*** please help me identify my old olds powered t roadster pickup***

I just bought this in california. The guy i got it from said it came out of a barn between palmdale california and victorville california. IT HAD BEEN IN THERE FOR 40 YEARS. THE CALIFORNIA PLATES WERE LAST REGISTERED IN 1971. I have a few pictures right now i will post more as i get some. It would really be neat to find out who built the car, and maybe if it was in any old magazines. It looks maybe to have originally been built in the 50's the paint looks to be 60's. But it could have been repainted. Just looking for some help with any history i can find. Thanks, rob

 

Neat!

 

That's a badass little roadster and it sure looks like a survivor to me. Spindle mounts, model a frame, 27 body, looks like a model a shortened bed, Olds engine. All the ingredients. I like it a lot.

Don

 

Nice Grab, I saw it on CL, but didn't act fast enough

 

1971 was the same year I moved to the States from Australia........ Damn, that was along time ago..
Nice roadster!!!!!

 

bump. very nice roadster, lot of real old parts on her too.

 

Very nice! The coolest T I've ever seen. Don't change a thing.

 

I saw that in the classifieds, BITCHIN CAR! I wanted it. Congrats on getting it. In the pictures, it looks like you fit in it fine.

 

That's a really cool old hotrod. If it were mine, I would never refer to it as a "T-bucket".

To my biased ear it's a code word for a plastic kit car from the 60s-70s. I almost skipped this post expecting to see another kit car. I'm glad I didn't. I think that term is demeaning to your hotrod. It's much cooler than that. JMO

 

Why do people automatically get weirded out by the word "t-bucket"? It's not like he called it a r@t r*d. I get the comment all the time, "I don't like t-buckets, but I like yours". Hell, I don't like every Deuce roadster running around either, but you don't hear me bitchin' about it.

OK, rant over...I can feel the meds kicking in. That is a nice survivor t-bucket. The steering set-up looks a little strange, being upside down from the usual configuration. If you flip the steering arm 180 degrees, would it clear UNDER the headers, instead of going over the top? Looking at the frame, it appears that it had some different front suspension at one time. That might help you identify it, if you find some old photos. Way cool find, good luck finding the history on it.

 

T bucket to me is just the front tub, with no bed or turtle deck.

 

Roadsters have a turtle deck. This vehicle has a truck bed, so if it's not a T bucket its a Model T truck. Don't follow to closely, with no front brakes and those old slicks I bet it's a bear to stop.

 

nice little car. reminds me of mine..

 

looks like the one in the movie "hot rods from hell" that was supossedly shot in the av desert in the 60's

 

Hope some one can identify for you.
bump

 

I think if you flip the steering arm it will actually steer backwards. Ask me how I know this, but keep in mind I was 17 at the time.

 

I would say it was a '60s build, judging from length of hairpins, rear 'bone setup ('36 Ford brackets or axle housings, mounted PSI style, anyway) Steering looks like a '35-'41 box, with an early pitman arm (ball & socket) Not many steering boxes set up like that in the 50s
When they used that box, it was usually in a cross-steer configuration, like the car it came out of. (like the Vega box is used now)

I'd guess the steering previously came thru the frame 12" ahead of where the box is now: See the holes in the rail (for previous sector shaft) is? The box could be influenced by the Pete&Jake Mustang steering method, pitman arm 'up', to eliminate 'bump steer'...

The overall style of the car is classic '60s 'Altered': Front spindle mounts, rear American "Power Wheels" and whitewall slicks. If the steering wheel (Grant or 'Covico') was the original, it would scream 1962. Likewise for the dual masters on the chrome firewall...
The Olds is '50s inspired, but there were quite a few serious street/drag cars with Oldses... Not everybody ran SBC, but the majority did.

Anyone go to the Roadster Roundups in Santa Maria in the mid-to-late '60s? Seems like I remember this car from there. Thought he was with the L.A. Roadsters...

 

Mike I believe that you nailed it on the build.

Tommy,
It should be called a roadster pickup as calling it a t bucket does conjure up thoughts of the late '60s or early '70s to me as well. Plastic body, big assed brass headlights and M/Ts were what my mind said when I read the title.

Never the less its too bad that if I ever did find something like that in a barn or shed that I know for a fact that the cash would not be there. That is one nice little roadster.

 

I'd that car has to be known by someone on here. Everything is just right on it for the early 60's and I wouldn't change a thing except to put front brakes on it.

I'd be calling it an Olds powered 27 RP rather than a T bucket though. That just seems to fit the car better and may jog a memory or too.

 

Now THAT'S funny! True enough, I hadn't quite thought the engineering through. I suppose most t-buckets use reversed steering boxes for a reason. Care to share the rest of the story...I've already spit coffee on my keyboard anyway.

 

Don't want to steal the thread, but we were building this A coach. Mostly ended up towing it around town to try to weld on it in the high school shop. Most cars had their pitman arms down, so we mounted our modified steering box to look like all the others. Except when you turned left it went right. So we reversed the pitman arm, but only after much engineering discussion. Someone eventually cut the car up and used the body on a jeep.

 

Its in a old late 60's Rod &custom magazine. And it was in a Street Rod Pictorial, one of the first ones, a good color shot there. It was a dark gold with lighter gold flames, good ones. It had the 12 spokes and the olds motor . I think its the same car. If I was near my magazines I could find it easy. I thought I had saved a pic of the pictorial shot, it was on here somewhere. I am editing this as I am WRONG. I was thinking of a A model roadster pickup. Carry on.

 

Sure reminds me of something out of Hot Rod, '65 or '66. Although I may be thinking of a shortened 'A' RPU as well. I'll sneak down into the library tonight and see if I can find it.

 

thanks for all the help and compliments. i'm trying to get info right now from the guy that had them in the barn. that would really help me out if he had some info. i will post more pictures as i get some. but thanks again for any help! by the way can i change my description to say help identify my old 1927 rp not t-bucket?
Rob

 

Cool RPU! Congrats on the purchase.

If you go to the bottom of your first post -- click "Edit"; then "Go Advanced", you should be able to change the title of this thread.



Malcolm

 

thanks, i changed description. it only changed it on the first post! i guess that's ok though.

i do not plan on doing anything to the car except hook up headlights, a couple of the guages that don't work, just give it a tune etc.... i would love to get it road worthy but to do that i'd have to put brakes on the front do some work to the rear end to get some rear suspension travel. so i don't want to do anything like that., because it would change it from what it is. so not sure what to do. probably just leave it in our shop as a as found type of a art work (history) couldn't stand to change it!!!!!
the car is just so cool to see in person, i don't even want to wipe the dust off of it.
thanks again for any help finding some info on it. Rob

 

Geez, what a find.. Any idea on what size Olds? or post the numbers here for an ID. There should be a one or two digit number on the head, right above the center exhaust port.

Also a block stamped number, on the actual deck surface that shows between the #1 and #3 cylinders....right where the headgasket would be...a bit of the deck shows there.

I can't imagine the thrill of finding a real oldtime hotrod. Very cool.

 

Post some pics over at Speed&Kustom, there are a lot of old California guys on there.

 

WoW! Great find! Glad to hear you're keeping it as built.
it looks as though it rolled right out of a 60's Rod & Custom.

Maybe some long time early CA rodders would recall it from an LA Roadster or Early Times run, etc. Mazooma?

 

Thats awesome what a find cool looking piece Now i have to say those headers are just like mine except the person who built my car didnt cut down the edges and round them off. Are there holes drilled in between the header tubes to lighten up the flange it looks like that in the pic.I think these where offered by a performance company as i have the same set! Its crazy seeing them on your car I assumed they were for marine at first but i suspect different now. I would like to find out some history if you ever find out anymore please send it my way. Thanks