The FREE T Bucket plans

This wiki page was created as a home for the plans that are a result of this thread: [http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/creating-new-t-bucket-frame-plans-need-tons-info-plans-77092.html Creating New T Bucket Plans]

'''Before you ever START to plan the build of the vehicle, make sure you know EXACTLY what you need to do in order to register your vehicle in your state/county/town/country. Many people have had to do expensive changes to their street rod because they ignored this step until the vehicle was "ready to drive"'''. See [[How to title a hot rod]].

*"Classic" 23-25 or 26-27 roadster pickup.

*23-25 or 26-27 track car with hood, nose and turtle deck.

*23-25 or 26-27 "lakester" bucket with exposed fuel tank on naked frame rails in the back, and there are others.

REMEMBER: MOCK IT UP! Build your first frame effort from 2X4 lumber and nuts & bolts. Set it up on jack stands with your body on board and your front end assembly, engine/trans and rear end underneath. Take your time. Don't start cutting that steel until you've got a real feel for what you're trying to accomplish. Be honest with yourself and build your T Bucket to perform to your satisfaction.

Where you have essentially two body groups: '23-'25 and '26-'27, frame designs are all over the map. Many early Buckets were built on modified stock T frames or Model A frames. Others were built on early Chevy rails, or even channel iron frames. The "modern" T is usually sitting on a 2X3 or 2X4, .120-.180 wall thickness rectangular box tubing frame with a 2.5-3" tubular front cross member.

For mounting stuff to the frame I use 3/8 nuts welded for a flat surface, the tubing wall is too thin for mounting anything substantial. I try to find unplated nuts, to remove the cad or zinc plate I buff them, Muratic acid is supposed to remove it after soaking for a few hours. I use My Unibit to make a tapered hole just smaller than the nut hex size . I use a long bolt and screw the nut on the end. I tap the nut into the hole and square it up, carefully weld the nut to the tubing, let it cool, remove the bolt, clean out the thread with a tap, grind smooth if required.

*'28-'31 Model A Passenger Car & Pickup

*'32-'36 Passenger Car & Pickup

*'37-'41 Passenger Car & Pickup

*'42-'48 Passenger Car

*'42-'47 Pickup

Early Ford Tubular axles:

Any other factory I-beam axle from Chevy/GMC or Ford Pickups, '60s Ford & Chevy/GMC vans, early Chevy cars '36-'40, early Chevy/GMC pickups '36-'55.

Many makers (Speedway Motors, Total Performance, and others) usually sold and described as dropped axle in 4-5-6" drops and made to accommodate '37-'48 Ford Passenger Car and '37-'47 Ford Pickup spindles, or '61-'66 Ford Econoline Van spindles, or '49-'54 Chevrolet Passenger Car spindles.

===Coils & shocks===

Don't do it on the front of your car!! DON'T DO IT!! No matter that Car Craft did this on their project car. Ugly is ugly and almost nothing is uglier that those nasty towers on the front of the frame and coil springs and cups on the axle and shocks running up the middle. No chrome, no paint, nothing can hide this mistake --don't do it! There are too many other options that at least look good.

If done right, this is a clean attractive good riding suspension for the front of any roadster. If done wrong, it can be ugly, it can be nasty looking, and it can be rough riding. Only drawback is expense. Most manufacturers will allow you to return springs if they are too stiff for a softer set...one time.

[[Image:http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=14331]]

 

[[Image:http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=14332]]

Again, an attractive and simple setup to install. Experimentation with spring rates may be required. Cost is most prohibitive feature of this choice.

This IS the most popular modern T suspension setup for the rear suspension.

I just put 1/4 elliptical springs (kind of ) on My 1922 T speedster I needed to lower the rear and didn't want to Z the frame since this car was an authentic old Racer. The springs were free from a swap meet at the end of the day and the guy didn't . know what they came off. I think they were probably overloads for a pickup. they are S shape, and look like half of a stock T or A rear spring. I used some 4 X 4 angle iron for an L shaped bracket and added gussets for strength. I drilled holes in the frame to mount them to the outside of the frame rails, I have a Moore rear mounted drive line aux trans that uses the modified torque tube and modified rear stock radius rods. With this set up I used the shackels that came with the springs and made new brackets that I welded to hang under the rear axle housing. The first time out was last year's local 4th of July parade and there was a lot of rear side sway motion on rough spots in the road or the railroad tracks so I have since added a panhard bar. I have seen a few 1/4 elepticals on the front of T buckets that looked good. There is limited space at the rear of a t body, some of the T lakesters rear 1/4 eleptical springs look good and fit well in the chassis.

I build my own hairpins from 7/8 DOM steel tubing. If you have a blower or lots of horsepower you will want to use 1 inch dom tubing. My local supplier has to order it at 100 ft per order. I use my harbor Freight pipe bender to bend the tubing. You have to cut the pieces longer than finished length to work in that style bender. My lathe is too small to drill and tap the ends. I cut the end that has to be tapped 1 inch longer than the finished dimension, weld a small piece of scrap in that 1 inch area to grip in the vise so I won't get teeth marks on the finished piece. I use a large right angle drill and start with the bit that will just remove a little bit of material then keep changing bits until I get to the size required for the tap. I then drill out that extra one inch with the bit size to match the OD of your tap. ONLY GO ONE INCH DEEP. This will allow you to start the tap in straight and get good threads. Then you can cut off that extra inch re drill with the correct size for the tap, finish tapping to the new length and have good straight threads. Any time drilling or tapping use plenty of tapping fluid or thread cutting oil, I use a tubing notcher that I bolt to my steel table top and tack a piece of scrap angle iron so I can clamp the tubing at the right angle to cut the ends.

If you use coils on the rear you will need a panard bar from the frame rail to the oposite side to the rear axle. the longer the better and should be as close to level as possible.

===Watts Link===

there is usually not enough room for a watts linkage in a T bucket.

Use the currently available Corvair or Vega boxes, Speedway sells brand new Corvair reveresed boxes that are safe and ready to go. They also have the Vega box for cross steering.

 

It is recommended that conventional tie rod ends be used on the steering drag link from the box to the steering arm as well as the tie rod rather then the clevises often supplied by some vendors. Tie rod ends are specially built for this kind of service and are extremely strong while the clevices have been known to bend, split or bolts break. Also, Speedway can supply tie rod/drag link lengths to your requirements in either raw steel or chrome plated.

If you are using some suppliers spindle assemblies you may have to ream the existing bolt hole for proper tie rod assembly. These reamers can be purchased from Speedway.

A word of note here - Total Performance makes probably the most long lived and most popular T-bucket but there is one significant design flaw that they continue to produce. The sleeve that connects the steering box (Corvair) to the steering shaft is extremely weak and can split. This sleeve has two milled slots and is in a shear failure mode with the rolled drive pin. The steering column sleeve should be discarded and a u-joint substituted. You can either mill flats on the supplied shaft and use a DD u-joint, have splines cut on the shaft and uses a splined joint or (though not recommended) use a racing style (TIG/MIG) weld on u-joint. This failure has been corrected by Total Performance in their newer kits; the sleeve has been replaced with a u-joint though it is a weld on.

For cleanest and simplest body mounting, weld your mounting tabs inside the frame rails at the side part of the cowl, a simple straight 1X2" full cross member at the back edge of the "door" edge bead, and the last about halfway from the "door" bead to the back of the bucket. If you have chosen to not have the framerails sticking inside the cabin with you at the back, weld a tab to the top of the kickup and form it to meet the back walland install a bolt on each side to stabilize the back wall on these tab mounts.

A well made '23-'25 T roadster body will not need any wooden bracing in the bucket itself unless having an opening door on the passenger side.

It is important to reinforce the upper rail around the cabin. Do this before you have the floor installed as it is easier if the body is upside down. Measure your body and see how symmetrical it is. This can be done with a nice piece of 1/2" rebar formed to fit closely under the rail from the dashboard around the perimeter of the body and back to the dashboard. It is easier to do this in 2 pieces and then weld them together. Once you have a good fit mix a nice of your favorite filler and lay down a bed of it to nestle the rebar (de-rusted, epoxy-primed, and painted of course) in. Once the filler has set up, go ahead and make up some more and completely enclose the bar in a cocoon of filler all the way around. Now the upper rail of your body is solid and it is time to install the floor and fit the body to the frame.

You'll want a nice 5/8-3/4" piece of plywood cut to fit the firewall of your roadster on the inside. This gives you a nice solid mounting surface for your electrics (fuse box, relays, etc.) and accelerator pedal.

==Hinge fabrication== Original T door hinges work best if you can find a set at a swap meet.  

==Latch installation== T bodies are not that strong and the doors should not be slammed. hold the handle in the open position when closing the door, then a gentle push and release the handle.  

====Using original/repo seat parts====

====Modifying other seats to fit====

"One of the most popular seats used from other sources in T buckets is the short bench seat from the rear of Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth mini-vans(T&C, Explorer, and Voyager). The size is OK and the frame work can be trimmed and modified to get the job done. These can be bought cheaply at a junkyard and you may even find one with leather upholstery.

Remember that you do not want to sit too high in the bucket. I have seen seats so overly padded that the driver's butt is just below the top line of the bucket. It can look like you're falling out and is also very uncomfortable trying it stay in going around corners! The lower your seating position the better. It will give you more protection in the body and more room around your feet and legs. It will also keep your head below the windshield!

This is Reason 2 for buying the body and deck or bed before you begin work on a frame for your car. Mock up everything in wood, cardboard, etc. before making the final cuts and welds and assemblies. You won't regret it.

*[http://www.TPerformance.com Total Performance] (Wallingford, CT)

 

Images to be sorted into position later: http://www.rodandpiston.com/picview.asp?id=show/cruisindowns06&n=16