What would you do to bring this 70's era T bucket up to standard?

So after bugging my friend for 12 years, he finally called up and said to come get the T bucket. He was going to keep the 435hp 427 and tranny, but the rest of it is coming home with me. The price was so unbelieveably cheap, that I almost feel bad since he's a friend. As you can see from the pics, it's definitely an older build. I've got a 396 going together at the machine shop as we speak to get the thing back on the road as soon as possible, but what would you do to fix all the wrongs? I know the pics suck, but tell me what violations you see and what I should replace it with. Please no bashing, I'm asking for some help to get it back to something close to traditonal......

 

There are some cool threads here.....maybe search a bit.

 

Well I don't think I put that Snow Blade on it !!! Lot of sweet parts on that thing. Keep us posted on what you do >>>>.

 

just go over the brakes , including lines ,cylinders,,,,springs, hangers,,,,have the rad boiled, new hoses,,,seat belts,,,,get rid of that straight up column,,,youll be glad you did...definatally get new himes joints,, doesnt matter if they look good, its you ass if it snaps you go for a ride,,,,250 300 is a cheap price for piece of mind

 

Wash it real good.
Polish/Replate all the Chrome.
Varnish the Wood.
If the Velour is Salvageable,keep it.
Wire it properly.
Rebuild the Brake system.
Get some New tires.
Drive the Hell out of it!
Did I miss anything?

 

that thing is great

 

I've been searching and saving pics for a while now, I just figured I'd post it and see what ideas you guys would make.

EP5x, don't laugh, that snow plow is what finally got him to sell it to me. He ran out of room for his four wheelers and motorcycles, so he gave me the call to come get the bucket.

 

Cool !! If it has the Corvette engine under the tri-power intake that thing will wicked fast !!! >>>>.

 

I would dump the dash, steering and valure. Go for a little more mordern glass dash, inclined steering like the man said and go for some kind of "all weather" upholstery

 

He's keeping that 427/400 cause he has them sold for about twice what he gave for the car back in the 80s. I'll probably run a tunnel ram on the 396 being built. I just love the looks of velocity stacks.............

 

air the tires up and drive it

 

Tunnel ram would keep it in the seventies.

 

Mate if it were me i would aim for a 60-70's t-bucket streetrod look, lately i've seen way too many classic t-buckets turned into something that is regarded as ol'skool but in reality i don't recall ever being built that way except nowadays..
T-Buckets have two styles that are timeless.
(1). The Lightning bug, Kookie and Tommy Ivo inspired Tee's. and (2) the Streetrod T-Bucket (which you own) and in my opinion was a classic era that needs embracing.

What you have is a classis era of rodding and from what i can see it has the right gear in place, to be honest i'm partial towards the tall tops and 2pce screens but this is your ride not mine, but i bet you'll get ya money worth of fun out of it.

 

This is not what I thought I'd be writing when I opened this thread... But, I'd just clean up the wiring, go through the susp/steering/brakes. Redo the hideous upholstery job, drop a powerplant in it and drive! It might not be the most attractive bucket on the block, but it's definitely a snapshot in time. Kinda cool!

 

Dude if you have a bitchin T from the 70s I'm guessing, don't try to make it look modern. If you want a modern t that has some kind of ol skool loolk then build a new one, this is bitchin as is! Just freshen it up for safety.

 

scratchbuilt, wow pretty fresh out of the gates and to come up with that. i applaud your style. i concur obviously, i've seen too many buckets "try" for the kookie look and fall miserably short.

 

clean it, chrome it, polish it, make it safe. And BY ALL MEANS KEEP THAT STRAIGHT UP STEERING COLUMN. Nothing screams period T more than that column and the tires.

 

Put the snow plow on it and drive it!!

 

Nice t-bucket. Looks like you will have fun working on it. Here is the thread that you need to read - http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=272376 .

It has the answers to your quest.

 

Hilborn style fuel injection..

 

Just askin' - have you ever put any street time or highway miles on a T-Bucket? Since you got a steal of a deal and already have the 396", put it together and play with it some. However, suggest you drive it a while before putting any serious money in it. They do have their own learning curve.

jack vines

 

For me, if you were to change anything on it (particularly the vertical steering) you should have your ass kicked up and down a long block. OK you can change the velour upholstery to diamond tuck leather. But thats it.

 

Late 60s to 70s style will be the next craze and you're waaaay ahead of the cuve.

 

Keep it 70s, not because of some plan to make money or cash in on a craze, but because that is what the car is!

 

Like some people have said go through everything since it's sat for a while and is an older build. I would drop in you 396 with a tunnel ram, ditch the radio in the dash, bolt on a stock T windshield and drive it. It's a sweet 70's T bucket there's no denying that and you'd have to rebuild the entire car from the frame up to get rid of all the 70's in it. Get it running and driving and go have some fun with it.

 

Yeah, Diamond Tuck & Drive it!

 

Freshen it up and drive it!

 

I'd make the passenger door functional (old guy here), and add a Ford script tailgate.

 

I would change up the stearing column angle and style. Keep style but redo the upholstery, and give it a wicked colorful paint job. Flakes, lots of flake and clear. Now, this is based on just looking at the pictures. Not based on my style. kinda of a gut reaction. Oh and tighten up the exhaust. kinda looks like and after thought. Bring it in tight. This looks like a fun project... so i hope it becomes a fun one for you.

 

The passenger seat time I have put in, but not the driving time. It was rough riding and wore me out, but I dug the open car feel. I figure it will be like my old rigid Ironhead, it may not be pretty or comfortable, but it's mine and I'll enjoy the piss out of it. I know what you mean on the learing curve, first time I didn't stand up on the pegs of that hardtail for a big pot hole, I thought I snapped my spine. Last time I ever did that. LOL. This isn't going be a show winner, just something to have fun with without spending a lot of dough, I've got a enough other auctomotive addictions to feed..........