Projects I'm new.. I'm building a T bucket.. Don't hate me

that's a nice Wheel Horse. as you know, they were made to last. i mow with a 1968 myself. i've had many, but my self imposed limit is now 3

what part of the great state of Minnesota are you from?

 

Welcome to the HAMB! Have fun and good luck with your build.

 

Under-done is better than over-done. The more you put into it, the more it will be noticed if you miss-the-mark.

Think clean, simple, well planned-out.

 

Welcome to the HAMB and think about making the doors work during your build. Here's my bike and bucket, I also own a 1964 8hp Wheel Horse too.

 

Watch your fuckin mouth. Those girls are related to Mctim.

 

The turtle deck Ts are my favorite. I never understood why there were more built with the pickup bed.

 

Excuse me?

 

Welcome ! Enjoy ! T-Buckets are KOOL !

 

Me and @Pocket Nick whipped this one up:

 

I miss driving that thing on shake down runs

 

Beaner I know you didn't mean anything by it. I love ya man. No not in that way.
Gary

 

We'll only hate you if you build a cartoonish fad T

 

I'm in Little Falls

 

It's a custom built bike. 80 inch Evo motor, 5 speed, kick only.

 

Yep, have to agree there. My first attempt was a T bucket with a flathead and 27 body I dug out of a neighbors field and a frame a buddy had built.
The one I built in Texas in the early 70's and had a ton of fun with was pretty rough by today's standards and had those "out of date" megaphone headers. A bit too much custom van influence on the interior too, Can't figure out why the hell I didn't go buy a couple more yards of that tan vinyl that I covered the seats with as that would have cost about ten bucks at the time.


Most of the welding on that car was done by Paul Charles who now lives near Lake Whitney TX. We lived in McGregor then and I would stick parts in my car and carry them down the street to his garage where he would weld them and then I hauled them back home.
I had a lot of want to but not that many rod building skills or knowledge in those days.

 

Now that is hard core, a one legged man with a kick start scoot. Great looking bike too.

 

damn the luck.

 

Yeah, I know what an evo chopper is....you've got some sense of humor

 

real bikes have generators and four speeds

 

T buckets are cOOl !

 

Made some decent progress since I started this thread. I know I said I wasn't going to use coil overs but I am, on the rear.

Not only is my sense of humor weak but I am also a liar. Let the hating begin.

I'll post pics tomorrow, It's finally warm enough to do some stuff outside and re arrange my garage.

I currently have:
Frame and body $550 (that's how much cash I had into the Wheel Horse)

Model A front axle/wishbone. Free from my buddy Brian

1979 302/C4 from a F150. $200 Good transmission. Engine ran but has antifreeze in the oil so a bad head gasket? cracked head?

Rebuilt set of 1988 302 heads if I need them. Free, also from my friend Brian.

1980 Monte Carlo rear axle. $100 I want to run a triangulated 4 link rear suspension. That's where the coil overs come in. The more I learned about banjo axles the less I wanted one.

Speedway disc front brakes, spindles, steering arm kit $565

Cragar delux 69 wheels 15x5 & 15x7 from Jegs. $241

My tires will be here Monday. 185/65-15 & 215/65-15. $275

A local machine shop is making some parts for me for the 4 link They aren't done and I don't know how much they will cost

$1931 so far
I also bought a cherry picker and engine stand but don't really count them as cost of the car because they are tools

 

Here's my girlfriend's old T that I put together on the cheap.


One thing I would say about Ts - When you build it, do it so you are sitting in it, rather than on it. Space is tight for getting everything in there, and often you see a great looking car that is let down when the owner gets in and they sit too high because they've tried to get stuff hidden under the seat.
- just my thoughts.
Keep posting photos as you progress.

 

That's not a regular T body.

 

I am building a T-Bucket across the river in Cottage Grove, Mn. Starting with a frame and fiberglass shell. Need to fabricate the radius rods to get it into a roller. I will be watching your build.

 

This car is COOL.

And I'm writing to second the seat thing. On my build I went into it with an eye for where my shoulder was going to be in relation to the sill. I'm down and back enough now that I've actually gotta come back up, which is a great problem to have with a T body. I have NOTHING under the seats.

 

here's some good info on the subject. the r&c came out when t-buckets were really taking off in popularity.

 

Norm had the original idea with his kick-ass car, then Ivo copied it and both got lots of press. After that, the aftermarket 'glass body makers decided to copy the idea by the hundreds of thousands. The original idea was very cool. The copies, not so much. I too prefer a T with a turtle.

 

I've been busy riding motorcycle and haven't done much to my project. I did pile everything into a mock up to give me some motivation today. My kid is excited and I hope he keeps coming out to the garage to help me with it.

Now that it's mocked up I'm pretty sure the rear frame kick up is going to be changed in order to get the car as low as I want it to be. Needs more ZEE. My plan is to do the rear suspension first, and then set the front axle to desired height with the spring perch.

I waited a month with disappointing results from that local machine shop. I did get some grease-able heim joints and some tubing for the 4 link for $91. The lug nuts cost $20 and a complete engine gasket kit was $45. Got a 2 barrel motorcraft carb and the kick down rod for the C4 for $30. Control arm bushings for the rear axle $8. New running total of $2125.

 

I really like those wheels!

Now put it together!

 

Neat. I've always been a fan of most t-buckets, fiberglass or not. Wicked looking little cars. Good luck with the build.