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Features traditional t bucket

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by merles_garage, Feb 23, 2012.

  1. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
    Member

    As long as you guys are reminising Minnesota T-Bucket stuff, I'll ask about my mom and dad's Ts from the late sixties. Dad's was metalflake green with a 215 Buick all polished and an aluminum coil over chassis, and Mom's was about the same but purple metalflake and chevy powered... Kinda looking for any info on the Racing Unlimited Aluminum chassis from the late sixties and early seventies.
     
  2. ClintsToys
    Joined: May 19, 2012
    Posts: 19

    ClintsToys
    Member

  3. SuperJim
    Joined: Mar 31, 2010
    Posts: 191

    SuperJim
    Member
    from Minnesota

    When I had it (1st one) I only had my permit, but dad rode with and we had it out a few times. I remember a Mike Mason (big block & long frame?) and also Loren Richards (nailhead in a touring T). Maybe you remember the car once I sold it, as I only had it from fall of 1969 until very early summer of 1970. It was hit coming home from a MSRA gathering at Fort Snelling or Minihaha Falls picnic area? I can't remember any more. I was just 17 back then, and will 60 in a few months. Holy crap, that was.... 42 years ago. Man....
     
  4. SuperJim
    Joined: Mar 31, 2010
    Posts: 191

    SuperJim
    Member
    from Minnesota

    I remember those! I think they had a small place on Central Avenue for a while. I almost bought one as I had planned on building a car, but then this 1st Green metalflake car (complete) came up. You have one of those frames?
     
  5. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
    Member

    Absolutely! We had the store on Central for a short time right before the end! The main store was on Snelling just north of University, and we had the fab/engine shop on County road C at Cleveland. I might have an aluminum R.U. frame coming my way soon. A friend of mine brought it back down with him from Duluth this last winter, but lives so freekin far out of the valley I haven't had time to go out and look.
     
  6. To carry all this IVO T talk a little further. My buddy Jack Rosen has owned the car for years. He and his father bought it from Roland. It was his father Hy that had Barris "Customize" it. Jack had the good sense to have it restored back to the original Tommy style. If you want to see it, it has been in the NHRA museum for a few years now, and was still there last week when I was there. Aside from Drag Strip Girl, it also appeared in the TV show Spin & Marty. Tim Considine who played Spin was a car guy and said he could handle the car no problem. Years later he admitted to Ivo that it scared him to death!
    Both Jack and TV Tommy have told me that it is the one car that Tommy would really like to have back - but they can't agree on what it's worth !
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2012
  7. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
    Member

    And, in at least two of it's guises, it's just about as good as it gets!
     
  8. Agreed!
     
  9. GEGE
    Joined: May 18, 2002
    Posts: 215

    GEGE
    Member

    here is 3 day ago pics on way to super secret upholstery shop.
    I know it's on a trailer but being a lone wolf i needed to get back home somehow.

    Any way in a week or two it will be back with black t&R with white top and bed cover.

    It's a steel front half of a 23 touring and half of a model a bed but new sides with full circle bead.

    Maybe it will help in your endeavers to see this?

    Can't wait to drive it home and maybe be at the roadster club fathers day party.

    George
     

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  10. steel rebel
    Joined: Jun 14, 2006
    Posts: 3,604

    steel rebel
    Member Emeritus

    Okay guys help me clear up a dispute I have with Ivo. When he invited a friend and me over to his house for him to sign my dash. (I had my car apart for a rebuild at the time) he kept referring to his T as a '25. I corrected him and said I thought it was a '22 or earlier body. I know the guy invites me over to his house and I start a stupid argument. Well now I'm not sure what body it is. Am I right or is he. The color picture above looks small firewall but the B&W picture looks wide firewall. If he is right I'll send him this link. If I'm right I'll just shut my mouth.
    Gary
     

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  11. tfeverfred
    Joined: Nov 11, 2006
    Posts: 15,791

    tfeverfred
    Member Emeritus

    Looks like '23-'25 in those pics.
     
  12. 29pu
    Joined: Oct 31, 2008
    Posts: 159

    29pu
    Member

    Looks early.The angle on the cowl top to body line has the deeper arch than the later ones.they`er more straighter looking at that line.check out the cowl line on the replica body modeled after the 23-25 style on post #422 and you`ll see the difference.
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2012
  13. steel rebel
    Joined: Jun 14, 2006
    Posts: 3,604

    steel rebel
    Member Emeritus

    One for Ivo. One for me.
     
  14. gas pumper
    Joined: Aug 13, 2007
    Posts: 2,957

    gas pumper
    Member

    I'll go with early, too.
     
  15. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
    Member

    Man, i'm looking at one of my cowls that I KNOW to be '23-'25 as I type this, and by the drop from the windshield to the firewall I would swear it to be an early... BUT, it is Tommy Ivo's car, and if he wanted to call it a '53 Studebaker who would I be to say it's not? For the record I see what you are saying between the Black and white picture versus the color. could it have been partially rebodied during the resto in the early nineties? Windshield posts are definitel '23-'25 though.
     
  16. This is a well documented 1925 T and it sure looks like Ivo's. I have seen plenty of others with the straighter line, but I imagine it was typical of Henry's use of multiple suppliers back then
    [​IMG]
     
  17. weez
    Joined: Dec 5, 2002
    Posts: 860

    weez
    Member

    To help with the confusion, (still don't know the year the style changed, maybe it was different regionally?)

    Here's early (on the left of screen) and late to compare cowl angle and firewall size-

    BTW, my early cowl is pretty straight in the centerline, it doesn't flare out at the hood edge, but that may be due to a clumsy repair-
     

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  18. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
    Member

    Mid '22 is the answer on year of change.
     
  19. Royalshifter
    Joined: May 29, 2005
    Posts: 15,579

    Royalshifter
    Moderator
    from California

    22 is correct that is what I have. I like the smaller firewall against the engine.
     
  20. hotrodscott2003
    Joined: Jul 1, 2008
    Posts: 405

    hotrodscott2003
    Member

    OK...here's the info on my T.

    The inside of the driver's door...pretty cool, accidental find!

    [​IMG]

    ...and the build pics I have from 1959...

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    There you go. We got all of this stuff with the car when we got it. For being on the road as long as it had, it was virtually undrivable. Dad and I had to go through and re-engineer ALL of the running gear ('40 Ford tie rods DO NOT make good front 4 bars! Not fun to watch them flex like crazy when trying to deal with wicked bump steer...!), but now my wife drives the dog-snot out of it! The Olds motor is a torque-monster, and the Hydromatic is fun to shift manually. Still not done with it (are they ever done?), and it's going to stay with me!
     
  21. steel rebel
    Joined: Jun 14, 2006
    Posts: 3,604

    steel rebel
    Member Emeritus

    Three pictures from Ivos' book "TV Tommy Ivo Drag Racing's Master Showman" I'm wondering if their might have been an intermediate model change. I'm pretty sure the body is the early small firewall design as is mine but the windshield posts are later. I've been told Henry never threw out anything. In late 22 or early 23 he might have had a few early body's left over and installed the new windshield posts on them.
    Not sure why this is so important to me. Maybe I should just "GET A LIFE"
     

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  22. hotrodscott2003
    Joined: Jul 1, 2008
    Posts: 405

    hotrodscott2003
    Member


    The frontend on the T is mounted suicide style, with Speedway spring perches mounted to brackets we made and welded to the bottom of the wishbones...sits nice and low with a good rake w/o a dropped axle.
     
  23. tfeverfred
    Joined: Nov 11, 2006
    Posts: 15,791

    tfeverfred
    Member Emeritus

    Hmm... I think you're right. I change my guess to "early". The cowl line seems to slope lower on the early style.
     
  24. hotrodscott2003
    Joined: Jul 1, 2008
    Posts: 405

    hotrodscott2003
    Member

    The new seats that are in it are literally bass boat seats we got from a chain sporting goods store that was going out of business (CRS on the name just kicked in...). They are VERY comfortable, look period correct and will get re-upholstered when the rest of the interior gets done.
     
  25. chopo
    Joined: Feb 20, 2006
    Posts: 1,265

    chopo
    Member


    nice
     
  26. 29pu
    Joined: Oct 31, 2008
    Posts: 159

    29pu
    Member

    The info I researched when I restored my early style one was the body change was in early 23 where it still had the small firewall or low cowl with the rear panels being the later style with a high turtle deck.The later sides also had a hole in them at about the curve for the roof bows.The earlier ones don`t have them.The windsheild post are I believe are interchangable except for the 26-27 ones.Thats the info for roadster bodies not tourings but they both use the same style cowl between the two bodies.
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2012
  27. youngster
    Joined: Feb 26, 2006
    Posts: 533

    youngster
    Member Emeritus
    from Minnesota

    The story goes he or someone found the body in the desert. Poeple confused the years back then too. The car may be titled as a '25 but it is a '17 to '22.I have 2 scale models of this great car on the shelf and my scale says it's an early body.

    Ron
     
  28. youngster
    Joined: Feb 26, 2006
    Posts: 533

    youngster
    Member Emeritus
    from Minnesota

    The late windshield posts will easily fit on an early body.

    29pu ... you are correct about the hloes for the top bow pivot. The early pivot was long and above the body side. The later pivit was short and mounted thru the body.

    Ron
     
  29. maddkutter
    Joined: Dec 24, 2009
    Posts: 34

    maddkutter
    Member
    from Aurora, Co

    Got my radiator mounted yesterday.And thank god my car's finally a roller!
     

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  30. steel rebel
    Joined: Jun 14, 2006
    Posts: 3,604

    steel rebel
    Member Emeritus

    Now that's a '25 for sure! More pictures and details.
     

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