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

I'm blaming it on Chip, he left the kids to play without adult supervision, we were doomed to have problems pop up at some point.

 

I could say something like "If you aren't critical of other cars, how do you expect to learn to avoid making the same proportional errors when you build your own?" but I think it would fall on deaf ears. I actually like the T-bucket in question, but not for its proportions(Garys comments about the grill height and engine placement are spot-on, and if you READ the early pages of this thread, you will realize Chips car didn't turn out the way it did by some miraculous accident, and that's what was SUPPOSED to be the lesson on this thread) but because its an intact survivor, and I dig that stuff. Anyway, enough said, moving on...

 

And I could say "Not every car was built exactly alike back then."

There is no doubt that some things work and some things don't, and some things drag an otherwise neat car into the depths of streetrod hell.

The car in question doesn't follow Chip's recipe which we all agree is fantastic. But that's not the only way to build a car. If I were to build a '23 I'd start with his formula as I was never a fan of T buckets at all until examining what he did. FINALLY one that had the right proportions!

The same thing can be said for Gary's T. If we all built the same red car with the same interior and whitewalls and we all wore the same t-shirt....

These two formulas aren't wrong, but they're not the only options. Otherwise we'd all be driving red '32 highboy roadsters with American wheels.

Other people CAN have opinions fellas, and I dig the T @Blownfuel posted regardless if it isn't "correct" in someone else's eye.

 

Having a critical eye and a critical tongue are two vastly differently things.

 

Carry on. I've said my piece, I've known for some time that this thread has lost the rabbit, that's why I left. I'm going back to bed...

 

Don't forget to take your meds

 

Oh come on Gary...Now you're just adding stuff to start the drama again.
You don't like the car...fine...but nobody said it was perfect.
Just a good representation of the Rods you would see in magazines back in the day. Good, bad or even ugly. (All in the eye of the beholder really)
Just because it isn't "perfect" doesn't mean it isn't representative of 90% of what you saw in the mags back then!

The ONLY reason anyone got on your case about what you said was the WAY you presented it.
You came across not as someone with an honest opinion to express in the context of this thread, but more as an opinionated bully. Listen to me or else I say! LoL

You gotta lighten up a little...its just a discussion about good styling cues. Not life or death!
This has been a great thread but its going down the crapper because you don't like a particular car...and a couple of people do.
Thats silly.

Put up a picture of the offending car and we can all critique it and work out the issues it has.
Maybe someone can do a bit of photoshop and show how those small changes can really make a huge difference to the overall look of the car!
Thats what needs doing here.
Not silly arguing over stuff that didn't need to happen to start with!

 

Here it is...lets have some input on the glitches and some suggestions on how to fix them.
Lets get this thing back on track!!!

 

I say we put a cad motor, a too short 32 shell on it loose the wheels for some steelies with wide whites, and stick its ass up in the air.paint it red. then it would be perfect. I just unsubscribed to this thread as someone is on his soapbox too much and needs a bigger hat. I may not have been a contributor to the thread. but was a good listener, till a learned a traditional rodder can be as arrogant as most street rodders.

 

I take it that it is a Nailhead engine in the above car, and as we can't see what clearance there is under the sump to road surface, I wonder how tall these engines are compared to the SBF or SBC that may result in it's mounting position. Personally I would change the exhaust first due to the risk of burns and the headlights mounting and then drive the wheels off it while accessing a game plan for improvements.

 

Agreed that the headlights and headers are appalling, and distract from the rest of the car. Change those, and you have a car with potential. For such a simple car, they have a thousand details, any of which can go horribly wrong.

Can we get back on track now?

 

Oh, my....

Gary, you've officially jumped the shark. Your car isn't "perfect", it isn't. But it's an awesome ride and you built it to suit YOUR needs and desires, and no one has the right to tell you that your kid is ugly. Just as you don't have the right to trash any one else's kid because they have a different design vision. This isn't cookies and cakes that we're making, so there's no recipe like you think there is. There isn't. Period. Quit arguing. There's a "style", yes. There's a "feeling", yes. But as daddio said, we don't have to build the same cookie-cutter cars.

No one said the orange one was "perfect" so stop paraphrasing to suit your own argument. You picked on the windshield angle and radiator shell height, among other minor points. Let's see, this angle shows the windshield is parallel with the door lines and firewall, a few degrees from vertical judging by the trees. How much does your recipe say it should be laid back? 1 degree? 5? 10? How high is UP, anyway? You guys have said that the grill shell should be lower than the firewall, with an imaginary line forming a slope down to the shell. Looks like it is. You hate vertical (or nearly so) steering columns...fair enough, but that's a style. If it was mine, I'd change the front spring mount and the headers and drive it every day it wasn't over 100degrees!

A photo I took at last year's LARS...

We discussed the green T around here several years ago - we were trying to figure out if the body had been lengthened.

Three of these buckets have fairly level bodies, which you've stated in the past is important, and one doesn't. Does that make any of them wrong? NO!!! It makes them different.

But what's the bigger error is you didn't only disparage the orange car, you trashed those of us who dared express a favorable opinion about it! "Have you learned nothing" isn't the right way to think, or present yourself. If we were literally sitting in Chip's shop "cussin' and discussin' things" and anyone said what you said, I would call them on it and make them justify their position. I think that's the point that several of us are trying to make. Your point seems to be "I'm right, you're wrong, and you should be ashamed of yourselves." Many times it's not WHAT you said, it's HOW you said it.

Healthy, respectful discourse helps everyone, but vindictive rants don't help anyone.

Final point: You don't get out of it by saying "I didn't mean it." You said what you meant and if you didn't, why didn't you change it while you thinking about what to say, as you were typing it out, or during your look-over before you hit the Post button? Hmmm?

 

That's right, Gary! You got it now! That T is the perfect recipe that everyone should follow! I encourage you to immediately tear down your car and build it according to this pattern. Everyone should! If you don't, you're just reinventing history, and will incur the wrath of the HAMB Illuminati!

Go us!

(Anyone else want to have a discussion thread to talk about general topics and knowledge sharing without all the drama?)

 

Right on Nitro! And I happen to think that the orange T above is much more appropriate for this thread - it's a 60's style build (with GREAT proportions) that Chip was originally trying to shoot for with his own ride NOT a 50's style. The red one (and it's arrogant owner) should move on to their own "50's T bucket" thread and stop trying to convince everyone that their choice of style is the only one.

Steve

 

Is everyone still upset, or has medication been adjusted accordingly? Can't we all just get along? Kidding. I know this group too well to know the answer to that! And that's why I like this group - definitely not boring.

Well, I've been slowly plugging away on this thing. Feels like it's going well, but only time will be the judge of that. And you all I suppose.

I made some brackets for some things.



And then I got this amazing tip on coping tubing from my friend Corey.



Then I made that piece go there...



Much better results than what I was getting previously!





Made another bracket.



Which will gusset my wishbone mount.

And then I made another tube...



Which looks like that...

And with everything in there - trans, battery, and e-brake handle - I have just enough clearance to slide my fingers through. Tight!

 

Couple pics out of order, but you get the idea. One side done, one to go.

 

You make nice bracket and tube things, very cool, Tim. JW

 

Nice progress. Looks real good.

 

It may be a coincidence but it was "A full moon" when the back and forth began

 

You are very brave Tim continuing on with posting your progress here. I keep waiting for someone to launch a missile at you
I may be mistaken but earlier on Chip welcomed the diversity that his thread was developing.
Nice work by the way.
Larry.

 

Indeed, nice work Tim. I was one of the foolish group that liked the offending 'bucket...and I still like it, or most of it. But I ain't gonna tell anyone

 

Well I hope we all can move forward from this little side excursion. I too personally like that T and at the risk of stirring it up again , I would like to say the thing that really annoys me more then anything is the front spring hanger. Man, could I have some words to say to the very first chap that decided that is how T Roadsters should have the spring mounted. That big ugly thingy blocking the air flow into the radiator is just plan ugly and if one has to have a ugly thing like that, maybe they need to redesign there whole front end. As for the height of the grille, then it should be equal or just slightly lower then the firewall height otherwise it looks so darn wrong side on. But, hey, I'm just a novice from the Lower side of Earth who knows piss all.

 

When you think about it, we've had everything from trucks to '40s-vintage Plymouths (one of my favorites!) posted on this thread! It's de-uglifying T's primarily but also a place for the exchange of ideas. EVERYONE is entitled to their opinion or world view, but it has to be respectful to make it work.

More killer T's, please!

 

Why do we need to rip apart anything?

 

Downward rear radius rods STILL bug me,
But if the man that owns it lives with it,
its NOT MY DOG, Charlie Brown !!!

By the way, what steering gear are we using, Chip?
Come in, Chip.....

 

Because it's not HIS.

 

Now I'm going all serious for you guys, Is Chips body a longer one then normal ? Why I ask is I have noticed how far out into the seating area his steering column is. I realise his trim isn't finished yet but surely he has a rear seat cushion but the column and wheel appear to be sooooo long. Maybe my body is on the short side as I wouldn't want my column sticking out any more then it does.

 

If you're open to constructive criticism maybe should dole some out occasionally. See, for the most part everyone here is respectful of each other, but your "I'm king shit, your car sucks, build it like mine" attitude has worn thin.

 

I like this one, even better if the windshield wasn't as tall.

 

Your right.