Hot Rods The Belly Button Bucket Build Thread

This evening was reasonably eventful - I was able to just about complete the tonneau/pickup bed cover. The repurposed rumble seat handles are mounted in such a way they don’t interfere with the cover opening. It is hinged, mounted, and latched- I just need to build a small bracket to hold the striker pin and ran out of time to make noise.

 

Not much to report tonight- I did get the striker pin and latch completed. I think some sort of locking hinge would be beneficial for fuel stops, so that’s probably my next step.

 

It progress well for you.

 

Question for you guys: what would you do to hold up the tonneau cover? I had thoughts of a prop rod, some locking hinges, some gas struts..... gas struts would be simplest it seems, because I can just buy them and mount them, but I don't think that would look right. Prop rod seems more appropriate... thoughts????

 

I’ve seen a lot of deck kids that have a slide similar to a model A windshield slide for pushing the windshield out. But with notched spot in the groove.

open the deck lid, or in this case bed cover, bump the slide so the peg sits into the notch and your locked open. Bump it the other way at close it. Seems easy enough. I’ll draw a picture so it makes
More since

 

Something like this. Placed vertically it could be straight, on an angle it could be a curve piece that dives before it hits the back side of the bed

 

I was thinking something like that as well.... was trying to get around cutting a slot that long LOL. But I think this would be the simplest to operate and most functional. I'd like it to be on the fuel filler side as that's where I'd be needing most frequent access, so I don't think I could get away with a short one as that would interfere with the filler access. I'll scheme on it some more. Thanks for the response.

 

MAYBE I CAN JUST REPURPOSE A MODEL A WINDSHIELD SLIDE..... Good idea! I'll take a look at that in a bit.

 

Great idea but put notch on other side so gravity helps hold open

 

Flat stock and a washer cut in half presto weldo you’ve got a slide

If you repurpose a model A slide you could even grab the threaded slide knob and tighten it to stop it just like you would use it on the windshield and you’d need no notch

 

Tim
These are kind of cool, they resemble some of your other mounts, may require some adapting, also may eliminate the need for a prop rod.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KMR4BZ...s=hi&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWwy&th=1

Or use a pair of overhead bin hinges.
Inspiration here:
https://www.google.com/search?q=ove...iw=1280&client=tablet-android-samsung-nf-rev1

 

But wait, there's more!

A lot more!

https://www.google.com/search?q=toy...iw=1280&client=tablet-android-samsung-nf-rev1

 

On my build i just going to use a rod or a stick to keep it open.
If you want to show off use one or two small gascylinders like modern stw have.
Just unlock and the lid opens by it self.

 

Why not just use a model A trunk lid prop? It does exactly what you want and come chromed.

 

Well, I took the Model A windshield slider idea and ran with it- didn’t see the trunk prop post till now lol. Speedway has rough dimensions for the windshield sliders online, so I filled in the blanks and made a close copy out of cardboard, then transferred to steel, then made a couple other mounting locations, then verified fit, then filed in a slot to keep it propped up. Yes; I know the cardboard template looks like a pee pee.

 

Heck yeah! Slick!

how did you end up making the slot?

 

Thanks again for the idea. That's exactly what it needed. The trunk prop would probably work as good or better, but this was in my wheelhouse of fabrication capabilities lol.

I started with a piece of 1/8" x 3" steel strap, traced my template and punched the holes. After that, I drilled the holes with a cordless drill as my drill press motor is still in the shop getting rebuilt, then death wheeled the slot horizontally from one hole to the other. I then proceeded to death wheel the rest of the bracket out, and finished it up on the belt sander and some hand filing.

 

Turned out killer. Always like a clean simple solution.

 

Not much progress to report as I’ll be away for the weekend, but right before I left, the pedals I had ordered showed up in the mailbox. I bought these because they are about 1/2” narrower than the round pedals I had, which (I think) will free up a little foot room - I figure every little bit helps! I’ll have to scheme a modification to permanently mount them as they have a 3/8-16 aluminum bolt welded to the backside, which I hadn’t planned on, but I’ll get it sorted.

 

Nice! Looks better than the Austin Mini pedals and pads I used, for the same reason. But that's the Scots side of the family showing thru...

 

Tonight I tried my hand at forming some aluminum sheet- first up was a cover for the master cylinder access, which I think I will hinge off the steel strap, and second was a cover for the driveshaft, which gives it about another inch of clearance. It took me two tries to make this one, and ran out of time to keep swinging the hammer to shrink down all the high spots on each. I think I might have to try making a transmission cover out of aluminum as well.

 

Tonight I worked on the seat belt mounts. I have some (now expired) Simpson lap belts, and after reading the instructions, I realized I wouldn’t be able to mount them the way Simpson calls out….

More or less, they want them anchored to the chassis and at a 45* angle back from your hip bone when seated. I stared at this for a couple nights thinking about how I could mount them in a way that will keep me in the car in the event of a wreck. I have read the various opinions on whether or not you want to be ejected in a T bucket wreck, whether or not you want the body to torpedo off the chassis in a T bucket wreck, etc. I want to stay with the body, on the chassis, so what I did is make some gussets out of 1/8”x3” steel strap. I bent them as best I could to fit snugly to floor and back of body, then scuffed them up and bonded them in place. I will tab them in later, and I will do this same thing on the bottom side when I have it accessible. That should be a very strong joint and help keep everything together in the event of a wreck…. Hopefully that never happens but you know…







One other thing I messed around with is the seat back - I thought maybe since I have 4th Gen F body rear seat bottoms, maybe the rear seat top could be a good starting point. I made a trip to All American Classics on lunch break and tried not to get distracted with all the awesome stuff they have- I haven’t been in probably 10yrs and I have no idea why… anyway go check them out!

I found a mostly removed, minimal moisture, no tears seat, got it home, tried it as is… way too thick and flat. Stripped off the upholstery, split the foam apart from the frame, and actually the foam fits the contour of the body reasonably well- I would need to trim off the tails at the bottom, but seems like it could work. I hopped in for a test fit and… still too thick. I think if I am careful, I can section a couple inches out of the backside and get it where it needs to be. It was $60, so I’m willing to eat the cost if I screw up. Anyway, picture:

 

Any way to get to the frame rails from the underside of the body with some sort of bracketry that your angle seatbelt brackets could bolt to? Could be another way to secure the body at the same time.

 

Not without some sort of seriously compromised mounts lol. I have very tight quarters underneath- the ladder bars would be the first to interfere, then the exhaust I’m planning to run would be next. I think the body is reasonably secure- there are a total of 10 3/8” grade 8 bolts holding the body to the chassis - 6 of those are going through a 1/8”x2” steel strap that will get fiberglassed to the floor. That is significantly more stout than what I’ve seen in other bucket builds. I’m with you on the idea of some angle brackets to bolt to the frame, but in this case I’m limited by packaging constraints.

 

Tonight I started making the wire form for the transmission tunnel. It needs quite a bit of tweaking to make it right, but I’m getting there. I will be making the tunnel out of fiberglass instead of aluminum- I don’t want to battle heat transfer through the aluminum one, and it would probably take me several tries to form. I’m fairly confident I can pull this off with fiberglass in a similar way I made the rear crossmember cover.

 

Oh man, Tim, I'm going to fly you out here when it's time to remake the floor in the Whatever project! I just hope the nephew is also following your t. He and I will need to print out all of these tricks when we get around to doing this...

 

Oh contraire Dave, I believe I'm in the queue first!
And, I don't even need to buy a plane ticket!

 

Bidding war!

 

I have refreshments!

 

I see your refreshments, and raise you pizza and wings!