Just bought it a few days ago, the first rod I've ever owned. The p.o. didn't know that much about it, but afaik it's an older kit, probably built in the '70's, and probably passed through many hands. It does run and drive and is licensed, but needs a real going through. Has a late fifties 283 with Power Pack heads, a way too big Holley on a single plane manifold and the typical T Bucket headers. Tranny is a Powerglide. Rear gear seems to be in the 2.70 area, and the diff is an open 10 bolt. Tires are the standard 15" wide monsters on the back and the little skinny guys on the front. They are mounted on nice wheels, Centerlines in front and Welds in the rear. Front axle is supposed to be from a mid-fifties GM pick-up. Has telescopic shocks front and rear. Drum brakes all around. Body is in good shape but needs paint. Interior is ok. I took it for my first real drive today, about 15 minutes long. It needs help, but I knew that going in. Steering is very sloppy. I think it needs a new box, but I don't know how to tell for sure, so I'm going to try to find an old timer with experience. Brakes work moderately well, take a lot of pedal effort and it takes a while to haul the car down. They feel very truck-like, which is understandable since they're from a truck. Engine starts and runs ok, but seems down on power and smells very rich. I'll probably sell the big carb and single plane. I've got a lot to do. Some absolutely needs to be done, some I want to do for fun. First priority is making the car safe, taking care of the steering and getting the brakes working as best as they can. Since someone always wants to know, I'll say I paid somewhere in the meaty area between $5k and $10k. I guess that was an ok deal.
Greasy, I think that you have bought yourself a great 1st Hot Rod to enjoy and work on. California is a great State for T Bucket weather, and you can drive and enjoy while you upgrade. Congrats!
Did someone cut the door OUTSIDE the door lines? Those big tires only seemed to work "look wise" on a 100% Fad T. If you like tinkering, it looks like a fun project. I got offered a chance to rebuild one for a friend and his is also an early build. Good luck with it.
What's going on with the passenger side door? Did they cut one in, offset 6 inches or something? Car has real potential, the early drivetrain is neat. What are your plans for it? Hopefully the wheels are the first thing to go? Good score.
Hey Greasyman! Looks like a pretty good place to start. I don't know what your plans are for it, but it could pretty easily be backdated, and probably pretty cheaply. I might direct you to my thread "The Bucket of Ugly, a de-Uglifying thread" and you can see where I have been going with similar situation and maybe get some history under your belt with 'Buckets, too.
Yeah, that's weird that someone cut the door like that. It doesn't really bother me, just another indication of the cars long history. Absolutely the wheels will be one of the first things to go. The car looks like a tractor from behind. I actually felt kind of silly driving it around like that this afternoon. I know some people (like my best friend) like that look because it's pretty wild, but I want a car that will handle reasonably well. I'll probably put on some high-perf tires around 225/50/16. I want the car to look nice and tidy and simple, maybe like an old dirt track car, with a few racing touches. I'm going to get rid of the big headers and install some block huggers with some reasonably quiet mufflers tucked under the body. I'll probably paint it white, because I like the orange engine (and I'm too lazy to paint it), and there aren't many colors that go with orange. I'll add a few other orange touches here and there, and get rid of the maroon upholstery. I like maroon, but not with orange and white. I'd like it to end up looking something like this car.
Looks like you have the start to a nice T, drive it for a while and do some research before you jump in and do major changes. Congrats Andy
I appreciate the compliment. You're actually not far away from having a nice T Bucket. I think the main thing is keep it simple. These are simple cars. I think they loose that, when people start adding and modifying just for the sake of doing it.
An orange engine will go with a ton of colors, don't limit yourself to white. A darker color would hide that door much better the white/grey. Looks like a fun little ride. As for the steering box, what type is it? You might just need to adjust it to tighten it back up.
I don't want to start telling you how to do your own car, and please don't think that is my intention. But the rear tire size you quoted is going to be several inches too short to really look good on your car. You do need some thing in the 28-30 inch range for rear tires on these or the proportions go right to hell very quickly. Some one else up the line suggested that the rear tire you have now could be part of the handling problem you are experiencing, and they are dead right. The big bias ply M/Ts have way too much unsprung weight for one, and are just generally built kinda like super balls in that they they bounce around and handle very unpredictably. Even just switching out to say a 15X7 Centerline to match the front and a 235/75-15 on the back would probably help with the handling quite bit, and give you some of the look you are looking for. Or switch the wheels out for what ever would fit your idea of the era you are wanting to represent. Just don't fool yourself into thinking that you MUST have low profile, short side wall tires to make a car "handle". I spent the better part of the day yesterday running down a twisty 20mph mountain road at 45 or so dicing back and forth with another friend in a very similarly equipped bias ply'ed '27 "T" fifties era car.
I like the example you have pictured, it's nice and clean and basic, not fad-ish or street rod-y looking at all, so I think you're on the right track. But I also want to agree with Need Louvers? in that the 16" 50 series tire is not what I would choose. The car you have pictured looks like it has 15" steel wheels all the way around with "baldy" center caps and maybe a 235/75/15 in the rear. If you aren't going to run bias tires, I would say 15" rims and tires that are at least as tall as they are wide, to get the right look.
Another thought I had, could you post some picture of the front and rear suspension? You mention some handling woes, and my vote really is with the big tires on the back as I said before, but it could easily be something in the basic setup of the front and rear suspension systems them selves. A couple of picture could help point you the right way with that.
Thanks for the compliments and suggestions. I'm still up in the air with the tires. I want to get good handling tires, but all the really good ones don't come in a practical and affordable size that's more than 25" tall. I did borrow some 295/50/15 tires to put on the car just so it would fit on the trailer when I brought it home, and they were 26" tall and looked fine, so I figured 25" would also look ok. It's hard to say without actually trying them. Also, I figured with the Powerglide and relatively low powered 283 the car could use the gear reduction offered by the shorter tire.
Another thing I'm just going to throw in here, when you do get your tires picked out, an 80 grit pad on a DA will sand the lettering off of a new tire totally smooth, and a clean sidewall gives a much more period look than modern lettering and such, especially on a black wall tire. Won't leave sanding scratches either.
I got my tires at a used tire dealer near my house. I think I paid $100 for the pair. Before I got them, I asked about sizes and ended up measuring tires on cars in a parking lot. THAT attracted a bit of attention.
My only concern is with our idea of block huggers and mufflers underneath. That is really a no no on a open engined,fender-less car like a T.. I would suggest something like the headers on the white Bucket you showed with pipes then going down under into mufflers and pipes out the back. I have the side pipes on my T and I had them repacked by a proper exhaust specialist to quieten down to an acceptable level. Congratulations on the car though.
I was building these my self back in the late 50's in to the mid 60's,WOW did I wish we had big tires like u have now,cuz we could spin/smoke what we could get way to EZ. Yes I would of got big like that if there were any,so running those dose not look bad to me,cuz I would of done it. Do as u like,if it were me with that rod,I'd run them tell there war down and then maybe get something around 8 or 9in. wide
As for the brakes, don't overlook a basic rebuild of the existing system. Shoes may be glazed or contaminated, new could put you right where you want to be. When I bought my '61 Falcon, all I did to the brakes was rebuild everything, just as stock. My wife and daughter drive it, no problems stopping at all. And your car is probably 5-600 pounds less. (my own 'T', way back when, scaled at 1900#, Ford says 2200# for the Falcon, though I should scale it.) Cosmo
Too check out your steering box; jack front tires off the ground and turn wheels back and fourth all the way to see the amount of movemint,go to center=strait forword and stop,take off drag link*{tie rod from box arm to spindle arm. Then turn steering wheel as far as you can one way,count turns to get to the other way#___ devide by 1/2 and then turn to dead center=at that point and only that point ,adjust the nut an screw on box so there is no play or very close to no play but not binding{frist part of adjust is done,now for next part With the box at dead center and your front wheels strait ahead,hold the drag link* up to were it belongs and see if it is close to the right size to go into space/if not adjust it tell it is a perfect with out moving the steering wheel or the front tires. Steering boxs are design with a spot dead center that must be on center when your going strait down the road,and there is were the most coman misstake is done on setting up hotrods=if it is wrong the steering will have slop in it no matter how good the box is,becuse a box off center is designed to be that way/an if some one adjusted it off center some werid stuff happens,like it feels like it binds up on one way of turning but not the other or even locks up.
oh, come on guys, t-buckets need big-ass tires out back or the whole look is wrong. Seriously, do it any way you please, after all YOU have to drive it...make it YOUR'S.
I beg to differ You certainly have a right to your opinion,but I have hooker competition plus block huggers on my T roadster pickup,with the pipes under neath.There isn't a lot of room under a T for exhaust,so they are visible from the side.But I don't care for the T-bucket style headers.I may try a full hood in the future.
Hope you didn't post this thinking you would not get some comments. Actually it isn't too bad looking. I've seen much worse. As Needlouvers said you need to find his thread and read it all. First you have to close up that door opening. Jump over or put it in the right place. Who would do that and why? Next you need to lower the front of the engine and the radiator/grill both a couple of inches. An engine too high in front and a grill too high is just ugly. Chip or Need Louvers as you know him had to lower his grill too. Just step back about as far as you were when you took the picture and look really look and you will see what I mean.
Hey, G; Don't know your budget, but as far as the rear tires go, if you can live w/the wide ride for awhile, get some Hoosiers, in *radial* construction. Literally, a world of difference. I don't have a Tbucket, but a friend does, & he went through this a while back. The M/T bias were like trying to walk on wet, greased snot-covered ice. Radial were sticky like rubber cement. & this guy, will do 600 mi one-way in a hemi-powered-bucket & not even sneeze. & he's got radials up front, too. Makes for a good riding & handling package. Oddly enough, there are guys *wanting* the Bias-type tires, so you can get some fair return on those. Otherwise, your T looks pretty good. Seems to me to just need a little "tune-up". Do read Chips' thread, it's very well worth the time - if for no other reason - than to find out about proper proportion(s). & you're *not* far off. . Steel rebel has some good comments. Listen well. You could, of course, always paint the inside of the rims, to change the appearance. Effect depends on how much you do. &, speaking of which, that door is border-line psychedelic. I could see doing some paint & that door for some *real wild* effects... . Nice ride & start. . Marcus...
Once again, thanks for everyone's help, there seem to be a lot of friendly and knowledgeable people here. I tried Dana's method of checking the front end, I still think the box is bad. I can grab the shaft the pitman arm is attached to and shake it from side to side. Not a lot, but enough for it to make a slight tapping noise. I'm going to take the car to the local mechanic and see what he says, I just want to get some conformation before I spend the money for a new box, or maybe he'll see something that I missed.
What kind of box is it? If it's Corvair reversed I had the same problem with mine. Sector shaft bushings are about 10.00 from Clarks Corvairs in Mass. and get pressed in and honed and your done.
That would be great if that's all it took, it is an aluminum Corvair box. So the shaft itself wasn't worn, or anything else in the box? Did you do the work yourself? I found this how-to; http://1969corvair.com/techpages/techfiles/Steering_Box_Rebuild.pdf It looks like something I could manage, but I only have hand tools and sometimes pressing stuff in and out with sockets is nearly impossible if they're stubborn.
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