Hot Rods The Belly Button Bucket Build Thread

I never get tired to look at your chassi.
So short, neat and a well balanced overall look.

 

Its the first time I have seen this build and just wanted to comment that it is super impressive. Thoroughly thought out and well turned out

Cheers Turns

 

I'm really glad to see these pictures. It's great that it's so spotless after it's slumber. I see so many that end up filthy from other work and sitting.
You know that I really admire your work ethic and willingness to do and redo until each part is to your vision, separately and of the whole. The thought, detail and nuance shows at a glance and when carefully studied.
The typical phrase here is I can't wait to see it done. However, I'm just as interested in the build and what you share of it. Thanks for the journey so far.

 

bad ass!

 

Still got a marathon ahead of me, but the car drives!

 

Holy shit dude! You fucking drove it!!!

I’m going to be honest, I pictured you knit picking and over thinking this thing for at least another decade before it went around the block. Damn that’s cool! Shit I’m excited and I’ve got not a dang thing to do with any of it lol

 

Tim, thank you for taking us along!
I really appreciate seeing it up and running and you rowing thru the gears.

 

Trust me, it was heading that way. It’s taking all my restraint to just push forward lol

 

How many times can I like that post???!!!!! Awesome man! Congratulations! First drive. Loved her squeal when you blurped that loud pedal.

 

Saweeet! Thanks for taking us along for the ride!

 

awesome !!! you can never repeat that feeling of driving them the first time, specially when you put so much into it. well done

 

I hear there's a deuce in your future!

 

Congratulations!
The first drive is a great experience.
Thanks for the well done video.

 

I’ll have to update you guys on the wiring progress etc, but for now a video:



Tonight we picked up Thai food and took it out to Vancouver Lake. The car does great overall. Lots of little things to sort out but generally solid and reliable.

 

Congrats Tim!

 

Way to go Tim!

 

OH boy, Oh boy! Hope it puts a big smile on your face and makes her squeal more!
Considering the care and effort, the shakedowns should go smoothly.

 

Nice Tim!

 

Really enjoying the videos. The mega short wheel base looks great outside and I dig the tail lights up high

 

Today was epic. To recap the past couple months- I got laid off from work. I’ve been using the time to get the garage functional as a workshop while I look for a new job, but every time I move the car out I’m reminded it’s not done. I’ve set many goals with this car and missed most of them, but I really wanted to get on the road before my 40th, which is 6 months from now. I knew if I waited until January or so, I’d be too busy and likely working again with zero free time. So I started scheming. My parents offered to come help mud and tape the garage, and I thought… car shows are still happening…. What if I bust ass and get this thing on the road and we can go to a show together? And somehow, likely Divine Intervention, that happened today. My brother stopped by on his way back from a work trip and we ripped the car around for about a 5min drive. A few hours later, my parents landed and arrived. I took Dad to the show, with my gf and Mom following. Mom rode in the T on the drive to dinner, and Dad again riding home. We lost a fuel pump wire on the drive home from dinner - got that sorted out and made it home with very few known issues. I’m super pumped. I’ve walked into that show for close to 20 years now, and for the first time today, I drove in, with my family there to experience it with me!

 

Congrats!

wouldn’t you freak out if you saw that hotrod parked on that street like that? Hotrods out in the wild are the best

 

Love, love, love it!
Big grin, shared experience, fixed fault, and that street shot just captures how special it is.
You Sir have won the day.

 

Like I said before, any time you want to “VACATION “ in the Adirondacks, oh and help me with mine, you can stop by anytime! I know it’s a bit of a commute, but hey west coast to east coast in a T-bucket, what could go wrong?

 

Hell yeah. That's what's up.

 

Today was pretty fun- gf took a trip up to Olympia for work and my parents helped out around the house. Dad helped me get all the parts and totes which had been dragged down to get the car running back up into the attic, while Mom trimmed roses in the yard. It got to the time where we were ready to start mud/tape for drywall, made a list, and decided to go get supplies in the T. I officially have a car to make parts/supply runs. You might be wondering what monstrosity of wiring is going on in the right side of the bed, I’ll leave a teaser picture for now and explain later, likely in a video as I think it will be easier to digest that way.

 

Parts run! will now be anticipated, not dreaded.
That small lump looks like some super fancy battery/capacitor/solenoid pack. It got you out and about, so it seems to work.

 

That’s his flux capacitor. 88 mph…

 

Short update as today was spent taping and mudding. But while I waited for my parents to show up, I split my time between drywall taping and tuning the carb. Previously, I had drilled holes in the throttle plates to get it to idle properly, but I later found out the baseplate had been drilled out for Niagara Falls style idle circuits…. After swapping baseplates, I figured I may not need drilled throttle plates anymore, so I silver soldered them closed and tried it out. Got it running pretty good, good vacuum, good action out of the mixture screws. Next, bolted on another carb, tinkered with it some more, then another carb, then fuel lines connected, then linkage. It’s not completely dialed in, but it will start and idle great, I get good action out of the mixture screws, so it was about as dialed in without an AFR gauge. I was real nervous for the next part, but I psyched myself up enough to go try it out. I didn’t know until today, but I’ve actually been building a rocket ship. It is horrifyingly quick out of the hole. I hit it from a roll 3x in first gear. There’s a flat spot between off idle and before the secondaries open, likely pump shot, maybe power piston. But then the gates of Hell open up and in a fraction of a second you’re at the top of 1st gear. It goes dead straight and hooks HARD. On the third try, I knew how to drive through the flat spot and it spun the tires - lots of wheel speed but accelerating like a fighter jet. It is awesome and absolutely terrifying. I need to get the rear proportioning valve of the brakes dialed in, and I need to find a spot in the middle of nowhere to get familiar with the acceleration. Those secondaries are like an on/off switch! The tri power setup works pretty damn good!!

 

lol, that’s fantastic!