just wondering if any of you guys have ever built a t bucket body from scratch? im just looking for a few tips on where to start, what materials i could use and any instructions and dimensions to help me along with the build. i want to build a nice little bucket minus the turtle deck,that is simple enough to start with. im not scared of a bit off hard work and really want to get this project off the ground, i get hold off any tool and i can weld pretty good too. cheers will
Nope never built a tbucket body from scratch, but I am presently finishing up my first dragster body from scratch. I went with the traditional aluminum. 5052h32 for the seat and 3003h14 for the rest. I believe I used .040" for anything with a simple shape and .050 for anything I was forming with compound curves. No hard and fast rules there - just what I used. Of course lots of guys use fibergl***. And for your bucket you could even recycle some other body parts. A friend of mine used a roof section he cut off a 40' truck once for the start of his t-bucket tub. My point being the material is up to you - steel - aluminum , 'gl*** - or ?? I can't give any specific dimensions as I never built one, but if it were me I'd go look at a few that I REALLY liked and go from there. Good Luck - sounds like a fun project.
Real T buckets are not too expensive - even in the UK. I paid £300 for a 27T cowl, two good doors and a back panel to build my modified. If I'd gone for earlier panels (20-25) it would have been cheaper. Cheaper still if I'd decided to do without doors. I got these panels from the Tuckett Brothers. Kerry Tate at Hot Rod Originals in Yorkshire has a 25 Dodge scuttle with a windscreen that he wants just £100 for. You could then use some sort of roof panel to fabricate a back and sort out some side panels (door skins off a 60's or 70's saloon car??).
I have built several T buckets. The best idea is to run 4 bars front and rear. They handle alot better that hairpin rods. I sent for the T bucket plans in the magazines and it helped a lot for ideas. Here is a pict. of my last bucket, it has a 406 smc and a turbo 350. the top is alum with aircraft rivits covered with canvas.
Here's a thread with lots of info about building a car from scratch. Have a read and see what you think http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61507
I have not built a T body myself but I bought one someone else had built with a trailer load of parts. It looks pretty good. It was built on a frame work of small square tubing and has working doors and everything. Who ever built it probably put a lot of hours in it but not much money. I guess you could say it was built like an early Chevy in that the sheetmetal covers the frame of the body. I would post a pix but it is storage 90 miles from where I live. Rusty
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