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

Well, I decided to visit Boise again this weekend for Easter and my mom's birthday. Today was the Firebird Raceway Spring Warm Up and Swap Meet, so my cousin and I headed over to check it out. It was a pretty good turn out! I ended up with another pair of wide 5 drums (I have 3 pair, but none that are usable AND have the cooling fins). These have plenty of meat left and have the cooling fins, so I'm happy! I also picked up a nice pair of '42-'48 square back spindles, a pair of '40 Ford front hubs, an early GM 12V generator and AC Delco regulator, and an early Ford rear drum/hub puller. The pile of parts for the Touring T is coming along nicely!

While I was home and away from the bucket, I decided to make the most of my vacation and put the family to work! I talked to my mom about upholstery stuff, and we got started on that. I also had my dad help me out with the header board for the roadster top.






Using Chip's advice and cutting out the tonneau cover:



This will be one of of the pleated inserts in the tonneau. It will be surrounded by that green piping eventually.



The shifter boot came out great!



Cutting pockets in the header board for the top latches to sit flush:

 

Totally cool Tim
Jeremy

 

Very nice Tim and great to get your Mum and Dad involved too. Mum looks fantastically happy with her sewing machine too. You will have to tell me all about those latches you are using on the header panel and explain how they work with the receiving pin, I will be stealing that idea I think.

 

Man you are lucky to have THOSE parents. Nice work

 

Tim, that is great.

 

Tim, that is neat that your parents are ready to hop in an give a helping hand with your T project. Appears that you won the parent lottery, good on them.

 

Tim
With such wonderful parents aren't you glad you never gave them a minutes problem or worry while growing up.
Yeah right.
See you in Portland.
Gary

 

Thanks for the comments, guys. I showed the 'rents that they're Internet famous now, and they were flattered.

Whip,
I'll have to finish the top frame up to make sure it will work, but I'll definitely share the information with you and this group.

 

Okey guys we're all friends here and Chip I hope you don't mind if we go off topic a little. I hate to start a new thread and I am definitely too lazy to go through a search.
This is mainly a question for Chip but if any of my other friends know the answer just chime in.
I just bought a Chevy stepside that if HAMB friendly it is just barely. The stick shift tranny is reportedly bad. I just simply need to know what is the best S10 five speed od trans to go after. I have heard the V6 truck has the most od. Thirty percent. Anyway any help will be appreciated.
Gary

 

OH isn't it nice to know that it doesn't matter how young we get, there is still no know cure for the HOT ROD BUG. Just look at our friend here named Gary, he couldn't help himself and has adopted another lonely forgotten needy project to give a good loving home too.
You Sir, are to be congratulated for rescuing another vehicle.

 

Gary,
This website has a pretty comprehensive list by transmission tag number. You should be able to find what gear you're after by going through that list.

http://www.britishv8.org/articles/borg-warner-t5-id-tags.htm

Also, I have an S10 T5 that I will not be using BUT it is missing the top cover and rear case housing. I bought two T5's for the Touring T. One Camaro and one S10. I put the S10 top cover and rear housing on the Camaro trans, and I don't need the rest. I forget the gear ratios it has, but I think OD is .86 or so and it's a non world class. Probably not what you're after.

 

Gary, if you go the the Inliners.org website and forum and search the drivetrain section by using for the last year, you will find a step by step to installing a T-5 in a 65 Chevy C10, I think the poster was Lugnutz,, The same info could be used to install a T5 in a bucket..

 

Gary,

Lot's of Camaro T-5 info here.

http://www.thirdgen.org/forums/transmissions-drivetrain/444098-t5-faq-everything-we.html

Not sure how much is compatible with the S-10 T-5's. Not sure what your plans are for this truck, but I HIGHLY recommend getting a "World Class" T-5, if for no other reason than the fact that Chevrolet didn't even believe it would live behind a 350 Tpi motor and it was the strongest one they had. Pretty sad when you stop to think about it.

Kurt


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

 

Found Lugnutz website. Lot of good info there!

http://lugnutz65chevystepside.weebly.com/t5-info-page.html

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

 

I don't have much to offer, but this might be something fit you, Gary;
http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/transmission-drivetrain/129-0608-trail-transmission/#__federated=1

 

Wow guys Kurt and Brynk. Great info! It is what I was looking for. This stepside truck seems too good to be true. It's been sitting in my neighbors front yard (about a block away)for ten or more years. I've lived here since 2002 and don't remember it not being there. The only rust is about an inch long on the drivers side rear window and the only dent is about fist size in a front fender,wing. I finally decided I'd ask the homeowner if he wanted to get rid of it after I looked inside and it had three pedals. I saw the guy out and and he said his brother bought it from an across the street neighbor and they pushed it there because the tranny was out. He asked how much I would give him and I thought I'd really "low ball" him and said all I could offer was a few hundred. He said he would take two hundred. Few,two? Anyway I still have to DMV it. I did go over yesterday and got the hood, bonnet up. The V8 engine has new blue paint on it and the oil looks perfect.
Okay now back to de-unlifing Chip's and everybody else's T bucket.
This info could be used on a lot of other bucket builds.
Now back to studying the links above.
Thanks again Gary

 

Damn Tim! Way to goon the family labor situation!!! Good to see mom sewing on a good quality machine too! That Viking is one of the one's I had my hands in the design of when I was a semi-big wig with them. It looks like a computerized 400 or 600 series, which is an AWESOME machine for doing this stuff as you obviously now see!

Cool thing about Viking's computer machines for doing trim type stuff, Is while most folks would look at the plastic paneled exterior and computerization and think "light duty", VERY much the opposite is true. The machine is built over an aluminum chassis, which is one of the prettiest castings I have ever seen. Instead of a gear train and timed points to break or slip, all of the functions are run by separate motors, and if one gets "offended", it simply shuts down before it breaks. Turn it off, let it sit 30 seconds, turn it back on and it retimes itself and back to work you go!

Oh well, that's enough machine rambling for now. Your net results look great! Just tell mom to use every bit of that 6mm stitch length when she does the pleats and piping... 'Cause that was one of my contributions to that line FOR that reason!

 

Not only does Chip knock the ugly out of T buckets, he designs a mean sewing machine too

 

Good score Gary!!! I have become fairly intimate with these trucks the last few years, having fallen in with a bunch of friends that have them and two clients that have me work on theirs. I absolutely LOVE them, and I'm pretty sure soon, especially with the S-10 five speed, you will too. As long as you aren't building the engine to the moon it'll be a great trans. As the others have said, grab one from an s-10 with a 4.3 V6, prior to '92.

 

Hey Gary.

You are most welcome, but as payment for my service, I would like to see some pics [emoji12]

That sounds like a nice and good truck, and dirt cheap! [emoji41]

Keep us posted, at least a link to the "build thread".
Did you say blue mill, is it a Ford or a Perkins LOL.

V8, three pedals and truck, tinkles all the right places.

No T update from any of you other guys? I would love an update.

My own builds is a little locked, because I spend my days looking for jobs, or doing household chores (honey do-list). [emoji52]

 

You know Brynk I'd love to post pictures but I'm not sure it is HAMB friendly and I don't want to do anything to jeopardize this thread. Although it does have just two round headlights it might be a year or two too new.
Thanks Chip for the simple easy answer. S10,V6 before '92. I've read most of the links Kurt and Brynk posters and if I can find a WC tranny I'll surely get it but Kurt my hot rodding days are way past and I doubt if a stock Chevy, V8 has more than 285 hp so I just might do as Chip suggested and get one from a V6 S10.
Another question. I've heard of 30 percent ODs but all I read is .65 or .75. My high school math says that is less than 10 percent or am I wrong.
Gary

 

Most specifically Gary, a 4.3 liter V6. The other is a 2.8 liter and it's got a whole 'nother set of gears and such to deal with it's lack-o-torque. The 4.3 is the one that looks like 2/3 of a small block. The over drive in that particular unit should be right at .72, which is referred to as a 30% overdrive, 'cause 70% percent of something leaves 30% of 100%...

 

Gary...don't assume the oil is clean...change it and the filter before you start the engine.
After all these years the dirt has settled out of it and is waiting to mix again once it starts.
I'd drain it, put on a new filter and refill with cheap oil.
Start the truck for a while and then, if the engine seems good, when she cools I'd drain the cheap oil and replace it with quality stuff and also change the filter again.
That way you will get most of the settled dirt out quick.

 

Thanks Chip. 4.3 got it. Let me mull those %# around a bit but I'll take your word for it.

 

Good point I'll do just that. The good part is no water. Money well spent.

Gary

 

I was right there with ya' Chip until you said that a 4.3 litre looks like 2/3 of a small block...

 

Heck Gary, we have managed to fly the odd picture of our pet dogs past the mods here and haven't upset anybody so can I suggest that when you get your truck home, have your Trixie sitting in the drivers seat and take a heap of photo's to post up here. You only have to slide them into the conversation once so that we get to enjoy a look at the " new " truck.

 

Good fuckin idea Mark. Better yet I'll park my roadster next to it and then nobody can complain.

Gary

 

Exactly what I was going to suggest, pic of your T-bucket with a OT pickup sitting behind it.

 

Damn if there ain`t a bunch of sneaky buggers around here.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo