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

2OLD2FAST,

Thanks for the ideas. I think that since I'm this far along, I will continue as planned, with the exception of having a heim joint on both ends of the clutch fork actuation rod as you suggested. Thank you for the reminder about the fork traveling in an arc, too. I think more than anything, my vocabulary was confusing. I keep using "Z bar" when I should be using "cross shaft" as Blownfuel used.

I initially wanted to have the cross shaft pivot ball threaded into the block, but that's right where my steering column pokes through the firewall, and I'm almost certain there would be an interference between the two, hence the truck bellhousing pivot ball mounting location.

 

That is the Gene Chan T bucket, you can see more about it here

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/gene-chan-t-bucket.808757/

 

Blownfuel, I believe that clutch can setup is a direct copy of what Studebaker used, been a long time since I looked at mine, but it sure seems like it.

Len

 

Yea , I had interference , I made a bracket that bolts on the bellhousing bolts to offset the pivot point...don't forget the felt seals in the cross shaft & remember to drill it for a zerk
dave

 

If I remember correctly, the Bug trans with the shifter clutch was a semi-auto.
In addition to the clutch it had a torque converter so the shifter clutch was just a way to disengage the gear clusters from engine power to make shifting from one "range" to the next possible.
You didn't need to use the shifter clutch to stop the car or take off as the torque converter did that...just like a regular automatic trans.
The bug had a low range, medium range (that was usually used) and a high range for highway use.
thats the way I remember it anyway...could be wrong.
I learned to drive on many cars at a used car lot.
A semi-auto bug was one...and the first time I had it out I thought I broke it, because it wouldn't move when I was called out too and told to bring it up from the back field to let a customer look at it!
I was sweatin' bullets for a moment or two until I took my hand off the shifter to turn off the key and I felt the trans work again! Drove it back to the sales lot as if nothing was going on at all...LoL

 

It has been a long time, but I thought it had 4 forward speeds. I do remember the part about not having to disengage at stops though.

Dick,

Thanks for the info on the T, I'm gonna check it out tonight after class.

Kurt (Blownfuel)

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Gene Chan`s car has always been one of my favourites. Hey Tim, give me a call tomorrow and I`ll fill you in on the SEMA trip, and the avalanche of work I have now.....worse than usual......

 

Is this where the Ed Iskenderian "T" bucket started? The lines meet the requirements of todays bucket rules/ , http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2015/11/12/the-mystery-roadster-of-boyle-heights/?refer=news

 

Interesting article, and even more interesting they got Clayton to identify the parts! Thanks for sharing. I was going through old files on my laptop yesterday and found a bunch of bucket stuff I should probably post here. Maybe I will have time this weekend.

 

Very interesting read. Thanks for posting.

 

That was a cool story. Great detective work...mechanical archaeology!

 

Got the new shoes on the coupe (finally) and ran out to the So-Cal Second Saturday swap event, then followed Chip back to his shop to talk projects. That's a full driveway!

 

New wheels look good on there!

jerry

 

So, here's a pic of the 9" rear I'm using. I had to buy a guys left over project, but a day of cutting and grinding will get me where I need to be. It's 60 3/8", but wheel off set will get my tires all nice and snug to the body.

I'm dealing on a posi 3rd member to handle the 396 BBC I've been looking at.

Yea, a '65 396! Fingers crossed.

 

Looking Good, Nitrobrother!

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A better view...

 

Fred; you've gone crazy. What kind of bucket are you building there?

 

Fred's building a "Jimmy John's" T: Freaky fast!

 

Ooooooookay......... Here's the first of many episodes in my new build where I serve myself a nice, hot dish of CROW. I called Diana at CCR and she explained that the frame used for the stretched body is the same as the frame used for the standard body. They move the motor and tranny mounts forward to make up the difference in body length. This also closes the gap between the radiator and front cross member, that a lot of T Buckets have. I never understood the reason for that 6"-8" of empty space. So, I ordered a set of their blueprints, since I'm going with their body.

So, I'm eating a crow sandwich and following the advice some of you guys gave to go with a 105" wheelbase. Mmmmm...... crow and fries!

 

Thank you Fred I'm almost afraid to give advice anymore I was just going to let you do what you wanted to. We wouldn't want all T Buckets to look like mine.

 

If all T:s look like yours there would not exist any ugly buckets.
But the lack of variations would be a bit boring.
And i think that all people that planning a rod should read this thread
becouse there have ben alot of visdom ventilated here on whats make
or break a build.

 

Boy ain't that the truth!!
Dave
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder !

 

Fred, crow tastes like bald eagle...don't worry about it. That big block will help fill that gap, too!

Chip (sitting on the bed of his T) holding forth at the Scottsdale GoodGuys yesterday. Jimmy Smith's way-cool pickup and my coupe with a Buick interloper crashing the "turd party".

 

You are so welcome. I'm doing a lot more research on this build and I always end up going through this thread. As I stated earlier, I could never figure out why that empty space between the radiator and crossbar was there. But, I'm still new to this stuff. I figured it was there because that's the way these cars are supposed to be. Now, I'm realizing the various ways that "form and function" can make or break how these cars look and perform.

I've been looking at pics of fairly recent T builds and lo and behold, almost all of them have the radiator fairly close to the crossbar. It's a much cleaner look and that's what I'm trying to achieve.

 

Good plan Fred

 

Read back "ugly gaps" avoid them.

 

That statement fits our cars to a "T".

 

True Fred, but don't forget, the Big block is roughly 2" larger in all dimensions (actually 2.5" longer (28" for a SBC vs. 30.5" for a BBC)), so that's going to take up part of that gap as well. And you will probably want to mount it a "little" further foward for distributor clearance if your running an HEI (but not so far forward that the ugly gap ends up in the back of the motor).

 

Well, the BBC is still waiting for the owner to give me a price. In the meantime, I'll proceed with building a bare frame working on a 105" wheelbase. Once I have an engine choice confirmed and my body, I'll layout fitment. This weekend, I'll be cutting and grinding the brackets off of the 9" rear housing I scored. Naturally, pics will be forth coming. All in all, I'm VERY excited to be back in the "build mode" of thought. And once again, thanks to Chip and all you other lugheads for your opinions and advice.

Today a text alert let me know that the plans from CCR are on the way. Their plans will show me the correct length and rear kickup I'll need for my new T. As well as a few other items I've been wondering about.

 

So did I notice correctly that the frame end of the upper rear suspension link was angled like 45 deg. while the diff. end was mounted horizontally? And if so, bind much?

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