Hey, my name is Cameron and I am 17 years old. I have been lurking for a while on here and I have been thinking that I want to build a traditional hot rod on a budget. So far from the research I have done a T Bucket kit is the best place to start for someone like me who has never built a car before. I have saved up enough money to get a kit and if I can keep my grades up for the rest of the school year, come this June my parents will probably let me get a kit if I do it myself and spend only my own money. I already have a motor, but it needs a rebuild. The motor is a 235 out of a 1957 Chevy pickup. It has been sitting for about 15 years now. I think it would be a good mill for a t bucket. A hot rod six banger is a thought I have toyed with. It would be different from the average small block, yet still have plenty of power to scoot a t bucket along. Do you guys have any thoughts. How much should I look to spend on the build in the long run? Reviews of the speedway motors 1923 t bucket kit? Thanks for looking at my thread. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I also have a pair of 1940 Chevy truck headlights, a couple of old taillights from who knows what, an Appleton spotlight, a rear view mirror from a 1940 GMC, and some other junk that will likely continue collecting dust. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Check your state dmv on how to title and licence it first. Some states are easier than other. Tbucket alliance is another group to get info from. Check for abandoned projects also... Craigslist Can usually save some money that way. Just my 2 cents Good luck Sent from my SM-G935R4 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thanks man. I have been looking around Craigslist for a while now. Here in West Virginia the old project cars for sale on Craigslist are either rusted out or the owner wants way too much, usually both. I have a while though. What is your opinion on a Chevy 235 powered t bucket? Nobody where I live has one. They all have the usual small block Chevy.[emoji19] Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Hi. For my thoughts on a 235 just look at my photo with my profile here. They are really great & it is more than plenty for what you plan. Log onto http://www.inliners.org/ (you may have to copy paste this link) they have a great forum with plenty of info. They are dedicated to all inline engines - 4, 6 & 8 cyl. The support daily drives but are also very heavy into drag racing these as well a Bonniville & land speed records with the inline engines. I belong to a chapter here in Texas but they are a couple of hours away from me. I went to a 1 day Cruise with them about a year ago & one of the cars was a bucket with a 235 in it. It would scoot. Good luck & when you begin the project start a build thread on the general discussion board on the HAMB. You can ask there anytime you have a question in the meantime. Jimmie
Thanks for the help. I have been looking up pictures of the 235 in different cars with different modifications. There is a whole slew of stuff out there. I was actually surprised. At the car shows around here you never see a hopped up six or four cylinder, well, except for that foreign nonsense. In think a bare bones simple t bucket will weigh around 1,600 pounds, with 125 horsepower from a little 235 it should get up and go. I have a little time to keep developing a plan though. I have found out it is best to develop a plan and stick to it, I will save a lot of money that way. It will be a little like the "Krylon Special" one of the members here has, rattle can paint the whole darn thing. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
One more thing, my friends at school think I am crazy, not a single one of them has ever heard of a t bucket.[emoji50] I guess that makes me wierd to be 17 years old, in 2017, and want to build a vintage t bucket rod. Oh well, the world needs more variety nowadays anyway. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
So I have a complete plan that I am going to stick to. Rattle can paint he whole car, black frame and suspension parts, and flat red on the body. Chevy 235 straight six with split manifold, performance cams and valves, a head port job, and 3 Rochester 1 barrel carbs, I have three of those, but they each need rebuilt. A lower profile windshield, I do not want a really high kick up in the back, just a slight rake, t5 5 speed manual transmission out of a Chevy s10, ford 9 inch rear, aluminum bomber style seats, tall shifter, Rocket Racing Igniter wheels. 15x4.5 front and 15x6 back. Firestone bias ply white wall tires. Speedway has most of the stuff I want and a few items I will need to source from other companies, maybe even people on here. The t5 transmission should be easy to find at a junkyard, what would be cooler than a straight six with a five speed? I plan to do this on a low budget and do just about all of it myself with the help of my uncle, who also wants to try his hands at building old cars. I would like to keep it sorta period correct from the late 1950s and early 60's, with a few non period correct things like the bomber seats and the disk brakes up front for better stopping. If everything goes as planned it will be a hot rod built just like a teenager in the late 1950's would have built one, on a budget, and being resourceful, finding what I need cheap. Should be fun. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Hi. You can do a little work on the 235 & if you like to see black tire marks on the pavement you can burn the rubber of the rear tires on a T bucket quicker than you can afford. Mine has a Clifford 268 grind solid lifter cam, Clifford dual water heated intake with two 2 barrel Webber carb's, Clifford shorty tube headers. It is bored 0.060 with the cast flat top pistons and all new internals inside engine other than the crank as I just had it reground. Mine does not feel like it is loaded with power but I have is set up as a Hwy driver as I changed the ring & pinion ratio from the 4:11 to a 3:55 and increased rear tire size from 600-16 to slightly wider 700-16. If I had wanted to smoke tires I would have just kept the narrow 600-16 & 4:11 rear end. With the original 3 speed with shift on the column & the complete set up & changed the bias ply tires to bias look alike radials in above sizes and now it will cruise at 65 at around 2500 RPM. If I had kept original tire sizes and rear end the engine would be screaming at that speed and would not have been dependable. The death of the early sixes was driving them too fast with original gearing and keeping the engine screaming & over reved all the time. The 235's are very dependable engines. Jimmie
That is good to hear. I have a plan, now all I need to do is stick to it. Sticking to a good plan is the only way to complete a successful budget build. I have three Rochester model B carbs, will not be as fuel efficient as two Webbers, but is fuel efficiency what anybody here is looking for? The t bucket would be so light I bet I could still get good miles (or smiles) per gallon. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Not sure of length of six compared to small block You will have to factor that into frame length Keep at it Sent from my SM-G935R4 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Yeah, true. I have seen a handful of t bucket kits with straight sixes in them On the Internet. I will do some research. Do you happen to know of who makes a radiator for a t bucket with a Chevy 235? I may have to have someone fabricate a radiator. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Sorry. I have not started the build yet, all I have is a motor and a plan being hatched, the build will begin this summer if everything goes as planned. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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