Hot Rods T Bucket Interiors

Do you think the door would stay latched pretty good. I think that there might be some flex in the body and maybe let the door become loose. I don't know! Because I am up with the same decision. Don't know if I should get a door in the passenger side or not. Help. Sorry Fred for jumping in on your thread. But I am dealing with the same problem. Thanks. Bob.....................

 

I have doors on both sides and a removable steering wheel! I need all the help I can get at 76 years old. Homemade spring loaded barrel bolt latch has never failed.

 

This thread is for anyone looking for seating ideas in cars that lack space. I've gotten a lot of good tips and ideas already.

 

A door doesn't have to cost $600; glass some wood into the body, cut it out with saber saw, add an old Model T hinge, and a latch (probably a small bear-claw now-a-days). Cut one into my old black car (in post 8), never a problem and still worked good 40 years later, when we ran across the car. Did a few more the same way, probably still working too, if the cars still exist.

 

Just got this back from the upholstery shop. Kinda bench/bucket cross. Seat is very comfy, just wish I had a little more leg room. Kick in the ass to drive though.

 

WOW! Very nice.

 

I never been around a t-bucket much but here's an idea.... maybe: could a mounting system be made, that the seat (buckets(mounted together) or bench) tilt for ward at the front & have removable pit pins acting as the hinge pins? - then some simple latching method made with shortened hood release or choke type cable pulls in the rear? You could then tilt seat forward for behind & under storage or quickly remove the whole seat......

 

Moonkist by randy bianchi,best of the best,imo. Ill see if i can find a pic


Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

That's not a hi-jack. It's really on point because the underlying reason I really don't like a door in 'glass T Buckets is the body flex. Now, the CCR setup does look strong and having had one of their bodies, I can say from experience that the body is very thick and strong, too. But it flexed a little. Not as much as other bodies, but it does flex. Will a gennie tin Model T flex? Yup, I'm sure it would, too. But maybe not as much (guessing here), and the body was probably engineered for that flex. I'm sure ole Henry thought of that.

IMO, a glass T Bucket with a door is akin to flirting with disaster.... UNLESS you build a very heavy steel frame work or structure to support it. Wood? Maybe...... just maybe that would work just as good. But I think it would also have to be heavy duty. So, back to my car and the decision to have a door or not? Unless something REALLY huge happens to my finances, a door just isn't in the cards right now. But if that miracle did happen, I'd REALLY put a lot of thought into it and have to come up with even more bracing than they use. Just for my peace of mind.

 

That's actually what I had planned, if I didn't use a base to mount the seats on. If I used a bench seat, the whole structure would not only tilt forward, but would be removable. If I use bucket or bomber seats, they would have the same features, but be separate of each other. And either case, they wouldn't have to tilt that far forward. My last T Bucket had a storage compartment and battery access. Both were accessible without removing the bench.

 

I thought those long chrome exhaust pipes where for gettin in.
Not that I have a T Bucket but I think it would be hard to not fallow the curve of the back of the bucket body for the seat back anyway.

 

The back of the body does curve up, but then it ends up almost straight up. That initial curve area is usually the amount of the frame kick up. The thing about that is, in my last interior, the rake of the body made the back of the body and the seat back lean forward, due to that straightening. In hind sight, I could have compensated for that with a back that was thicker at the bottom and thinner towards the top, but the bottom seat area would lost some space.

Most good bucket and bomber seats have a built in angle. About 70 degrees. So, in my case, the bottom edge where my frame kicks up, is as far back as a bucket or bomber seat could be mounted. The "dead space" behind the seat would be minimal, due to the angle of the seat back compared to the body. But again, it's still there. If I go with the Empi seats or a pre-made bench, I'd mount my fuse box behind the seats in that area.

 

I'd love to see the frame work for that seat. The angle is a little extreme for my build, but's it's a very adaptable design. I like it.

 

That's what I thought to Fred. About the body flexing. Bob..............

 

This is what I based my seat on...but with my own layout.
When I go at it again I will be moving even closer to this to drop us down another 2-3" for better headroom with the low top I want.
Surprising how comfortable this lay down design is with very minimal padding.

 

this one looks quite like the corbeau you have been eyeing.

 

Yup..... that appears to be a Corbeau.

 

I can't remember if I mentioned Rotten Leonard's Bomber style seats and I just got off work, so I'm too tired to check. Did someone else? His seats have a lot of good things going for them. http://www.rottenleonard.com/Products.html



Here we go:

1st. He seems to be a Hot Rodder trying to make a go at his own business. Gotta support the little guy. Right?
2nd. He's a HAMBer. Don't you just have to trade with a guy who's a HAMBer?
3rd. Going by his area code, his shop seems to be in the good ole U.S.A.. So, I'd be helping our shitty economy.
4th. $300 for a pair. SAY WHAT!? Yea, $300 for a pair and they're padded! I used a calculator, my dad's slide rule and an Abacus and that comes to $150 each......PADDED!
5th. HAMB discount probably applies. Of course I'll have to drop $50 for an Alliance membership, but I was going to do that anyway to save shipping on my headers from Matt at Gear Drive.
6th. They look bad ass. I like bad ass. Wait.... did that sound right?
And finally.... 7th. He can make them ANY width. Yeah, that means no matter what measurement I come up with, he'll be able to take care of it.

I've already figured out how I'm going to mount them. LOW! So, all those things considered, his seats are WAAAAAY at the top of my list. I'm still doing some checking around, but not as hard as I was.

 

My wife's T. Currently getting a door installed.

 

I found a link to Speedways instructions for installing their interior. With a little thought and effort, their panels and carpet could be duplicated in your own material and pattern. I think it's pretty straight forward.

https://static.speedwaymotors.com/pdf/tbucket_interior.pdf

 

Is that in a T Bucket? If so, do you know what size they used? Nice fit.

 

That looks like a real possible solution for your interior! Without breaking the bank

 

Indeed!

 

Bet you could use a home sewing machine to do it if you didn't get crazy with the material.

 

Just like a body and paint course, you can look into a community college auto upholstery course.
I've done one. I enjoyed it, but would rather have a pro do the job due to the amount of effort and cost along with my very amateur level abilities.
You could be great at it, but if it takes 2-3 times for it to come out to your acceptance level, you may have as much invested it materials as having a pro do it.

As for the question on the pic, I was searching for "T Bucket seats" images and it came up. Unfortunately, it's the only image - no other sizes or site locations. It was in the search engine cache and there is no other address for it. It sure looks like a bucket though.
The only way to see it bigger is to save it to your computer and enlarge OR right click on the picture and select "View Image". This will open it at the same size in it's own window. Then Press the CTRL button and the + button on your keyboard at the same time to enlarge the picture.

 

In another image search I happened to find this link.
Here you go Fred (and everyone else), how one guy did it!
http://www.thegaragegazette.com/index.php?topic=2240.105
The foam and cover are on the next page...

I'm going to spend a while checking out the rest of this guy's build. He started in 2010 and finished in 2014.
The 'done' pictures included this one

 

BTW, I really admired this car in pics and then got to see it at SEMA. It was amazing in person too. I was sad to see it sell at one of the big auctions for what must have been pennies on the dollar.
However, a thrifty and resourceful guy could use the design elements to create a nice interior of his own.
http://kustomculture.skynetblogs.be...ly-loaded-in-a-1929-ford-roadster-pickup.html
A nice job laying out a veneer on the floor with some rub strips, the bomber seats and getting the side panels to fit tight INSIDE the body....
BTW, it's a '29, so the shapes are not quite T bucket...

 

That is a work of art but I am guessing Fred has a flat floor and no tunnel.
The picture of the home made job just needed the seam just below the lip removed and just play off the next line....have the puffy rim....if that make sense.
Once you have that covered you can go from there down be it buckets or a bench or bench / bucket.

 

Flat is even easier. A thin veneer 'glassed over the floor, you could use cheap wire shelf cut to size and held down with a clamp similar to brake line clamps to keep your shoes off the wood to prevent scratches. Just a thought for something different from the carpet or as Fred mentioned before, bed liner.
Rocks and sand would be a bother though...
It's the little details like the spaced fasteners, the grab handle integrated with the door check strap and overall design/ color choices that set the attention to detail level to kill.
If Fred goes with the bomber seats, the flange details should be extended thru to other interior parts, like the shifter boot and up on the dash.