Complete Newbie

[JKelly]

I just retired, and now have the time to indulge some of my wild hair ideas that I've had to sit on as a working adult. One of those ideas is to have a car that is uniquely mine. I'm considering the T-Bucket because its simplicity appeals to the KISS principle that I tried to follow throughout my career. Although I know very little of the mechanical detials (yet), I have some vague ideas of where I would like to go with this idea.

I'm looking for something that I can use daily in a rather arid environment. Air conditioning would be nice, but is not essential. I want it to be reliable and economical to operate, with good fuel mileage. Since I do some living history events and want to take some trips, I want it to be able to pull a small trailer, probably a teardrop which I can build myself. Given the area in which I travel, I need at least a 300 mile range between fuelings, and 500 would be better.

My first thought is to use something akin to the Ford 2.3 or 2.5 L inline 4 as an engine. I'd like a manual, but I understand that there is some difficulty fitting a clutch pedal into the limited floor space. I would want to put a rollbar on it for safety, and to support a bikini type top such as you see on open 4X4s like the Jeep and Toyota FJ-40s just to keep the sun off in the middle of the summer.

I hope to spend some time here picking people's brains and refining my ideas. Any comments, suggestions, or opinions are appreciated.

 

[Hotrod46]

Welcome to the board!

You might want to consider a 26-27 coupe (most folks just call'em a 27). The 27's have a little more room and the fixed top will make it easier to air condition. I do know of at least one 27 roadster with AC. The owner uses it to blow cool air in his face it traffic(no top that I'm aware of).

Fiberglass coupe bodies are available.

The larger trunk area of the 27 would make it easier to fit the size fuel tank you're going to need for that kind of range. You'll want an overdrive trans even with the smaller 4-banger motors you want to use.

Also, air bags on the rear would help with the load issues. Trailer towing will need a little more load capacity and the air bags are easy to adjust for that (I have them on the rear of my 25 T).

Just few ideas.

Mike

 

[GizmoJoe]

:hooray:
Welcome to the one of the friendliest, respectful sites I've ever been on (and I've seen a few).
Congratulations on your retirement! No more daily :alarm:unless you want to. As a car-buddy of mine says.. I'm working on freedom 85. The only way freedom 55 will occur is if I win a lottery (I'll be 52 next month).

I live in a climate that is damp (fair bit of fog.. read that: a lot) and a "bit" colder than sunny California. Therefore an open top isn't practical unless I only want to drive it a couple dozen times a year.
I have hopes of building a 27 Tudor sedan and these folks are super helpful, even though it's not a bucket.

You will find a few sweet manual tranny setups shown here so it is do-able. I'll have a T5 in mine but the Tudor is a bit wider.

Ask questions. The amount of talent and support here is large as is the spirit of sharing.

 

[RPM]

Welcome to the T Bucket forums, you'll like it here. Great bunch of folks with lots of answers for you and a lot of different ways to get it done.

A/c and or heat in a bucket can be difficult at best. We are working on a 27 T coupe to get all of that. We are using a steel body for our build. You might want to check out Russ Nomore Street rods for a new glass body.

27 coupe body

 

[VegasBruce]

Welcome and congrats on the retirement. :hooray:

 

[Telman2]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your retirement.

 

[Ted Brown]

Welcome, and now the fun begins, no job to get in the way of time for your projects... Building any type of car from scratch is a very big project and takes a lot of planning and paper dolls, so to speak... A 27 T would also be my choice for AC and heat, plus room for the larger fuel tank.. I looked at that new fiberglass body, I myself would use a stock/un-cut (no chop)top for complete comfort and more room, plus more visibility, just my opinion.
Plenty of room in the engine compartment for a late 4 banger, one can always extend the length of the hood and front fenders if needed... Have fun with whatever you decide to build... :hooray:

 

[der Spieler]

I just retired, and now have the time to indulge some of my wild hair ideas that I've had to sit on as a working adult. One of those ideas is to have a car that is uniquely mine. I'm considering the T-Bucket because its simplicity appeals to the KISS principle that I tried to follow throughout my career. Although I know very little of the mechanical detials (yet), I have some vague ideas of where I would like to go with this idea.

I'm looking for something that I can use daily in a rather arid environment. Air conditioning would be nice, but is not essential. I want it to be reliable and economical to operate, with good fuel mileage. Since I do some living history events and want to take some trips, I want it to be able to pull a small trailer, probably a teardrop which I can build myself. Given the area in which I travel, I need at least a 300 mile range between fuelings, and 500 would be better.

My first thought is to use something akin to the Ford 2.3 or 2.5 L inline 4 as an engine. I'd like a manual, but I understand that there is some difficulty fitting a clutch pedal into the limited floor space. I would want to put a rollbar on it for safety, and to support a bikini type top such as you see on open 4X4s like the Jeep and Toyota FJ-40s just to keep the sun off in the middle of the summer.

I hope to spend some time here picking people's brains and refining my ideas. Any comments, suggestions, or opinions are appreciated.

Before you decide on what body style you want get a copy of your state's inspection guidelines. Knowing what your state requires can save you a lot of hassle later on. For example for a coupe the state of Iowa requires that the car have defrosters. This applies to any closed car. I've seen a lot of coupes and sedans without heaters so they got them past the inspection somehow but sometimes you get that inspector who doesn't have a sense of humor who reads the rules literally (the new inspector we have up here has no sense of humor at all) and will reject your car. So get yours state's guidelines and build accordingly. Most states have them available on their DOT website or you can go to your courthouse, or where ever you go to register your vehicle, to get a copy.

 

[Hotrod46]

I myself would use a stock/un-cut (no chop)top for complete comfort and more room, plus more visibility, just my opinion.

Give Carl a RussNoMore a call. The last time I spoke with him, I thought he said they were going to offer the 27 Coupe unchopped as well.

I have to agree with Ted. I have sat in one of RussNoMore's coupes at a show. I'm 5'11" and about 250 lbs and it was all I could do to get in and out of the chopped car(you may be a lot smaller than I am). Good room after I was in though. In all fairness, the car I sat in was built by/for a teen that was about a foot shorter and at least a 100 lbs lighter and could probably had the seat moved back a little more.

BTW Pedals swung from under cowl would give you more room for the manual setup you want. Plenty of hydraulic clutch hardware available. Remote fluid reservoirs could be hidden under a fake (or functional) cowl vent for easy access.

+1 on the DMV advice.

Mike

 

[JKelly]

Thanks, everyone, for the warm welcome and the information.

Particular thanks to der Spieler. A state inspection manual is something that I never would have thought of until far too late. I've already made a note to call DMV tomorrow.