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

George your story reminds me of a day years ago probably late 60s or early 70s my wife and I took somebody to the San Francisco airport to see them off. We parked in the multi level lot and I memorized the numbers and letters on a post close to where we parked. When we went back to look for the car it just wasn't where I thought it should be. Remember then people dressed up to go places like that and my wife had high heels on. Anyway we walked around for some time and she started to do a slow burn. Finally she found a bench and sat down and said "I'm not taking another step." When you find the fucking car I'll be right here. After some more time walking around I decided I was on the wrong level and found the car and went back and picked her up and had a quiet trip home.

 

Okay, my search of a 5 story parking garage, in the summer of 1984, pales in comparison. Some things you can't blame on old age.

 

me me me me!!! I want one too

 

Chip, there's your wake up call! Even the guys "down under" want one and it'll take 2 weeks for 'em to get there!

 

Just to take this in a completely different direction, I'm seriously considering building a hot rod version of this

P8040121 (Medium) by k1w1rodder posted Aug 4, 2014 at 6:00 PM

with a low loader trailer to put the bucket on mainly for winter rodding activities and to be in keeping with a lakes style setup.

 

Coker's going to have a heart attack, trying to make those wooden spoke wheels. DO IT!

Why are C cabs the forgotten bucket? A roof without that flapping material. Should have been a natural.

 

I prefer a wooden cab over those fibreglass comic strip c cabs

 

Again, DO IT. This site is about doing it traditional and to the best of your ability. Guaranteed, there will be at least 5 things in your project that get a dreamer off his ass and into the garage. People who take on a challenge and follow through on it, are an inspiration to all who follow.

 

XXXX Gold. Research. Do.

 

I do like that orange flatty powered one so much as in my old age I have got a new appreciation for a well dressed multi carbed Flatty, One with a Scott blower with twin jugs would be the ultimate I think.
So Gary, is it really hard shit to clean off the cars that salt ? Yet, heaps of people still take their cars out onto it, I don't know if I would now if it is bad. I noticed the nailhead bucket lacked front brakes so that maybe why he has discs on the rear.

 

Whip it is impossible to get it all off/out. It seems to wash off easy but a lot of it just soaks in between leaf springs and places you can't get to. Don't take a car out there that you can't stand some damage. I don't regret taking the roadster out on the salt though. The experience was more than worth it. It is just awesome out there. Almost magic. Just can't describe it. The roadster needed a makeover at the time anyway. I had the Cad. engine ready to go in at the time and was going to take it apart anyway. I replaced as much of the rear suspension with stainless that I could. When I took the upholstery out salt was in all the body cavities. This year I'm taking my old '85 step side and hoping for a wet winter to drive through to get as much out as possible. My truck is in the background of the first photo.

 

On the verticle windshield posts, I know I have posted this photo so many times(even on this very thread) you guys are probably dead sick of seeing it, but I present my muse, my talisman, sixties T-bucket perfection, the Dick Thompson T. I'm gonna lose the cowl lights, and unfortunately a rochester injected 370 poncho is well beyond my means, and there are a few other details I will do differently, but this is the stance, the length, the look I am after.

 

Looks like a Covico flat, drilled 3 spoke wheel - I have one of those that is NOS with a cool orange grip that would be GREAT in a used-to-be ugly orange T!!

Steve

 

Damn! I have minimal involvement around these parts for a weekend and you guys are Runnin' amuck! I regular herd of turkeys as it were!

C-Cabs? Hell yes! I have the front half of a bucket in the yard right now for just that purpose! Someday soon that will happen.

The key chains? Brilliant! Will do in a few weeks when things slow a bit. If I don't say anything, you guys give me a nudge again, please. The first batch might not be photo etched, but you guys will know where they came from, right?

I never ever tire of Dick Thompson's car in any way shape or form! It and Penry's car are "it" for me.

I went ahead and punched some louvers in the front roll pan today, officially succumbing to peer pressure for the first time in my life.... Not sure I really like the results. I took some pictures, but with 3300 picture on this card it takes to long to load for just four pictures. I'll load and post 'em later in the week. It does look a bit "busy" as I feared.

I didn't get to go north this weekend as I had planned, as we had a monsoon store of biblical proportions blow in Friday evening. The lightning and thunder scared my dogs so badly that all three were under cover and on the move all Friday night, so 5:00 am Saturday came and went without me budging. The world didn't see Hyde nor hair of any of us until about 8:00 or so, and that is too late in the day around here to safely set off on a 100 mile trip in an open car. There is always next year! I did get to drive the 'Bucket home from my mom's place about 25 miles north of here in a nice even rain storm of Friday evening though, and it was awesome! The slick weren't quite as bad as I assumed they'd be.

 

X2, as you well know. IMNSHO, the perfect T bucket would be the stance/wheelbase, 16" wheels and verticle windshield of the Thompson car, with the simplicity, lack of gingerbread and cleanliness of the Penry car. And a drilled i beam and drilled split bones instead of the v-8 60 axle and 4 bar, just because thats the way I pictured it when I was 8-9 yrs old and dreaming about it in grade 4 math class!

 

C cab, here you go. Contractor up here has picked up maybe half dozen T's in his travels in the wine country. This one is sitting just off the road. I stopped a while back when I saw him in the yard and he took me back to see the rest.
George I can go with a vertical windshield when the car sits like that. Ivo's T is a great example. Anything leaning forward just looks stupid. That T I like. You could do a lot worse copying it.

 

Agree 100%, gotta sit pretty level for it to work. That c-cab looks damn good! Thats some NICE raw material!

 

Chip, did you happen to get a pic of that other T bucket at the pep boys show? A perfect example of why so many people don't like them.


jerry

 

No!I was going to mention that one, but I left my camera at home yesterday. This thing was just flat gawdy as hell! Eight foot wide rear tires, bazar stance, and festooned from head to toe with chrome gee-gaws of every description... I think it had chrome covers FOR chrome covers! But the guy was proud of it, and as I walked around it, did the kinda smirky leaned back, nose up "it's a 350"! I said, I kinda figured that."It's gonna be a 383 soon, though. You can never have enough power or enough chrome on these things, other wise they look naked." And with that, he motioned over to where my car was sitting, kinda butt to butt with his and down a few spaces... I thanked him, walked past and put my jug of oil in my car and he sort of walked away quickly realizing what he said...

P.S. Forgot it had that color shifting paint that was so hip in the mid to late nineties where if you look at it just right, it turns chocolate purple...

 

I have to tell you guys, I meant to sit down last week and write that my car actually pulled the front wheels on me in rush hour traffic! I went to cross Central just a couple block north of my house right at about 5:00 pm as traffic was going nuts. I had to work from the left lane and in the space of about three blocks hit the right lane so I could go right on my street. With as slowly as our surface streets run at rush hour, ( they are dead plugged in the financial district where I live) you can always count on slower reaction times opening up holes to jump into to work your way across.

So the light drops, a couple of the cars move, but not those ahead of me. As they finally start to roll I see a hole opening to my right. I stand on it and go that direction. Well, just then another opens in the next lane over, so I might as well stay in it! Just then I cross my dreaded nemesis, the light rail, and it's slight mound. That always kinda bounces the car a bit, but with my foot to the floor it lifted the front just enough that it stayed up the distance of the intersection!!! Great fun and it certainly freaked out the squares!

 

SAWEEEEEET!!

 

More is not always better.

 

Oh yeah! That's why I mentioned it, I couldn't look at it long enough to describe it here!

Thanks Chip! And congrats on the "wheelie"!


jerry

 

Closest I get to wheelies is when the wheels lock up as I cross the speed bumps in the parking lot at work!

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

We laugh about it now, the only better theft story we have is one of the guys opened a hot rod shop in San Antonio and the painter he hired brought a NASTY dispositioned doberman guard dog named Macho. Nobody would go in the gate unless the painter was there. The dog was chained to an old vega shell during the day, and he would jerk thing around the lot if he wanted to get further than the chain allowed. We all went to an out of town rod run one weekend, and someone broke in and stole the dog! Must have had a serious supply of steak!

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Hey guys Off to Bonn. Talk again next week. Don't do any UGLY shit until I get back.

Glad you punched those louvers in the rolled pan Chip. Bet it looks better than you say.

Gary

 

Have a safe trip Gary!

 

What he said......and take lots of pictures!

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

What they said!

 

Another must do. I am holding off on this one till I can do it in a roadster with my daughter along for the ride. I figure we will both remember that one for the rest of our lives...
Shoot lotsa pics Gary!