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Relationship between frame and body

M

mikesplumbing

New Member
Hey everyone, I've been looking and researching for my build and can't seem to put it all together in my head. What my son and I want to build is a basic non-stretched 23 T-Bucket using a 327 4 bolt main I have in storage, nothing real fancy I guess.

Anyhow, it seems like I have all sorts of options between the frame and the body combination but what is considered standard? Maybe I should break it up into two parts.

First is the body, I see that some bodies sit on top of the frame but most sit into the frame creating a channeled look??? I would imagine most of the fiberglass bodies out there were cast or patterned after the original and therefore the distance between the frame pockets are all similar?? I'm having a hard time connecting this together in my head, does the standard channeled 23 T Bucket non stretched body have a standard width between centers?

Second part is the frame. Youngsters and some other frames out there seem to have the frame rails running straight with no taper, I think I remember it was always called a pinched frame? Anyhow, on the straight frame type doesn't the outside dimension have to remain the same for most bodies available? On Youngsters plans the width is 23" to the outside, but on some others it seems wider, so my question is what fits what? How can a 23" frame fit on a channeled body? From the picturesI see on the forum the fiberglass has a pretty tight fight on the rails as it comes out on the firewall so my thinking is it has to be pretty exact right?

For you guys following Youngsters plans what 23-T body fits the 23" outside dimension rails running straight? Sorry for all the guestions on something that's probably simple but for some reason I just can't seem to make sense of the frame to body relationship.

Thanks for the help
Mike
 
If you have a speedway catalog it is a good source of info on dimensions. thier 23 body is 26 1/2 wide at the firewall and so is the spirit 23. the spirit frame is 26 1/2 from front to back (I assume their is enough lattitude for it to fit) the spirit frame is 30 1/2 across the back. Hope this helps. I am by no means an expert, but I've been studying this for about three years, and am getting close on mine. :lol:
 
I would make the frame 26 1/2" front to back, straight with no taper. The reason is, if you make it narrower. You will have a hard time making alternators and block mounted fuel pums fit. It is just to narrow for some applications. By making it straight front to back with no taper it is much easier to lay out and get it all square.
 
Sounds like great advice, could I ask a follow up question?

When mounting the body to the rails does the owner cut the firewall to fit? I ask this because i'm doing more research and it apperars that the normal operation for installing the floor looks to be mounted in a way that the body just sits on the rails right? That means the firewall has a built in flange the depth of the rails or at least approx. the depth right???

I'm trying to find a photo of a 23 T Bucket tub upside down so I can visually see how this is done but i'm not having much luck. ARGG!!!

Maybe whats the best is if I can just find someone in Wisconsin here and go see it first hand.

Thanks for the advice, it seems 26" seems to be a normal ballpark for the width of the rails.

Mike
 
not sure but I think most bodies come with the floor already in. My 15 body from CCR did NOT have a firewall or floor. Also the 15 body has a cowl/firewall that is skinnyer than the 26" outside frame dimension. I narrowed my frame 1" at the front crossmember. Later when trying to get an alternator to fit in the low position I dicovered I should not have narrowed the frame but instead I should have cut a bigger notch in the side of the firewall to clear the frame rails.

For the floor I hose clamped two lengths of rebar to the underside of the frame rails wide enough to support the body. This makes the bottom of the body even with the bottom of the frame rails (channeled). Then I got cardboard and laid out a template for the floor then tranfered that to 3/4" plywood and then glassed it to the body.
 
Thats a wicked ride ya got there BlownT. So is your frame tapered?

I think I get how the body sits on the rails giving it a channeled look. I kept thinking of it in terms of other types of street rods where there is a recess in the body but now I see that the actual channel depth depends on the firewall and how its cut out, or at least thats what i understand. Then, like you did, just glass in a floor.

With a couple phone calls made I found out about a fella that has a T-Bucket 8 miles from my house so I plan on dropping in this week to look it over.

Thanks for the clarification BlownT
Mike
 
Blown T is a 15 which is pretty different. The sides are a little lower with the back of seat higher than a 23.
 
Well.........it all makes sense now! I'm a little slow this week with service calls and decided to run out at meet a guy a few miles away that has a T-Bucket. It's a 23' with a 460 engine and he was happy to show it to me and let me sit in it. I spent about 1 1/2 hours talking and crawling under it gathering my thoughts. I see what ya all are saying and to see it first hand really made it come together for me. Thanks for all the help, I can see where spending some time making sure the body fits to the frame just right can make a big difference in how these babies look.

Mike
 
Bruce Pett is in Milwaukee (but I haven't talked to him in a while) and three more dudes up north of you.

Eavery one of their cars are built slightly different.

Bruce's bucket is a C Channel frame SBC with a tunnel ram, Chad's is Blown SBC sitting on a failry normal type of setup, Paul's got a SBF with a long bed in the back, there's some other dude that has some kinda shiny green and gold thing up der in da tundra also but I think I heard he's tearing it apart or something.
 
The 3 dudes are up around Green Bay. You are more than welcome to come up and check my T-bucket out. At the moment the car is all apart for paint. The elec fan died so I tore the car apart.

Vroomkrazy
 
Dang, yous guys like to take those buckets apart up there huh?

Bruce tore his apart and painted it... well that was over five years ago (right before I rode up there for the Harley 100th).

Jer's bucket has been torn apart more than twice that I know of... and now it'll be another time to make froom for the ROOMIER version.

Chad's was recently rebuilt also... and I should correct myself before he gets to see my mistake... Chad's is a Blown BBC.

2611334698_4c0ce7c06e_o.jpg
 
Looking at the photo it appears Chads frame sits at a pretty good angle to the ground. Any idea of the frame and rear end set-up he used?

Mike
 
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