Not really "FAKE" but I love calling my Fiberglass T body fake... 283ci Chev and PowerGlide with a '57 Chev rearend behind it. Should get down the road pretty well I suppose... 2"X3" mild steel frame with a WelderSeries Model A style front crossmember. Stock A rear crossmember, but undecided on what rear set up to really run yet. Dad wants coil over... Later 40's Ford front end, split bones, spring over axle, drums, etc... 16" wheels front and back. Paid a bit too much for the body but I had to have it to get this thing going. It's gotta have some history, but I don't know about it. It's old real thin and has no floor at all... Time to learn a new skill! Well see what steering box comes along for us to use. I'd like to use something 30's. After selling my '27 the other year I've been kicking my ass to build another one so here goes! Random photos....
I like what your doin. And I don't say that lightly with fiberglass. Don't paint the body. A lot of history there.
Thanks! The sad part is that it needs a lot of work, but I'm going to dig up as much as I can on it before I change it.
what wheels are you using? I too have a similar project I'm quietly gathering parts for.Looking forward to see how you mount your diff. I'm leaning toward a model A rear spring set up with with some MGB lever arm shock units on mine subscribed
...thin body, no floors....says drag racing heritage to me. Great collection of parts to start with....
Thanks for the replies fellas! That's what I've been thinking. I keep having visions of it with the body removable and the floor bolted to the frame... fleet-master, The front wheels are 16" X 5" Ford wheels. Not sure on front tire sizes yet. The rears are some kind of new wheels with the old Chev bolt pattern, also 16". Not sure how wide they are but the rear tires are 16" X 7.00 Firestones.
Fiberglass is one of the easiest mediums to work with. Unlike body work, almost anyone can do glass work with a minimum of tools and skill. It is also very forgiving, so if you screw up it is easy to correct your mistakes. I have done a lot of glass work in my life, on cars and boats, and if I can offer a couple of suggestions. Go to the library and get a book on fiberglass boat building and repair............everything in there will directly relate to what you will be doing. It will tell you what types of materials to buy, how to tab a wooden substructure in for strength, and things like that. Secondly, use polyester resin. Epoxy resin does have some advantages, but it is much more expensive and for what you are doing polyester is just fine. If you buy it from a fiberglass supply house or old time boat repair shop (where they pump it out of a 55 gallon drum) you will save a lot of money. Finally, join the T bucket forum. Lots of good information and guys who have years of experience they are only too happy to share. Good luck with your project. http://www.tbucketeers.com/ Don
Thanks for the tips Don! As Butch has said as well, I'll have to join that site and have a look. The front corners of the body will need the most work for sure. It has some wood in it already but it's pretty dry. I's like to put some more in it or some steel.
Everybody had their own opinions on this, but personally I do not like metal inner structures on a fiberglass body. Steel and fiberglass have different contraction/expansion rates but wood is very close to being the same. I just use pieces of wood and encapsulate them with glass mat. The interior wood has been in my 27 for over 23 years and looks like the day I did it because air and water can't get to it. Here is how I did my 23 to give you some idea of how you might do yours. Don
Nice dune buggy dude! When are you going to start bolting the rusty pices of sheet metal to it to make it a rat rod? Also let's get going on this fucking thing we need to do a weekend thrash soon you greasy dick!
at one time i quit working on my 41 willys glass car. because i started to fall for the if it steel it aint real shit.but i know i cant afford to buy a good steel body. not when they cost more than my house and i got a hell of a place here.so ive decide to go ahead and finish this baby. hell the whole body doesnt weigh more than 250 lbs. combine that with a over 500 hp. sbc. and i believe it will eat alot of steel cars out there. time will tell.what really changed mymind was when a old timer( 70 something hotter rodder and pro drag racer) told me if they had glass cars in his day hed be damned if he would have run steel bodied cars.he also noted that all the cars that were goung fast had glass fenders and glass hoods. that those cars would have been all glass if they were available back then. that helped me go on with this car. i cant wait to get it rollin down thwe road.good luck with youre and keep us in the loop.oh yeah, looks like you got a good start already.
Way cool! I'm watching. After selling my T years ago I never really found anything else that was as much fun so I'm building another one. Love the frame sweep too. A man after my own heart.
I wish I had more to post! I should have taken more frame pictures! Thanks for the encouragement guys!
i like this thread keep on building , T buckets are cool , norms kookie T was my dream car when i was just starting to dig hotrod cars ,
I'm still looking for steel body parts, but this old glass body is just plain cool! This won't be a "t bucket" haha...
Dug up some pictures from when the guy had the body before me... I"d like to know what it looked like before this abortion...
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