Finally decided to build the car I've wanted for almost 30 years now. First real car that made me want to go steal it was a 70's style T-Bucket when I was just a kid. Not long after that car caught my eye I began helping my Uncle restore and original 1925 model T coupe. I grew up in a family owned automotive machine shop, so growing up a gearhead was just a given, and my love of hotrods and antiques just got bigger and bigger. I built a few motorcycles through the years, and restored and built a few nice muscle cars, but this will be my first ground up ****ch built car, and I'm having a blast getting started. I've looked at thousands of pictures, read countless books and articles, and just decided I had done my research enough to know what I want to build, and it's time to shut up talking, quit reading, and start cutting some steel. I posted a couple of pictures of the slim progress I have started. The engine is a 307 with a saginaw 3 speed behind it that I pulled out of my 72 C10, that only has 34,000 original miles on it. My grandfather bought it new, and it's just been sitting in the barn for years now. I gave the truck to my son, but he has a nice 396 he wanted to put in it, and since the engine ran perfect, I decided to build my T out of it. So far I got the new radiator, engine ready to go, and picking up the body from Ron Pope Motorsports this weekend at a car show he is attending in Moultrie Georgia. I decided to mock up the frame with 2x4's since it's a lot easier to unscrew, than unweld till I get the stance I want and decide how the frame design will go. After several different ideas I've decided on a tapered frame that's 23 1/2 inches wide up front, and 30 inches wide at the rear with 1 1/2 x 3 tubing in 3/16 wall. Will channel the body down 3 inches over the frame. A lot of people build these with a 26 1/2 wide straight frame with just a ladder style design, but I just like the way a tapered frame hugs the engine and radiator a little closer. I'm also over on the Tbucketeers site under the same name, but I've read a lot of posts on here that are right up my alley, and I posted a pic of somebodies T that I saved a while back, that kinda has the real low stance I'm looking for, yet keeping it old school. I don't want a lot of flash, and what I want is a car that looks like it could have been built in the 4o's (except for the SBC). the rest I want pretty traditional. Will probably run smoothies (but radial tires and disc brakes), and I know that may not be 40's either but I still want a good driving, and Stoping car. Going to run 1/4 ellip springs front and rear, with NO turtle deck or truck bed, maybe a little more like a lakester style with the 23 body. the body I'm using has all the stretch in the cowl, so it looks a lot like the old lakester modified cars from the 30's. Look forward to reading more of your posts, and digging the pictures, and hope a few will follow along with my build.
The Jalopy Journal
