Thread: Budget T-Bucket Builder

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As one who builds everything on my cars myself, and was preparing to put together my first T bucket out of some parts that I scrounged and some that I had in the back yard (read: "cheep") Chesters E-book was timed just right for me. after download I actually spent the time to then print out the whole book, which ended up over 2" thick, and have found myself refering to it often. anyone who builds, rather than buys will find it a valuable asset, as well as getting a chuckle from his off handed humor.

When I grow up I wanta be like Chester

(When I was young I told my mother "when I grow up I want to build hot rods" but now I realise I can't do both.)



Russ

Hummmm this looks familar .... are you gonna channel the body? That must be an old on. I haven't seen them made with the sub frame extentions on them for many many years.

Ron

haha Dave ... I have those menories too!! In the mid '60's i was runnin a '55 Chevy and whoopin up on the guys with 292 Fords. Just wanted to try something different this time.

I'm 64 ... dose that make me a geezer too??

Ron

Originally Posted by Youngster

haha Dave ... I have those menories too!! In the mid '60's i was runnin a '55 Chevy and whoopin up on the guys with 292 Fords. Just wanted to try something different this time.

I'm 64 ... dose that make me a geezer too??

Ron

Yeah, you're qualified...Heck I'm the kid in the geezer brigade, only 59!!!

One of my toys as a kid was a '56 Ford with a tri-power 406 and 4 speed out of a Galaxie...my favorite victims were the tri-five chebbies!!!!

Originally Posted by Youngster

Hummmm this looks familar .... are you gonna channel the body? That must be an old on. I haven't seen them made with the sub frame extentions on them for many many years.

Ron

uh hu. I purchased the body in the condition you see it in, which includes already having the plywood floors glassed in very solidly. the strange part is that, as you can see in the pic, the floor allows the rear of the body to be chalnneled over the frame, but the front is flush with the lower edge of the body. if you look at the bottom of the door line, you may see that it appears that a pie cut was taken off the lower edge of the body at some point for whatever reason. I ani't cuttin out that floor, but I expect I'll replace the missing lower pie cut of glass, so it will appear channeled over the frame once again. It is an old body, but it's pretty solid and the price was right.

Lot

Originally Posted by ChestersAlive

HemiTCoupe: Your hemi is a state of the art, work of art. The envy of all who see it, including me. With a background in engines like that you have to be an expert in tuning. Money opens many doors, one of them is knowledge. I wouldn't know where to begin tuning an engine like that. We're like a Ferrari and an old ford pickup sharing the same road, and we live in two different worlds. For the money you have in that engine, on my side of the tracks, I could build two turn-key T-Buckets. They would be picked apart in your world, reverred in mine. I don't get off on being the envy of others, I get off on comradeship, its much more rewarding. It's also the creed of Rat Rodders everywhere, a group I am proud to consider myself part of. The ideas I post on the forum are simply based on my economical solutions to building rods. Chester

Chester,
The picture of my Hemi is how it sits on my motor cradle. I am building a Coupe for it. I had bought a used frame for my other one, it was crap. I sold off the other coupe and building everything from the ground up myself. I make all my parts myself that I can.
Money didn't open the doors, I learned my knowledge from doing it myself, sometime doing it wrong, but mostly doing it right.
I build my own frames, "A" frames, 4 links, motors, trannies, wiring, body work everything, except paint. That way can say I built it, not bought it, or paid to have it done.
The motor won't look like it does when it it in, I am going for the FED look, it will not have the water pump or water crossover on it it will have the twin marine water pumps and the alt will be at the bottom of the motor, and a cam driven fuel pump. I have converted the Hilborn to electronic injectors, and it will have the funny car type baffled zoomies on it.
It will have a gm 4sp on a bellhousing I made from a different one, a 29"-9" rearend that I shortened, except for the axles.
It's a full fendered Pro Street '27 T Coupe.

I still need to get the front model A axle which I'm going to drop myself, drill and polish. and I still need the Hilborn fuel pump, and some minor other parts.

I am working on my wifes '27 T Tudor, which I built everything for also, which has IRS & IFS and 4 wheel disc brakes, power Windows, CPI Vortec 4.3 and a 4L60E tranny. I may still add a back door and make it into a delivery.

Pat