross member was hacked off. The rest is stock ... as is my understanding from studying that build.

In any case, the "short" style is typical of t-buckets of that era. From there, it was Andy Brizio who refined the t-bucket style with his cookie-cutter product, "Instant T" ... AKA fad T. And, of course, Dan Woods and others created variations that made the mags, album covers, movies and car show, and subsequently into our young minds back in the golden age of hot rods, circa late '50s - mid '60s.

As a side note, let's isolate this one subject from all others, i.e., t-buckets of the golden age. Let's step back in our minds and think about what motivates us to continue to peruse this style. As "guys" seeing what other and older guys were doing back then, through the images in mags, album covers, movies and car shows, we "wanted" one for ourselves. Being too young, some of us got our "fix" through model cars, like the 1925 T kit by AMT. And at the impressionable age (our teens) these images stuck in our minds so vividly that now that we can build or buy, we do; over and over again. This is an over simplification of a deeper and possibly troubled past yet it illustrates the power of images that plague us to this day.

And you thought this was a discussion of a particular t-bucket. What were you thinking?

 

Hmm... I'll have a leftover A frame from my phaeton project, maybe a T-bucket is in my future...

 

Further to the Hal Blaine album cover, evidently the record company used the same four cars in a different position photo for the cover of the Tokens "Wheels and More Hot Rod Rarities" album

 

I am in an antique bottle club with the son in law of the guy who owns it but I can't find where I wrote down his name.He believes there was a 45 record with the car on it and has been searching.

 

And from Google images, blown up a bit ...

 

Believe that could be a CD cover (like RoadsterRick posted above), where the vinyl has been duped to CD. CDs and DVDs in China, by the way, go for a buck or less each. Doesn't make much difference whether it's an old vinyl album or the latest movie.

 

Now that's cool ... darn interesting what's out there.

Here's an idea, for you photoshop, car, music guys: make up bogus album covers. Get a bunch of your hot rod friends together, and some guys with instruments and stage some photo shoots. Take the images and mock up album covers that never exited, with group names that never were and song titles with no history either. Might be fun.

With weasel words included one could sell these "faux albums" on eBay! See, now we all have something we can build. Heck, this could be as easy as a photo of your own ride with an interesting background and an instrument or two in the shot, and there you go. I might do this later today with Black Widow 2 and "Miss Widow" my '82 Fender Jazz Base. Couldn't hurt to try. We could start a new HAMB thread called bogus hot rod albums.

The mind is a terrible thing to waste...

 

Not having read the comments that followed this question, I apologize in advance for any duplication.

Anyhow, the frame appears narrowed so that it's rails are parallel like the T's. It looks too, that the floor wood joist/rails that go from the firewall and out of the back of the tub are replaced the frame rails. I like that idea and have seen it on a few lakes cars of the 40s.

That steering is scary! I'm not exactly sure what's the deal there, maybe it was done to avoid clearance issues with the engine/exhaust.

I love dissecting cars by the photos and figuring the build out.

 

Hey Goober … I just zeroed in on the sub-title "And the Young Cougars." Cougars … as in wild cats? It's like beatnik talk, man. It's the coolest. Dig it, kat.

Hal Blaine was the busiest recording session drummer in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s. Back then, "Beatnik talk" was all the rage. You know man like when you listen to Sammy Davis Jr. He's hip, cool, dig it man. So the songs have that early "commercial" early surf sound that only white guys could muster … stated from a musician's point of view, man. But hey, man, that was in, man. A cool music kat could make good bread with them sounds, man!

What to hear that sound … go here

http://shopping.yahoo.com/peuces,%20%22T's,%22%20Roadsters%20&%20Drums:1921024937

Given what it is, I particularly liked: Gear Change, Gear Stripper, The Phantom Driver, The Traps, Drum Brakes, Hawaii 1963, Mutiny On The Bongos, and Phillzie's Friend.

 

Yeah, you got it! Fred would just get a laugh that some guy from WA state mentioned it. Ducks in a hot tub?

 

The yellow roadster on the left is a '27 with black hairy interior- was owned by Jim Treadway? Red on on the right is Scritchfields? The '29 in the back ground is............?

 

As Fred was an associate member of the L.A.Roadsters at the time it probably belonged to one of the members.At first I thought of Ted Wingate but I think he had strictly 32's then.

 

Would that A have been Sam Conrads before it became the hiboy with a big Olds with lots of carburetion? That pic would have been taken in the early 60's and Sam's car was a hiboy when we were there in 66.

swifty

 

Not Ted's- I lived with him in South Pasadena and he had '32s. Not Sam Conrad- his was a high boy with a flat head till he put Hugh Tuckers big Olds in it.

 

I got friendly with Fred a few years back. Not sure why, but he did take a shine to me. I was lucky enough to talk to him about all of his cars that I knew of growing up as well as all of the "stories". He had invited me to his home, but I never got a chance to go over....hopefully this summer. Love his '28 tudor. Spent alot of time looking at that car very closely last time I saw it in 2007...

anyway...I posted some of these pics before, but here again...

Pics are of Fred in the T bucket in august 2008, second pic Pic is of the new owner (left) Fred steele, and the founder of our club Fred Hire.

I know the steering wheel now is different than what was originally in the car, but I believe just about everything else is the same....

 

I was 14 when this album came out and although a Masshole all my life, daydreamed about the California scene. I drooled over the West Coast rods and customs in the little books, couldn't wait for the next Beach Boys record, built just about every model AMT and Revell produced and dreamed of the day I could move to LA and build a T-bucket like this one. I listened to that album so many times, I had every note memorized. Never did move out to LA, nor build the T. The fact this car has survived and is in Massachusetts just amazes me. The flood of memories that a car like this brings back is almost overpowering.

 

Man that car is exactly what I dream of, and I love the ventures too! Thanks for the pics

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=14653&pictureid=152179

This is my buddy's tribute Album T bucket. He built a larger body to fit his longer legs using the original real steel 1919 windshield cowl and frame to build around. We really enjoyed the Album T history -- it united our California, Upland High and Texas, Austin High rodding days. Nice going Don Spinney and Fred Steele, and thanks RoadsterRick. The Mullholland Dream has it all -- the rod, the girl, the music, the city lights and open road!