Hot Rods The Belly Button Bucket Build Thread

LOL. You're getting a glimpse into my madness. I'll post some pictures of what I'm working with on that. I want to use the MOON pedals, but I haven't got brave enough to do the hackery to make them work yet.

 

Ok, the pedal thought process. I had bought the SoCal round pedals quite awhile ago, and planned to use them. In all honesty, comparing the two side by side, they are a much nicer casting, thicker, better machinng, etc. They come with whatever the thread size is of the early Ford pedals- I didn’t have that so I changed the thread to 1/2-20 by drilling the hole out and re-threading with a heli-coil insert, to match what I made for my pedal arms. I’m trying to keep the pedal assembly as compact as possible, so this is how I made the pedals. Pretty crude but functional.



The MOON pedals just have that “look” to them, so I was thinking I’d try them out since they are slightly narrower than the round ones, but the same height as the SoCal





Even though the MOON pedals are narrower, they are seemingly more bulky to my feet, specifically right foot, than the round, when trying to get back to the firewall for the not-yet-sorted out throttle pedal. The MOON pedals have a 3/8-16 aluminum bolt welded to the backside, seen below:



For reference, here are the two pedals from the rear:



The blue tape above is what I am considering removing from the pedal, but in doing so, I also need to cut off the bolt from the rear, and create some different mounting. I think I could either machine a bushing or a small pad to have 1/2-20 thread, then weld to the pedal after cutting them down. I’m just not fluent in aluminum welding with my mig spool gun. I’ve done it, mostly with acceptable results, so I’m working up the courage to hack these down. I guess that’s something I can work on today lol. It needs to be done, so I might as well do it while I’m being prompted to explain my madness.

 

Well, I got it done- not my proudest welds by any means but I got them burned in there good. I just drilled/tapped some 1/2-20 threads in some 3/8” aluminum plate, cut out ~ 1”x1” square, then welded them to the back of the pedals after cutting them down:

 

Ooo, I got to plaigerize that! I have little tiny Austin Mini pedals and pads cuz they're tiny. But so is yours. So nice!

 

I like that idea!

 

Since I have the argon bottle and spool gun hooked up to my mig welder, and because I don’t feel brave enough to cut out doors or make toe boards, I decided to try to rough out the dash waterfall/console pieces by bending up some 3/8” aluminum bar stock. I guess you still gotta stare into the sun cross-eyed before it starts to make sense, but, pictures:

 

When I look at the cutout in your transmission hump all I want to do is suggest one of those 4wd trans/ transfer case shift boots.

 

Got a link or a picture or application? I’m not picturing what you are referring to I don’t think. It definitely needs something different than what I’ve got going on.

Edit: like this ?

 

That one looks more proportunate to the small confines of your car than many of the ones in my search.

I originally was thinking one of the twin Jeep versions, it's too late and too many to even guess so this search should turn up something that might work.

https://www.google.com/search?clien...HahPDEYQ0pQJegQIEhAB&biw=984&bih=615&dpr=1.95

A lot of these may be bigger/bulkier than you have room for but I closed my eyes and picked one.



https://www.amazon.com/Crown-Automo...b5-b24f-0b27f4707093&pd_rd_i=B008VPZ4E8&psc=1

 

That one I should out of a CJ7 it's really not that big.

 

Thanks gents. I will check out some measurements and do some scheming.

Tonight I made some more progress, although I think some of it will need to change. I focused on the floor shift console area, scheming how the waterfall coming down from the dash will mate to it, and how the seat console will mate to it. I am mentally getting closer to understanding what needs to happen, so I cut out the sheet of aluminum to close it off. I need to get better pictures of how everything goes together, and it’s still rough, but this is what I’m looking at:







Once I made it this far, I hopped in and gave it a test feel- I think the squared off ends near the firewall need to be slimmed down with some 45* bends, so that will probably be my next move:

 

Well- had a busy weekend and Monday- I am now officially an uncle!

Tonight I stared into the abyss for multiple hours trying to visualize where I want all my switches and trinkets, without making things look cluttered or too far to reach. I wasn’t able to really draw definitive conclusions, so I decided to narrow up the firewall ends of the floor shift console. I was doing really good on the one side, cut out the 90* bend and spliced in the 45*, then on the other side I managed to blow right through the 3/8” rod without enough time to fix it. Oh well, sometimes that’s just how it goes! Tomorrow is another day.

 

I hate it when I do that! And it's getting to be more frequent...

 

You ever work off centerlines, then when it comes time to tie all the centerlines together (centerline of seat back, centerline of seat bottom centerline of transmission tunnel, centerline of dash...), NONE OF THEM LINE UP? Then you spend an entire evening taking arbitrary measurements that make no sense and you leave the garage more confused than when you started? That was my battle yesterday evening. I think I need to hit the reset button and establish the "centerline" where the line width is a half inch wide, and anything inside of that is close enough to center.

 

Tim
You really can't appreciate the term "brain fart" until you've spent an hour on your head under a car mapping out a plan to build some ingenious (I thought) and intricate gizmo, then spend another hour with some cardboard and scissors making a template and another hour to fabricate it to find you've designed it completely backwards!

 

Yes!

 

YES!
Our engineers/draftsmen would issue prints to the machine shop with pickup points from the C/L, I often felt like going in there and have a "meeting of the minds"!

 

Not my car, not made to fit me, but I'd go lighter, narrower on the stuff inside. I've seen too many modern rods with big center consoles that serve no real purpose. This is so small inside it's going to be form fitting in the worst way, IMHO.
As for the centerline, just make sure that everything is offset to create more room for the driver if you are going to be solo most of the time. Asymmetric was an early 60s aesthetic. No reason to match on the passenger side the space required for the driver's right leg. Just don't go as far as the goofy C8. Again, just an opinion on something that ain't mine.

 

Dumb question and maybe I just missed it, but where is the throttle pedal?

 

Coathanger through the firewall, a traditional take on "drive by wire"!
Tell me you've never done it!

 

I have some pretty lofty goals of redefining how people view T buckets. Probably the most lofty goal is daily driven capabilities - which is no small feat in the PNW. Am I talking daily driven 365 days/year? No, but 300 is a good goal I think. Will this actually happen? Time will tell. @BigJoeArt has been a huge inspiration with his thread. Go check it out if you haven't already!

Three of the main things I see keeping a hot rod off daily driver duties are drivability, safety items, and creature comforts. Drivability is somewhat open to interpretation in terms of fuel economy, performance, etc. I tried to walk the line on that. Safety is open to interpretation and relative to the era a car is built, but generally speaking, it is one of my main focuses when I am tasked to build something on this car - considering failure modes, ergonomics, considering parts availability in the event of a break-down, considering ease of repair on the side of the road, etc. I love hot rods, but I've also grown to love some creature comforts most hot rods don't have, and if I plan to spend significant time behind the wheel, I will be missing those creature comforts. Therefore, to reiterate the post I quoted above:

"I will need more than luck, but initial seat time tests with two people have proven promising. My main focus is to squeeze in some creature comforts everywhere space is not being used for a butt, back, or a pair of feet."

Every night when I'm done working, I climb into the car and sit in either the driver or passenger seat while I post an update - this helps me understand where I need to fight for more space and where I can afford to use space elsewhere in the car.

I have to be careful how much I share in this regard as the general consensus for a hot rod is KISS. What I am planning is KISS relative to the task, but it is not KISS relative to the general viewpoint of a T bucket or hot rod, hence the lofty goals of redefining the viewpoint.

 

I didn't make that super obvious, but I had previously had the throttle pedal mounted to the firewall. When I slimmed it down by eliminating everything except the perimeter, I lost that mount as well. It will get re-mounted to the firewall, once I slightly tweak the bend on the brake pedal, build toe boards, and close up the sides on the currently non-existent dash waterfall. Hopefully that makes sense, but more or less, I don't have enough information to optimize throttle pedal location yet. Good question!

 

I'm not being critical, but I would put the cup holders between the seats and ditch the center console section. Give a ya more room to wiggle around a bit.

 

It’s not set in stone, and I get what you’re saying, but I’ve got a lot of “behind the lens” clutter I need to find a home for. Normally when I was posting once a year, all the in-between got sorted out without notice, but when I post more regularly, all the $#!+ floats to the surface for everyone to see lol

 

I only ask because after putting 5500 miles on the Chari-T before we gave it away, that waterfall looks right about where your foot will want to live and still have room to maneuver to the brake pedal somewhat effortlessly.

 

Hey, Tim;
Waterfall n console may be ok for your ergonomics, but I'd leave the dr-side open behind the waterfall for your foot n the Exillerator pedal. If the edge is just resting alongside where your leg/ankle is, might be ok, esp if you can make it a wide-padded-leg-rest, but if there's any pressure, you really won't like it, & it'll become a very large irritant, & sore.
After you redid the Moon pedals, I had to go back n see if you had an auto or manual. I'd be surprised iffen you won't have to move them to the left, so I'm "patiently waiting" to see how you solve it, + the pics. .
& if you can do a thin 1/2" ctr-line, you're doing well... .
Marcus...

 

I’ll respond with more detail when I’m sitting in front of a keyboard, but you guys aren’t wrong and you bring up good points, most of which I’ve considered. I’m just working through a few iterations to see if I can make them work before moving onto the the next thing. Tonight I was able to make some more progress on the floor shifter console. The frame is now mounted to the seat riser, and 3 of the FOURTEEN switches/controls now have a home (heated seats x 2 and a 12v accessory). The reason I put the cupholders down in the floor shifter console and not between the seats is for the most part, I’m planning on that area to be storage between the seats, as well as double as an armrest. Again, we’ll see how it all plays out. The 3rd picture showing the waterfall- that needs some tweaking before I’m happy with it, but it’s fitting better than it was previously. It definitely still needs some fine tuning- make the bends more symmetrical, tweak the mounting points under dash and in front of shifter- hopefully I can make some progress on that this weekend. Thanks for all those watching the thread and contributing to it. I appreciate you and value your feedback.

 

And we all know how we would build your car.
I am sure you get it right in the end like the rest of the car.

 

Thank YOU Tim for listening to those of us who have no skin in the game and haven't sent cash to fund our opinions! I am certainly not who you are building the car for; I keep trying, but don't fit in the lil buggers even with a thin back pad and nothing else but wheel and pedals.

I am trying to suggest retaining the aesthetic of a lightweight, bare bones minimal build, even though we all know that these require all the same stuff to operate and function as a full size convertible.
The brain in this big body sees you adding more stuff inside and it reacts.

You have done an amazing job on the T and this engagement is because I am mentally invested in it. The guy that's building something I don't like or care about doesn't get questions and opinions. "It's because we care".
As far as 14 switches, at least you aren't stuffing in a tablet with a smooth surface and 4 menus!
That's not all the way to a typewriter, but it's in stenographer territory!

 

I see no problem with a heavy body. It helps the unsprung weight ratio. Really nice work. Even with piercings, most belly buttons don't look this good. Kudos!