Projects The bucket of ugly! A de-uglifying thread...

I know maybe their would be a lot less ugly T Buckets. Actually it's just a few but important images. Not too high or low in back, windshield lay back,Engine pretty level or down a little in front, grill lower than cowl,headlights not too forward or behind the grill. I'll say it again, push your roadster out from the small space your building it in and step back maybe 20 or more feet and stare at it. Maybe even squint an old artists trick. I used to say it would make it like I was seeing it for the first time.

 

I have resolved to make some alterations to mine over the winter. Going to drop my radiator about an inch( which will give me a headache with the fan) then drop the surround about 1 1/2 inches, which should bring everything into line. The last thing I want happen when I eventually put a hood on it is to make it look like it has a broken back. Lowering everything should(?) fix it. As I say the only problems( I hope) will be fan (go electric) and maybe hoses

 

Stole this pic off our local Auction site, fairly typical NZ Bucket. JW

 

And another. JW

 

Hey, Chip, feeling better?

 

Not sure what Chip has but some of these bugs just hang on for as week or two. Hope he and Judy get well soon.

 

First part of the week Chip said he was feeling better, hope that is still the case and he is just too busy to get on here right now.

 

Yes and no.... I have been dealing with a fairly bad bout with asthma since about the 15th of the month. One day I'm fine, and the next I'm dyin'.*****s, but it's something I have put up with since I was a child. When I'm good, I'm working until I'm not good to catch up. When I'm bad, I haven't enough energy to even sit at the computer. Those that really know me like NitroBrother know that I am basically a bundle of high speed energy most of the time, so this is a bit frustrating for me. I can feel it's coming an end, so I'll be a bit more dependable real soon.

I did shoot some snap making pictures to complete the tonneau adventure this afternoon...

 

Hang in there, Chip. Sometimes your body has to tell you who's boss in an unfriendly way.

Gary,
Thanks for posting the Etiquette article again. It's a great reference guide.

26T,
Those two T's look similar to the run of the mill T's we see around here! It's always interesting to see how different another part of the world does things. I think the interior in the orange one looks really nice. I know my brother would be asking him what the paint codes were as he's wanting to do a similar color on his OT pickup.

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Anyone there? Even though it`s Saturday, Shop work and other Running around are it today. Have to go and look at a Bonneville project. I am a Tech Inspector up there, and local guys usually enlist our help before the cars are done to try and make sure they will be O.K......Also have to try and finish the 50 Chevy Pickup rear frame Notch today....

So no T stuff, collecting parts, or anything....

 

I haven't seen much about the Marty Hollman "T" that was equally influential in the 60's. It got its' fair share of magazine articles and celluloid exposure and the guy was no midget. ,

 

This was posted in another thread called a nice little T roadster.
I like the video and thought it deserved a home in this thread.
I posted another thread looking for ideas on mounting and securing the gas tank I'm building for the RPU.
Larry.

 

Marty Hollman's T was one of my favorites

 

Somewhere I have some profile pix of Marty's car, will look for them, This car was the same era as Grabowski' s and Ivo's cars but Marty dropped out of the hot rod scene and never promoted it. ,

 

Excuse me, but does that guy in Big Muscle not know about the years of cars,eg. 1922 FordT certainly looks like a '26 /'27 body to me. Correct me if I'm wrong here.******* nice '26 or '27 T Roadster though but one would need to redesign the upholster, trim for Chip , to give one slightly more space.

 

Heck I do like Marty's car with the fold down roof whether it is up or down, it looked part of the car. That is how I hope mine will be too.

 

Yeah, every time he called it a '22 I cringed a little.

 

To be fair, no one is an expert on every car ever made. Even the owner was calling it a '22. Could be the family story is that the car is a '22 or the****le reads 1922 so that's what it is.

 

I don`t know, guys. I never really liked this one. Maybe because Marty was so big, the pics of him in the car made it look out of proportion. I always thought it sat too high.....but that`s just me......

 

Thank you Paul!

I didn't want to be the one that put down on everything. I never liked it much either. Goes to show you just can't put together a lot of otherwise cool parts and make a good looking bucket.

Gary

 

For me its the brass and cowl lamps that holds it back, JMO. JW

 

So it's been so long that everyone's probably forgotten by now, but I've finally hit a dead end on the Offshore boat exhaust cutouts I was supposed to report back on. I spoke to a fellow club member of the guy who owned the car they were on, and it's been sold. He also told me simile else had asked about them recently, and the company that made th we m is no longer in business. THAT givers you an idea of how prohibitively expensive they really were.....they were too much for the offshore boat crowd! That's really saying something right there!

 

I saw that feature on Big Muscle, and I think the '26-'27 body has been narrowed width wise. I think they call those a modified, right?

Kiwi Paul,
You gotta quit working so much! We need to get together again and do T bucket stuff.

I guess I have some progress pics to share. I've been working quite a few hours, too; so my T bucket time has been limited as well.

I have been working on a tonneau cover after being inspired by Chip's and Gary's. It fits pretty good, but I want to wait until I have access to my dad's table saw and router to really get it dialed in.



I hinged it using a "piano hinge". I haven't cut out the hole for my gas cap yet as I haven't built the tank. Those two*****on head fasteners in front of the cap are holding a striker bolt bracket underneath.



I used a Speedway bear jaw style latch, and I hooked up remnants of a Lokar throttle cable linkage to the lever on the latch. I used a choke cable that will be run along the driver's side of the body under the upholstery to the dash, so I can pop it from inside and inside only (theft deterrent).



And here is a kinda far away shot to attempt yet again to capture the profile of the car. This one reflects the proportions pretty close to how it looks in person.



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Heck that is a cool idea Tim using the bearclaw catch etc for the cover. Very impressive and I do so like the view of your T now that the lights have been " Fixed " . It is looking real cool and just one last word, you keep those wires on that car as I'm adoring them more and more.

 

I think a lot of thought and planning went into the Hollman car, after all the pedigree included work by Kent Fuller on the chassis and some upstart car painter named Don Prudhomme and it wasn't a copy of someone elses car. I don't really care for all the brass but I like the general design and workmanship that is there and it was one of the first bobtail T's.

 

Well jalopy when it comes down to it all T buckets are copies. Some just come closer to the perfection of the Grabowski and Ivo rod's than others. I'm not questioning the quality or innovation of the build it's just not very pleasing to the eye and that is what Chip's thread here is all about. DeUglifing or making a T bucket more pleasing to the eye.

 

I wasn't attacking the Grabowski or Ivo builds, I just wouldn't build a copy myself because even tho they're neat they don't excite me. Not a fan of fad T's either , but the bobtail builds appeal to me, like Hollmans' or Bob Johnston's ( Ed Roth) builds do excite me, but I'm looking at taking what I like from a lot of different cars to produce my non ugly ride.

 

You know it's funny jalopy you should mention Roth. I was actually going to mention in my last post his fiberglass bodied roadster as a good example of a different T type style roadster as one that was pleasing to the eye. Funny, it is something I would never build but I do like it. All the rules Chip is talking about still applies to it. Tweetie Pie is also nice to look at.

 

Yeah--I just ran out to the Magazine vault and retrieved the Fawcett `How to Build and Race Hot Rods`. That holds a special place for me, as it was the first American book I ever saw when my late Father gave it to me in 67 or 68. That has pics of Tweedie Pie, as well as `Little Jewel` which I still think is one of the best `A` Sedans ever built. But that`s off topic....

 

By the way, Tim....The Shop is fast approaching `Critical Mass` If I don`t get some stuff finished and out, there won`t be any room for anything in there, including me!!!

If you get time, let me know and we`ll take a poke at that Gas Tank.....