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History Gene Chan T Bucket

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by CoronetRTguy, Jun 11, 2013.

  1. COOP666
    Joined: May 8, 2007
    Posts: 724

    COOP666
    Member
    from Austin TX

    I've been looking at this one for ideas too. Here's some nice big scans of the original article:

    <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/coop666/8700771656/" title="GeneChanT1.jpg by COOP666, on Flickr">[​IMG]</a>

    <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/coop666/8700770176/" title="GeneChanT2.jpg by COOP666, on Flickr">[​IMG]</a>

    <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/coop666/8699645817/" title="GeneChanT3.jpg by COOP666, on Flickr">[​IMG]</a>

    <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/coop666/8700779354/" title="GeneChanTcolor.jpg by COOP666, on Flickr">[​IMG]</a>
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 1, 2014
    EVL401 likes this.
  2. CoronetRTguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2012
    Posts: 826

    CoronetRTguy
    Member

    Will do let me see what I have in my funds!

    Man just oh man wow! I love this Bucket!

    Does anyone know what bucket seats he used? I had thoughts of using early Corvette buckets or Mustang buckets.

    This car just blows my mind and it is the reason I'm going to build a bucket and I'm not looking at any other cars. It is also the reason I will use a Turtle deck.

    Thanks for posting the pics and blowing them up for us! That is awesome man!
     
  3. CoronetRTguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2012
    Posts: 826

    CoronetRTguy
    Member

    Anyone have any new info on Genes T Bucket?

    I have not had a chance to call Genes brother but look forward to when I can.

    This is the Bucket I've been thinking about not stop!

    Tell me what the headlights are and what the brackets could be?


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  4. I was looking at the pics to figure the location of the shoot. Looks like right in front of the court house.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Note the sidewalk.
     
  5. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
    Member

    Damn dude! Not very often someone nails the location of the shoot!
     
  6. steel rebel
    Joined: Jun 14, 2006
    Posts: 3,604

    steel rebel
    Member Emeritus

    I've tried and done that but usually the location has changed so much it is unrecognizable. I went to the location where the Satins Angles took the famous picture of the club kneeling in front of their customs in the parking lot behind the Oakland arena. All has changed. The lot is now now a tennis court behind the Laney Trade College.
     
  7. CoronetRTguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2012
    Posts: 826

    CoronetRTguy
    Member

    That is awesome you located it just from a picture!

    Yeah it is crazy that someone can do that. Very cool to have piece of history and the location is still the same. I wonder if they had to do any paper work on doing the photo shoot. It would be interesting if that is still in the files of the court house and if so it is public records.

    Yeah some of the historic sites to us as car guys isnt historic to the city or the state and it is a shame. That is cool you located the place. I need to look up the car club you are talking about because I dont know the name. If you have a link to the pic feel free to post it.

    Side not-

    I have not called Gene's brother yet but as soon as I do I hope to have some info to share with everyone.

    I would love to knw what bucket seats he used they seem to fit perfect in it.
     
  8. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
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    I am not 100% sure, but most bucket seats in small hot rods in those days were from small European cars like Austins and Anglias. That would be the most logical choice, 'cause about the time you set a pair of Mustang, Corvair, Corvette type buckets in a T-Bucket you'll run out of room real quick.
     
  9. CoronetRTguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2012
    Posts: 826

    CoronetRTguy
    Member

    My first thoughts were Mustang 64 1/4 to 66 but I owned a 66 Mustang and I thought that just make take up to much room. I then got to thinking about the 55 and up Corvette seats and thought they may be small and even 55-57 T Bird seats.

    I do have a VW shop here that deals a lot of foreign cars. I was going to go with bomber seats with an insert in it to make them not so bad too sit in and drive. I have been looking at plane parts. I saw a guy with some old seats from a WWII or so plan that folded down and I loved them and would work well for what I want.
     
  10. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
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    Ha! Thought of this thread immediately this after noon while digging for some other info. Found this in the April '67 Car Craft magazine! A little bit later look at this car. Oh, and these are an example of the "dune buggy" type fiberglass shell seats I was talking about.
     

    Attached Files:

  11. CoronetRTguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2012
    Posts: 826

    CoronetRTguy
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    Louvers! Good find man and now I need to find that magazine. I wonder what magazine the first verson of the car was in?

    I love both and the way it changed. I hate to say it but I've been digging motorcycle wheels as of late. I really love the rims on the back those are what I've been kind of looking for.

    Tell me what kind of tires are those on the back? Where they drag tires? I would love those type of tires on my ride.

    Also the seats I wonder if that was in the first verson or was it some other buckets.

    I really dig this ride and I do need to call Gene Chans brother.
     
  12. tfeverfred
    Joined: Nov 11, 2006
    Posts: 15,791

    tfeverfred
    Member Emeritus

    Those have got to be those dune buggy seats. I used to own an old Mustang and using Mustang seats would be damn near impossible. More work than they're worth.
     
  13. CoronetRTguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2012
    Posts: 826

    CoronetRTguy
    Member

    I had a 66 Mustang and I can't remember how long the seats were. Do you think the Corvettes and T'Bird seats of 55-59 would be shorter?
     
  14. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
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    Yup, they are dune buggy seats. Low back racing shells is the trade name. In looking at the original feature and at this one, it looks like he might have switched the seats out. As I said before, I'd be willing to bet that the original seats were something like Morris Minor or Anglia, and I'll bet they way too big for even a shorter guy to fit comfortably.

    As far as the tires go, I can't tell you the brand name, but they are a typical for the era 8.20X15 "pie crust" type drag slick. You can get a very good looking version of that same sort of thing from HURST RACING TIRES, only all the better 'cause they are capped on a radial casing. The wheels are a pair of late fifties Halibrand 15X8 small windows. One of the very first drag specific Magnesium wheels.
     
  15. CoronetRTguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2012
    Posts: 826

    CoronetRTguy
    Member

    Are Morris Minor or Anglia seats hard to find? Do they still make them? I need to google them and see what they look like.

    I'm thinking I might have to build my own seats and mold them in. I do like bomber seats but I need to add some padding to them.

    I really like early wheels and I need to find god sets and have the money for them.

    Also good to know a version of the tires are being made.
     
  16. e-tek
    Joined: Dec 19, 2007
    Posts: 424

    e-tek
    Member
    from SK, Canada

    Although laquer paint SURE did shine (with plenty of rubbing!) - the first photo in this thread is a "colorized" photo from an early magazine. Back in the day printers used add-on colorization processes to make the colors pop. You can tell it looks a little "cartoonish" compared to a current photograph.
     
    Last edited: Jul 13, 2013
  17. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
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    need louvers ?
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    I wouldn't bother trying to hunt any up simply because they wouldn't fit the car very well. They are about 2/3 scale to say a Mustang seat, and still too big. The fiberglass low back shells fit these things well, have a historic precedent, (This car, The big "T" both in full scale and 1/8, and several others in this same time period) Plus the dune buggy stuff is cheap as dirt and can be had at any VW specific parts house. Just don't buy the double ugly black vinyl cover for anything but maybe patterns... Hell, don't even buy them for that!

    As far as wheels go, most of the good stuff from the early sixties is repro'd today and not too expensive. I seem to get lucky fairly frequently and still find things like 15X8 1/2" torque thrusts for a 100.00 a pair. I would either go with repro for now and find the good stuff as I drove and enjoyed the car, or go with something simple like a steel wheel with a baby moon or full Moon type cap until I found the good stuff. DON'T how ever compromise on tire sizes!
     
  18. CoronetRTguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2012
    Posts: 826

    CoronetRTguy
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    Tire size goes along with the stance to me. I got to have that look the right look with the tires and the stance. I will not compromise on size. I just need to figure out the sizes.
     
  19. verde742
    Joined: Aug 11, 2010
    Posts: 6,269

    verde742
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    55 -57 t-birds have a bench seat, and don't make yer turtle deck set crooked to the nerf bar, Please.
     
  20. CoronetRTguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2012
    Posts: 826

    CoronetRTguy
    Member

    I could have sworn they had buckets. I wont run it croked I think its the way the pic looks.
     
  21. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
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    Look at Hurst's sight to get an idea of what they sell. Take a close look at their 8" X 15" slick. You'll want them with cheater grooves for street use, and you'll want to avoid the rain, too. The front tires on these cars in the early sixties were most commonly a tire size dubbed 5.60X15. This was the standard size for a Volks Wagon beetle, and when they became a common tire size the hot rodders jumped on them. he other size was 5.20X15, but it's not nearly as often seen. Now, what I'm about to say might cause shock, dismay and dissention here on the board, but I MUCH prefer radial tires. The "replacement size" in radials is truly a 155/80-15. Firestone makes that tire in it's FR560 series, and so does B.F. Goodrich in their Radial T.A. series. Far more common in tire stores is the 165/80-15, but most are just a shade too big looking, and today most have massively ugly modern tread shapes that just don't look right.

    The wire dragster type fronts are a matter of taste. The first car I'M aware of equipped with them on the street is Bill Booths car that hit the road in about '65. He was one of the founding members of the club "early Times". That also is very much a demarcation point in my mind for the "early sixties" type car, and the full blown "fad T" of the later sixties and seventies. The earlier cars with the more "passenger car" type tire sizes handle and brake quite a bit better in my opinion.
     
  22. CoronetRTguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2012
    Posts: 826

    CoronetRTguy
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    Thanks Louvers for the info! I didnt think about how it would handle and break on the front with those wheels.

    This thread has to be one of the best with T info. Things kind of spawn into the thread and all really good info.
     
  23. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
    Member

    Hey Coronet...

    Shoot me a P.M. when you have a chance. I found a little gifty for ya - the Novemeber '64 copy of Car Craft with the first in the series of Rat Sizemore's Hot To Build a T-Bucket article. It's the one with the frame step by step and dimensions.
     
  24. CoronetRTguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2012
    Posts: 826

    CoronetRTguy
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    Hey Louvers thanks! PM on the way.
     
  25. Chaz
    Joined: Feb 24, 2004
    Posts: 5,016

    Chaz
    Member Emeritus

    The Hemi makes that car pop! Yeah, you can do a small block Chevy, but it won't look like THAT!
    I'm not trashing the SBC... I love em, and they've been in lots of my cars... They are simply the best bang for the buck.
     
  26. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
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    Agreed, Chaz! The Hemi really does just smack you right between the eyes from a visual standpoint 'cause it's just flat cool as hell. But I do think a nicely detailed small block dolled up in 1962 finery like Corvette valve covers, 3X2 manifold with the filler on the front, some cool home made pipes and Mallory distributor type stuff could pack one hell of a visual wallop too. And a bunch cheaper + easier for a first timer to get right as well.
     
  27. CoronetRTguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2012
    Posts: 826

    CoronetRTguy
    Member

    I agree and I wish in my area finding a Hemi or even a flat head V8 was easy but it is rare to see one.

    The 383 motors in my area are not a bad price with trans and rear (8 3/4) for around 300-400 depending if I go running motor or not.

    I did find a 273 and an 8 3/4 rear for 75 bucks I'm waiting for more details from the owner. I know my mopar motors 68-70s better than anything.

    I can also put a six pack set-up on the 273, 318, 340, 360 and 383 so it would have a great look to it. Right now my build is ideas, reading and planning things out and until I'm done with school and back to work full time I can't even take a small plunge into building.
     
  28. falcongeorge
    Joined: Aug 26, 2010
    Posts: 18,341

    falcongeorge
    Member
    from BC

    Ok, small world time. I was at the local cruise night at the A&W tonight, and some guy left half a dozen mid seventies street rodder back issues there as reading material. There were only two that I didnt have at home, so I grabbed them, sat down with my daughter and was flipping through them as I was eating.
    Low and behold, at the bottom of pg 52, Feb 76, is a rear shot of an unmistakable turtle deck T bucket with frenched tail-lights, taken at some mid-seventies rod run.
    Chip, do you have Feb. 76? Check pg 52, GOTTA be the Chan car!

    Oh yea, and PS, in my pile of parts that is slated to someday become a sixties style T bucket is a seventies fiberglass racing bucket with the head-rest cut off, and the resulting gap filled with resin and matt, just waiting for me to get off my ass and pull a mold off it.
     
  29. CoronetRTguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2012
    Posts: 826

    CoronetRTguy
    Member

    Very cool! How was the cruise tonight?

    I'm looking at cars but the bucket has its claws in me. When I do start a build its a bucket all the way.

    Chip I'm sure has that issue.


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