Features Traditional Track T or Bucket Build Cost Under $5000??

I have a question. I found a 1986 Mercury Cougar with a 5.0 engine and AOD Automatic trans.

Does anyone know what rear would be under this car? If it would be a 9" rear what would I have to do to make it work under a T bucket?

I think the motor in it being a 5.0 would be a 302. The guy is asking $500.00 for the whole car.

Also what else could I use from this car for the bucket? I would think it would have a lot of the same parts as a Mustang of the same year, but then again I could be wrong.

 

Well, CoronetRTguy, if you want an inexpensive, running streetrod, you could probably use the drivetrain, brakes, seats, wiring harness, & possibly the steering. Oh, & that's probably an 8.8" rear.

If you want something more traditional, you might be better served being patient and finding some older parts. They're out there. Mine CL daily in all the areas you're willing to drive out to in a truck.

 

I agree. My original plan was to use all the stuff from the Camaro I bought, but as time went on and I thought about it, I decided to use only the engine & trans, and source the rest of the appropriate parts to compliment the build theme I'm looking for. It makes it much easier to sell the rolling shell when I'm done also, intead of trying to store and move a body with no engine, trans, rear, brakes, etc, etc.

 

What is the process of turning a corvair box? I'm looking at them on ebay and checking around my area.

Anyone have a link to how to do this?

Also the vega box as well. If anyone has a link or can tell how to do this?

 

First do a search for reversing a Corvair box. Basically though, you take the box apart, plug the old input hole with a freeze plug (I can't remember off the top of my head, but it seams to me it's 1 3/8"), take the adjustable end that is solid and from the inside drill a 3/4" hole dead center, take it to a bearing shop and find a seal that fits the inner diameter ot the step you just drilled by, then reassemble with the input shaft going out of the seal and hole you just drilled. It sounds hard, but really when you get into it it's very simple to do, and a good excuse to buy the input bearings and check the sector (output ) bushing as well.

 

5.0 is a 302, you can carb it and dress it like an early 289, you can sell the fuel injecton to recoup some $. Rear could be an 8.8, wider than the s10, but likely useable, AOD is nice if you wanna run an auto. I don't think these cougars came stock with the 5.0, so the rear could be the lesser version, just have to check it out, 5.0 swaps are common in cogars and t birds
$500 for a runner and lots of parts to sell off is a good deal.

 

Thanks I will google it and youtube it, now that I kind of know what to really look for I will find the right thing when looking.

It doesnt sound that bad to do just messure a lot and cut once.

They did have a year or two I think both the T bird and Cougars had the 5.0 motor as an option. I know the T birds did for sure.

I'm not sure if the car is running or not right now. Yeah I would sell off what I didnt want to and wont run the fuel injection stuff. The 289 idea is a good idea to make it look that way. I have a lot of 302s in my area just hard to find one at a good price.

The trans would be nice to have AOD in since I will be running a auto. I wont be doing a stick not matter how much I want to. Since the stroke my muscles are to weak.

Yeah if it has a lot of parts I can use it would be worth getting and then selling off the car.

 

Flatheadpete-can u give us more details on the rear-ends? Years, gears, type of brakes u run, etc. thanks!


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He's talking about typical early ford stuff. Anything from late '32 to '48 Ford will do, although the '42-'48 rears have the best gearing but are just a hair wide to really look perfect. Hydraulic brakes started in '39, but lots of earler have been already converted to hydraulics. These are all torque tube type rears, but adaptors are available to convert them to open drive. 'Bout as traditional as you can get.

 

Hey what can you guys tell me about a Mopar early B body 8 1/4 rear?

I just kind of been lurking at this add and I just sent an email to the guy about it. I also if he might have other parts like trans and motor.

My Coronet R/T had an 8 3/4 rear.

I also meant to ask what if any Dodge rear end will work? I know the S-10 2WD rear is a good fit so I'm wondering if anything Dodge or Mopar would work.

My uncle has an old Dodge Ram Van 1500 I think with a 318 and 727. I might see if I can buy the motor and trans as the van is toast, body wise. He alaso has a 74 Charger that is beyond restoring...could be but not enough body panels being made as of yet.

 

an A body Chrysler 8 1/4" would be good stuff, but like the S-10 stuff kinda ugly. On a T-bucket, the rear end is super exposed and become a sort of focal point for the rear of the car. Usually the Spicer type rear with a bolt on cover is the less visually pleasing, but not always. in the early days of T-buckets, you saw quite a few Ford truck and Merc spicer units so it wasn't unheard of. An 8 3/4" would be awsome though...

 

The S-10 rears are not very attractive for sure, but this should help.

http://www.amazon.com/CSI-1366-Alum...r=1995|1995&carId=005&n=15684181&s=automotive

They aren't very budget minded, but I think it would improve the looks dramatically...

 

The A body rear is different then a B body even in an 8 3/4. The A body is shorter in width then the B body. I also think if my memor is right the E body rear is different.

I wonder if this guy has a slant six car or 318 if the rear he has is really an 8 1/4. I'm waiting to hear back.

I need to start looking at some Chrysler and Plymouth cars of the 60s to 70s. If I can find an old Fury with a 383 maybe even a 318 car I can find the 8 3/4 rear.

Now that I think about it a guy my dad knows does Derby cars and he runs nothing but Mopar motors and rears. He might have something. He put a early Hemi in a Jag. I need to try and make contact with him he might have some parts. I forgot all about this guy.

If I can find some early cars or trucks I will go with it. A few years ago I found a real moonshine car for sale and the guy wanted 4K I should have bought it.

 

I talked about an "A" body because of it's width. A T-bucket really needs a narrow rear under it - Somewhere between about 55" and about 58". I have run them as wide as 60" but the wheels and tires end up far enough away from the bed that it starts to lose proportion.

 

Ok gottcha, I see what you are saying now.

What are the steel wheels? I want to run the skinner style of wheels front and back.

 

Well, your a Mopar guy! I have run 15X7" Chrysler steels on the back and 15X5 1/2" Crysler steels on the front on several cars. I like the shape of the baby moon type caps you can buy for them and they look damn handsom powdercoated.

 

What year of steel wheels are you talking about?

I was looking for the 70-74 steel wheels and we are talking big bucks for original. Also the 1969 1/2 M code cars with the 440-6 are out of this world high per rim.

I do keep an eye out for Mopar steel wheels. They do now reproduce cop wheels and the 1969 1/2 wheels.

Have you seen the chrome 70-71 Chrysler 300 wheels? I always liked those, not sure they would go good on a T but they just have that look that I think really sets off cars.

I need to start a thread of asking for traditional built T's just to be able to see all the different cars and parts.

This thread has been a big help as well with a lot of info.

While on I'm at it my dad said he thought the old Dodge D-50 trucks (80s-early 90s) might be a good choice in rear. Do you guys know anything about these?

 

I like the look of the painted smoothie wheels...
http://www.truespoke.net/Smoothie.html

But, due to the budget constraints, I will probably end up with plain junk yard steel wheels with chrome trim rings and lug nuts. 15x7s for the rear will be easy to find but I want to use 5" wide on the front. I have a feeling that they will be much harder to find.

The good news is my $52 Vega steering box arrived in great condition and my buddy has two front tires (165sr15) for me for free or near free. He has a buddy with a service station, so should have a couple of rears soon. I think I will go with 225/70 R15s.

 

flatheadpete/needlouvers-Can the early Ford rearends y'all are referring to handle the HP form a mild SBC?

 

Those tires might look kinda short on the rear, at least try to find some 235/75 R15's.

 

Hmmm, now that you mention it, I agree. Let me see what I can find...

 

318/727 is a nice combo! That's what I was running in the 72 Satellite I used to have when I was in my early 20's. The first thing you need to make sure you have with that setup is a 4 barrel. The stock 2 barrel won't get you goin too good.

I've got a Dana 44, 3.07, with brakes that I don't need immediately that I'd consider parting with if either of you guys think you could use it for your builds. You can get fancy covers for them.

& I don't think there's such a thing as an unrestorable Charger.

 

I've held off posting until I saw you were serious. Yes you can do it for your $5,000 but it will take a lot of work on your part and patience. You have to go to a lot of swaps and stay away from the 800 numbers. You can still buy somebody's unfinished projects for a few hundred dollars. Shit I just saw a '25 T cowl at a swap this year for $20. I almost bought it just to hang on the wall. Actually what you see in the first sideways picture (sorry) I bought in '79 for $20. I didn't keep numbers but when I first drove mine in '89 I would be surprised if I had more than the five thousand in it and that was paint and some new chrome. A lot of old chrome mostly found at swaps. It didn't look much different than the second and third picture. I'm sure most of you aren't as anal as I am about traditional but there is nothing that looks better that an early ford banjo differential behind a T. But that's just me!

Gary

 

The wheels i'm refering to are the typical Chrysler steel wheels form the sixties, seventies and eighties. I always look for a Cordoba, Mirada, New Yorker etc. for the fronts. Most were 5 1/2"x15s on those cars. I then walk over to the truck section and grab a pair of 15X7" off of alomost any Dodge truck or van from the sixties through early ninties. I'll search my pictures and see if I have a picture of the set I have on a customers car right now...
Oh, and the rear tires are Hurst recap pie crust 8"ers done on a 235/75-15 casing. Hardly budget, but one of those splurges that is worth making for a good looking car. With some wrecking yard cruising and powdercoating I have less than 225.00 in these wheels.

 

Yeah I read a build up of a 318 on Mopar Muslce magazines web site and they got 400 or was it 500Hp out of it and I forget the torque. I do have one for sure that I could get the motor out of and thats the van. I would put a 4 barrel on it for sure. I think I can put 340 and 360 heads on it.

The charger needs a lot of work and the bad part about it is they only make the quarter panels about halfway down. The car needs a trunk lid (very hard to find for 73-74) and trunk floor, floor pan, wheel housing and maybe even roof due to the SE vinal top. If memory serves me right the front fenders would need repaired or replaced. It was a good running car at one time just around a lot of sailt in its day.

Oh Snap! I'm thinking about this Charger and it has hub caps on it the big wire wheel hub cups. It will have the Steel Wheels behind those! So I just found a few more parts lol.

I might be able to pick the car up for 1-1500. I could sell off the parts from the car. I also would say it has an 8 3/4 rear.

I could even split the profit with my uncle if I parted it out for him and that might help me with budget build.

 

I will look for those cars in my area. I wonder if my 75 Dodge truck wheels will work? They are the steel rims. The truck is an old forrest truck and looks like the little red express just green. The truck needs a major over hall but its one I was saving back to do and make it a daily driver hot rod.

I need to look up what wheels and size that would have come on those.

 

That should have 15x7 on it. Some I have seen out here in Forest Service livery have 16X7s...

 

My uncle is headed to WVA today so I might see if he can get me some pics or write down the size.

Here is the mopar 318 build links

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/techarticles/mopp_0409_318_engine_build/viewall.html

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/...8_small_block_budget_build_part1/viewall.html

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/...8_small_block_budget_build_part2/viewall.html

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/...8_small_block_budget_build_part3/viewall.html

May these links will help someone with a budget build T. The 318s have been used for years and would be easy to find and do.

 

Someone with good metalshaping skills could resurrect that Charger. If it was a 70, I'd be all over it. If it's a Charger with a TITLE, it's going to be worth restoring to somebody regardless, so be careful selling parts that make it a roller.

If y'all are budget minded and leaning MOPAR anyway, I'd say don't limit yourself to Ford bodies. There are lots of old 20's Dodge Bros. & Nash bodies out there for short, short cash. They have a bit of a longer cowl than the pre-26 T's do as well. I think OLDTINPUSHER had one listed for cheap a while back.

 

If your carefull with them they can. Back in the fifties and sixties they actually used them in rails fairly commonly. 55 years of time do make a difference though. The other plus is that t-buckets are so light they seldom really "hook" hard enough to break stuff too badly.