Hello everyone, I need some advice on the fiberglass T buckets out there. I would like to buy a solid body who makes decent ones?
www.nationaltbucketalliance.com visit the forum. spirit, speedway, total performance, ccr all make a nice body. depends on what you're looking for in features and fitment.
Kev2004: I started with a very flimsy T shell.It's a lot of work & expense to reinforce the body the way I did,but it can be done.I went overboard and fab'd a tubing framework,then glassed it in.Fiberglas is a very interesting medium to work with ,once you learn the basics . I was fortunate to find a local shop that fab's glas cabinets,go-cart noses,boxes,etc.The owner was willing to sell me materials at cost and then gave me a crash course in mold making,resin mixing ,layup,finishing etc.I have learned a lot,and it got frustrating at times. My biggest $0.02 worth of advice is,don't put in doors...it nearly doubled the work involved in my project....Do an archive search,as I seem to remember someone on here posting a method of lining a T bucket shell with plywood and then layering over it with mat & resin. PS... Look around for a body thats already finished and ready to mount...don't go by price alone....believe me,spend a little more to start with because material's can add up quickly and the next thing you know you have more invested than a finished body would have cost.
Bought mine from Salt Flat Matt back in about 2001. Nice and straight but lots of reinforcement was added in....
I have used the Total Performance T bucket body before. I was not overly impressed with the quality. It was pretty rough. I am currently involved in the building a 27 using a Wescott body and it also has some issues. (such as huge gaps in the lower door jambs that you could steal a car stereo through!) I just had the opportunity to examine a 34 3 window body that was being shipped to a customer from Poli Form fiberglass and the quality was outstanding. I'm not kidding, this body was BEAUTIFUL. By far the nicest fiberglass product I have ever seen.
Another maker is Class Glass and Performance in Maryland. They have a body stretched 8". My body seemed pretty strong and pretty straight. The one in the pic looks like it has a door. Mine does not. http://www.classglassperformance.com/23%20T.html
I've had three customers with CCR cars. They were all very happy, and they all had the stretched buckets, giving some amount of comfort. The stock busket is just too small, unless you are a small person.
Buy someone's basket case. Many times a person will loose interest, get in over their head, have a fight with the wife, etc. and you canfind some great deals.