Technical Aluminum T bucket frame

Remember Boyds built that all aluminum car like 20 years ago... I wonder how thats doing?

In any case- I'm more of a "Send It its a hotrod" type guy and not knowing where it's been exposed + having seen trailer frames work harden and bust- that would that would make even me nervous. With all the brackets and finishing it would need it's not too much further to start from scratch with steel...

 

And I saw that pickup you mentioned at GNRS this year. You can still see the Von Dutch stripes it’s surreal.

 

That T looks great. Is it all original or rebuilt?

 

It was all original. Bob Owens owns it. It's pretty awesome.

 

There was a thread not too long back, young man in his teens built a T bucket? in is moms basement, was supposed to be an aluminum frame. Some nationally/famous known car.
I think in maybe the ‘50’s?

 

The Uncertain T?

 

Maybe that was it?

 

It had an aluminum frame, that's about all I know about it.

 

Bandit would just be over there polishing it to a mirror finish lol

 

Duh!

 

I remember in ages past that MAS had an aluminum framed T chassis on display in their Minneapolis store; wonder what became of it. The frame had a more conventional kick-up than the OP's frame.

 

The frame in the Uncertain T was painted.
And a different shape, the side rails were not straight.

 

I didn't mean to infer that this was a similar frame to the Uncertain T only that it was made out of the same material.

 

I'm not up on all the Uncertain T details, but if I had an Aluminum frame I would hesitate to paint it.
For racing, I would paint aluminum, if I was trying to get something past tech inspection.

 

According to this page:
https://www.tbucketplans.com/uncertain-t-exposed/
you are correct.
"...the frame was constructed from 2″ x 3″ rectangular aluminum tubing
that Steve purchased from Art’s Surplus in Van Nuys, CA."

But if you look at these pics:
https://www.caranddriver.com/photos/g46502485/1965-uncertain-t-custom-gallery/
does the frame appear to be rusty ?

If you study the pics, in the first link, the corners on the frame tubes,
are sharp like I would expect on an extrusion. Not radiused, like you
would expect on steel tube.

 

I would not use an aluminum frame on a car to be driven on the street. This car was built in 1953 with an aluminum frame. You can see the aluminum front crossmember in the first picture. It is basically a steel t-bucket with a roof. It was built for drag racing and the street. My brother bought the car in 1974. In 1976 he drove it from Detroit to St. Paul for the NSRA Nationals. When we got back, we found the frame sagged about 1-1/2" in the area of the firewall. He straightened it and reinforced it. Then in 1979, we made another trip to the Nationals in St. Paul. Got home and found frame had sagged again in a slightly different area. That winter I made him a new chassis out of 1-1/2"x 3" steel tubing. That frame is still nice and straight today.

 

This vehicle looked waaaay better with the full fenders , aprons& running boards in place along with the steel wheels IMO .

 

Man that's a neat find! You need to talk with chip quinn, his parents ran a shop that made those if I recall correctly.
(I can get you contact info if you want)

Personally I'd build a superlight car and run it. I've always wanted to try one. I think your idea of a thick floorpan/monocoque center to it, would be a nice addition. I did that on my T with my frame and it made for a very stiff frame. make sure anywhere you bolt through the frame that it has a bung all the way through the tube, as previously stated, the aluminum tube wont support being threaded or bolted to very well.

I've got a couple aluminum v8's for sale if you want to go that route.

 

In addition to all aluminum boat trailers and car haulers, I'm familiar with the bike industry, since my son is a player there. While he points out that aluminum will eventually fail if it is stressed hard enough and long enough, there are also millions of aluminum framed bicycles out there being ridden hard on all types of terrain. An aluminum frame properly designed can be successfully used with those restrictions and limitations in mind. While I would not use it for a AA/FA I think it could be safely finished out with a lightweight powertrain of moderate performance.

Has Anthony checked in with the "I'd drive it" ? If not let me be the first.

 

I agree but it is my brothers car not mine. It ran at the 1960 NHRA U S Nationals at Detroit Dragway without fenders and he likes that look

 

I dragged aluminum flatbed trailers around for years without ever having a failure. The brand we had were totally bolted together, with very little welding done to them. The suspension was a steel cradle that bolted to the aluminum frame rails. We constantly had max weight loads on them. In fact, they were rated higher than the composite trailers we had that had steel frames and aluminum floors.

Properly bolted on components, with crush sleeves through the frame would be extremely strong. If you were still worried about it, you could even bolt on a steel inner frame for extra strength. Painted silver it would blend in with the aluminum color.

What do y’all think about the Morgan sports cars? They have a WOOD frame! I think I’d rather have the aluminum than the wood!

 

If you want to go down that uncertain T rabbit hole the rusty frame is the replacement frame. The aluminum frame failed decades ago

 

Better to locate a Rover with the upgrades and more displacement. Same engine, just a newer version when Buick sold the rights to the engine to Rover. You can get up to 4.6 liter or about 280 cu in. They come with carbs or fuel injection that has some nice stacks. Heres a pic of a 4.2 Rover.

 

Chip Quinn's dad made aluminum T frames back in the day...

 

Of crorse it was light, Crosley front axle!!

 

Boyd built one too. Aluma tub?

 

Any aluminum frame for a car requires that the builder have a good knowledge of the different alloys available, heat treating, and understanding of the effects of welding. Not all aluminums are equal. I'm an airplane guy, and I can say that basically no aircraft have any welded critical joints. Structural members on aircraft use lots of rivets and precision fit bolts/screws. Learn about Hi-locks.

 

Like my grandma used to say , " Isn't it grand we're not all the same "

 

There has been a lot of "properly engineered" and "correct alloys", and even "proper heat treating" and of course a few "nothing welded" statements on this thread concerning aluminum frames. There has been examples and statements of builders that have built aluminum frames over the years as "proof" they are safe (most with no history of how long they have actually lasted, before needing to be replaced, I might point out). Car frames, truck trailer frames, bicycle frames, and even airplane frames, all built out of aluminum, have been spoken about. I've been a welder for 30 years, I've seen nearly all of them with cracks (except the airplane aluminum frames, they did not stop by my shop to see if I could weld up few cracks ).

My point on the entire deal is, you have no history concerning this frame you have. You don't even know if who ever welded it together knew how to properly weld aluminum, or if they had any engineering background. You don't know what aluminum alloy was used, nor if it was, was not, or even needed to be heat treated. Then there is the fact it is incomplete and needs more accessories added.

For me, this frame would be great polished wall art, too many unknowns.