Projects The bucket of ugly! A de-uglifying thread...

This thread should be used to show all the young people or new people to hot rodding what you can do with little or no money and get going on the hot rod road to traditional happeness. I have seen this car in person and got the 411 already on what is ahead and you guys are going to be amazed on what can be done a very small budget.

 

Does that NEED what looks to be about 10* of caster?

TT's make anything look good

 

You're a true humanitarian See Hip! I agree with Ron, this is the kind of build that shows building a car doesn't take tons of money, just a lot of sweat equity, common sense (in so much that building an old timey hot rod makes anything close to common sense...), and a big ass heaping helping of taste. Chip can make it happen.

 

You just hit on something I always preach on these cars, and actually the reason I got the opportunity to do this one. See, the real reason this car was thrown under a tarp in the back yard was neither Roy or Kurt could drive it! When I set up the steering, I always insist on an angled column. I do use quite few reversed Corvair boxes on these cars because they make that column angle easy. Roy had wanted a vertical column, but getting in and out of a car this small with that is damn near impossible. It also sucks to drive with your hands in your lap and using your shoulders to turn.

The biggie with this car though was how the two of them set up the seat. See, when I did the steering column, the body wasn't wooded yet, so we mocked up a seating position and spent a whole day with the three of us getting in and out of the car to make sure there was enough room for everybody to drive. When Kurt started building the seat, he and Roy came over to my place to ask my opinion of how to do it. I said "the seat riser should only be a couple of inches tall at the maximum, and taper back to the floor at the back to give some lumbar support". Roy has an old set of CCR build plans, and it's instructions show a seat riser that is about 6" tall and straight all the way back... Full on, goofy, seventies, "look at me", fad "T" stuff! Guess which one they followed? Yup! with that tall riser, neither could fit or comfortably drive this car. Then they found an old couch cushion, and cut it apart for 6" padding... it got worse! This is how I got to buy the car for a song.

The ugly assed serape interior I already a memory, and I will soon be doing a write up about cutting the tall riser down to a more human level and angling it so it will be more comfortable. Then it's on to a barrowed "mini walker" sewing machine, and a few yards of white marine vinyl... You really can ride comfortably in a T-bucket if your of average size, it just takes some thought before hand.

Oh, one last thing. You might notice the lack of a steering wheel in the pictures. A quick release wheel is a T-bucketer's best friend!!! Damn good anti theft device too. Plus, walking into a nice restaurant dressed well and asking for a table for two with a steering wheel in your hand is an experience you soon will never forget....

 

See, Phillips gets it! If you look real closely at early sixties stuff, especially Gassers and Altereds, you will see that quite a few ran the first real production radial out there as a front runner, the Pirelli Centurion. I always shoot as close to that look as I can when choosing a radial tire on an open wheels car. These are Firestone F560 155s, and other than a small amount of schmuda on the side walls, they look pretty right. I might try the side wall sanding trick I have heard of to alleviate that a bit.

Alex, I know you get it!!! But you did raise a huge point that many miss, so I'll highlight it here - ROLL THAT PUPPY OUT OF THE SHOP AND LOOK AT IT EVERY NOW AND THEN!!! Massively important!

On the other hand, if this does get painted, Bright competition Orange is the dealio!

Me too man! My parents drove his and hers T-Buckets when I was kid back up in Minnesota, and my dad dragged home an unbuilt "Big T" kit when I was about 6 or so. Even then I wondered why it looked so different than our T-buckets, and I have been obsessed with the '60-'65 'bucket era ever since.

I haven't checked the caster yet, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was that far laid back. I usually set things up for about 7 degrees.

 

Like this one? I don't like the steering or windshield, but otherwise its perfect.

MELTDOWN DRAGS
JULY 19&20 2014

 

White interior?

 

Do BLACK or dark BROWN!!!!!!

 

Looking good.With black or dark brown in the summer you WILL crispy critter your ass when you sit down.Hehehe.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

No!!! You don't realize this, but you inadvertently designed the interior for this car...

...And, YES!!! I just proved this to Judy the other day. I mentioned plans to do a white interior in this car and she said "No I say"! I picked up a stack of magazines from '61-'63, handed them to her and said "show me all the T-buckets in these with an interior color OTHER than white..." An hour later she showed me two examples... and about thirty five white interiors. That's kind of a demarcation point in my mind for an early and later sixties bucket. Seems like after '65 or so, there were lot's more black and brown interiors in these cars, and biscuit tuck and button tufting made the scene about the same time. Imagine all the fun I would have driving this on a 116 degree Phoenix day with a black seat.... Youch!!!!

 

Judy is awesome. I love the way you have her speaking....I'm dying as my brother's wife sounds exactly the same but she's..."no so cool". That's what she says to him every time he wants to do anything..."no so cool". Which translates to " I'm not letting you spend my money you worked for on this."

This will turn out great.

 

Dang, I just saw the initial post last night and it's already 3 pages now. Looks like a good bunch of progress already.

 

Well I remember several Ts in the 64-66 era than had other than white interiors. My 27 RPU had black T&R that I had put in. And yes you will have a fried ass here in Phoenix in the summer, one of my 'Vairs has a black interior !! OUCH to the max!!

 

Naw, I know it wasn't one way or the other, just what I observe. I know that there were cars running around with black trim always. You know how I am, there is always a stack of magazines around that I'm digging through at any point. Just one of the many things I have noticed. It seems about 4 to 1 white trim over any other color prior to about '64 or '65. I really think that was a holdover from the fifties. Judy was way bummed though, 'cause when we hit H&R the other day, she had her heart set on a wild, cranberry multi hued, zodiac metal flake vinyl... I had to explain the concept of resale and sticking to a theme to her... To Judy!

 

Hey John, I'm probably going to need some help in the very near future replacing the sector shaft bushings in this steering box. I'm sure you will be the man for the job.... Please?

 

Okay, so first is the scene this morning in the back of the wagooon... Got my fronts mounted!! TIREWORKS at Central and Pima south of down town Phoenix absolutely rocks!!! I'm serious, if you need tires mounted on something you care about, give these guys a call at 602 252 5732. End of commercial, but they are worth it!!!

I had a couple of things go a bit awry this morning as I was doing my runnin' around for the week. The Falcon wagon decided it no longer liked it's alternator, so it stranded me at McDonald's about a mile from home. Nothing worse than being "that guy" wandering around a 120 degree parking lot asking for a jump start! It'll be back up and happy in the morning. The next obstacle thrown my way was a complete lack of 1/2" 20 mag type lug nuts. No biggie right? Hit ANY tire store and they have bins of them... RIGHT! Nope, not to be. As a matter of fact, most conversations I had where I asked for "1/2" shallow reach mag type lug nuts and washers" were greeted with one of two answers - 1. What kind of car? (Really doesn't matter), or 2. (and far more prevalent in my part of town) QUE? A quick call to my buddy and neighbor Dave Sexton at So-Cal Phoenix hooked me up with a wholesaler of lug nuts and wheel accessories that will be pulling up to my shire in the A.M. In the mean time, I cobbled as many odd, beat up, old lug nuts as I could to get things somewhat together. Tomorrow after the lug nut guy rolls out. I'll fire it up and park it across the street and take those pictures Flat-and-Low was talking about! For now, here it is!

The last one was pure whimsy... as I toiled getting this deal down on all fours, Rocket Chan, Schnauzer of the household wanted to know what I was up too. I let him out and the first thing he did was jump in. Enough screwing around, he wants to ride!!! He will too. I'm betting more than his mom.

 

Oh, and if you guys ever doubt the speed at which I work, here is the current temp in my shop... It's mild day too! That thing is off the top of the gauge as often as not this time of year.

 

Not a prob old buddy. I'll also help to cut that shift handle down to size ! Did I mention I HATE shifters like that , too RR for my taste.

 

Great build, Louvers. I like where you're going with it and I dig your research to validate what you're trying to accomplish.

I saw the pic of your dog on the seat riser and MY ass started hurting! I've seen T Buckets where the top of the seat was only a few inches from the top edge of the body! WTF!

I made my riser about 5" tall, THEN, I opened it up on the passenger and driver side. I installed webbing and a thin cushion that dip a couple inches into the riser, giving me a final seat height of about 3 1/2" to 4". Like you said, the seat is what kills these things for driving any distance. I'm 6'3" and have driven mine all day without getting out. That's usually 3-4 hours and about 70 miles of driving around Houston and the surrounding area.

The wheels you chose are dead on. I was just getting into Hot Rods around '72 and remember those wheels being replaced by Crager SS mags.

I also know you'll love going with a dropped "I" beam. After my wreck, it was the first thing on my rebuild list. It took a little planning to make it work, but it stands out compared to the typical dropped tube axle.

No suggestions here. You've got a good eye and a well thought out plan. Your thoughts on that shifter handle are right too. I heard they have a tendency to shift out of gear on good bump due to the weight. Driving with one hand on the wheel and the other on the shifter has got to get old quickly.

 

Do you know who made the windshield post? That angle is perfect!

 

Their just original '23-'25 stockers that I had laying around.

 

Figures. The laid back posts that are out now are at a stupid angle. It's got to be about 35*. Which puts the glass back to far. I wanted a laid back windshield, but looking at what was out there, gave up on it.

 

Thanks for the comments on my seat riser. That is the starting point, and it will get cut down substantially as this build progresses. I then am planning on doing Exactly what you talked about with the webbing to give some bounce with minimal padding to increase height.

 

A quick question for the guys following this thread. Has anybody used any of the aluminum T-Bucket radiators on E-bay? Any thing good or bad to say about any of the brands? There seem to be quite a few.

 

When I first built my T Bucket, I used one from Superior Radiators from Ebay. That thing kept my car at 160 all day long. In the short summer I drove it, it got up to 180. It ran about $300. I'm presently contemplating getting another one. If I'm not mistaken, they make a short one for a chopped '32 shell as well. It was supposed to cool 600HP.

I'm not sure if they're still on Ebay, but they are still in business.

http://wwwsuperiorradiator.com/

 

There is a pretty good reproduction of these available through Speedway and a couple of other places. They have them on page 63 of the current T-Bucket catalog for 69.95, part number 911-13201. you'll need the proper frame to go with them as well, but I have always preferred them over the earlier short posts because of their rake angle. Depending on where my seat ends up, mine are going to get chopped about 3" when all is said and done.

 

I looked them up already! I may get a pair and cut them down. Thanks!

 

Tagging this and following! I need to read the full thread but I have to say it right away. I LOVE THOSE WHEELS AND TIRES!!!

 

Looking good Chip!! Have to work on Judy about the shifter.

 

I'm excited to watch the build on the HAMB, and really can't wait to see it in person at some point.

I already dig the direction.

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