Restoration / Rebuild Begins

[sschutze]

I've started the restoration / Rebuild of my T-Bucket earlier than expected. My plan is to replace the front axle and spring (I'll be calling Jim @ Wintech today) with a piece that will lower the the front and fix the Camber issue; replace the rear spring with coil over shocks to lower the rear, and change the rear axle supports with either a radius rod setup or triangulated 4 link (I haven't decided); raise the engine on the frame to regain some ground clearance; re-route the wiring, brake and fuel lines; and chop the winshield frame by 4 or 5 inches. If I feel ambitious I might re-rout the steering column through the firewall to help with leg room, but I will probably have to replace the gear box and column for that. I haven't been able to ID the gearbox, but it doesn't look like the Vega or Corvair box's I have seen for sale. I'll get a picture and post it, maybe someone here can tell me what it's out of, or if it's worth keeping/reusing.

While I'm at it I'll clean up the frame (remove some unused brackets) and paint it, and maybe even paint the body.
Then I can sew up an interior and it should be like new. My goal is to give the car a lower stance for a more "hot rod" look.

 

[VegasBruce]

Very cool, looking forward to seeing the new version. :hoist:

 

[Northstar T]

You might also remount those shocks, with some angle, for a softer ride. what kind of wheels are on that car?? looks like a great starting point.

Russ

 

[PzT]

Nice start. Maybe when you are done we can meet up at one of the local shows next year.

Gary

Albany Oregon

 

[one finger john]

You might also remount those shocks, with some angle, for a softer ride. what kind of wheels are on that car?? looks like a great starting point.

Russ

Should the shocks be mounted so they match the arc of the front axle? Perhaps the arc of suspension movement is a better term.

John

 

[sschutze]

I ordered a new front tube axle and spring from Jim at Wintec yesterday. I need to burn off some vacation so I have a week off at the end of the month, I'll have 8 days to get the new axle installed, and re- plumb the brake and fuel lines.

You might also remount those shocks, with some angle, for a softer ride. what kind of wheels are on that car?? looks like a great starting point.

Russ

Yes, both the front and rear shocks will be remounted at an angle to improve the ride.
Those are American Racing Torque Thrust wheels, the previous owner put them on just before I bought the car. Going to get a set of 14" wide for the new rear tires I plan to put on and use the existing rears for a small trailer I plan to build.

Nice start. Maybe when you are done we can meet up at one of the local shows next year.

Gary

Albany Oregon

Looking forward to it Gary

 

[sschutze]

My new (and greatly improved) tube front axle and spring came today (Thanks to Jim @ Wintec) and the initial fitting appears to have corrected my excessive camber issue (big sigh of relief).

I don't think I'll be using the front radius bars that were on the car though. The old axle had 2" thick spring perches, the new one is 2 1/4". I have to modify the frame mounts anyway, so I'll just spend a little more and get a different style axle mount.

Now I have to decide if I'm going to use a traditional radius rod style setup, or a 4 bar style setup.

 

[sschutze]

My OCD kicked in today and I couldn't help myself. I mounted the new front axle on the frame to check the fit and see how it looked.
I'm really happy with it. You can see in the picture below that my spindles now sit at just the right camber angle. I still have to weld on new support rod mounts at the rear and build new shock mounts.

Before

After

It may be hard to tell by the picture, but the front end sits 4" lower and the new axle is 5" narrower.
I had to grind down the spring perch bosses ¼" in each side (top and bottom) to get the old (2") axle support to fit on the 2½" perch. It wasn't difficult, just took time to get it even without grinding off too much material.

After a lot of discussion, thought and headbanging I decided to use the old support rods rather than buy a whole new setup to save some cash.
Next week I'll finish up the front axle and start setting up the new rear suspension. I'm going to use non-adjustable coilovers, but I haven't quite decided if I'm going to rework the homemade rear radius rods or buy a new setup.

I owe a big Thanks to Ron at RPM and Jim at Wintec for all their technical assistance.

 

[old round fart]

The shackel angle looks funny. Will the shackel angle down? Spring may be to short.

 

[ruggs]

The shackel angle looks funny. Will the shackel angle down? Spring may be to short.

It will all change with the engine etc. installed.

 

[RPM]

The shackel angle looks funny. Will the shackel angle down? Spring may be to short.

The frame is up on jack stands and the tire is off the ground. Once it sets down on the ground it will look normal.

 

[sschutze]

The shackel angle looks funny. Will the shackel angle down? Spring may be to short.

Jim and ruggs are right. I had jackstands under the frame to keep the weight off while I was installing everything.
Even witout the stands there isn't any weight on the fron end right now. Once the engine goes in it'll look normal.

 

[sschutze]

I got a lot done, but not enough to post any new pictures. I have the car tore down to the frame and even managed to strip half the frame down to bare metal. I'll be filling holes and smoothing welds while I work out more of the details for my vision of the finished product.

After talking to Jim at Wintec a few more times I ended up ordering a complete front suspension. It was easier than trying to fabricate a bunch of one-off parts and try to make it all work together. Now I have an "off the shelf" front axle that will be much easier to replace parts later if needed. I'll get the front back together to check the fit and post some more pictures later. Then I can start working on the rear suspension to get the stance right before I drop the motor back in to re-work the mounts.

 

[rooster57]

I got a lot done, but not enough to post any new pictures. I have the car tore down to the frame and even managed to strip half the frame down to bare metal. I'll be filling holes and smoothing welds while I work out more of the details for my vision of the finished product.

After talking to Jim at Wintec a few more times I ended up ordering a complete front suspension. It was easier than trying to fabricate a bunch of one-off parts and try to make it all work together. Now I have an "off the shelf" front axle that will be much easier to replace parts later if needed. I'll get the front back together to check the fit and post some more pictures later. Then I can start working on the rear suspension to get the stance right before I drop the motor back in to re-work the mounts.

Lookin great i am thinking about a new front axel spring over

 

[sschutze]

I have most of the front end back together with the exception of the shock mounts, haven't figured out how/where to mount those yet. I removed the old mounts because they were in the wrong place (with the new axle) and were ugly. I also welded up about 30 holes in the frame from different things being added and then removed from the car over the years.

I am now concentrating on the rear. I am converting from a single leaf spring style to coil overs.

My question is:
Do I need to install a panhard bar? Or will the coilovers and hairpin's be enough to keep the axle in position?

 

[409T]

My question is:
Do I need to install a panhard bar? Or will the coilovers and hairpin's be enough to keep the axle in position?

If all you have are coilovers and hairpins you will need a panhard bar, Watts linkage or something similar to stop the lateral movement of the body.

 

[EX JUNK]

This may only be my personal preference, but I sure would look into lowering those headlights to get away from that "frog eyed" look. Again, I must say that this only my personal opinion and if you like where they are then that is fine with me because it is your car.

Jim

 

[sschutze]

Some pictures of my progress:

The Frame has been stripped of most of the unnecessary items, holes are filled and I am in the process of stripping the paint off. I'll be ready for bondo and paint as soon as I get the rear suspension figured out.
The front of the frame sits about 10 ½" off the ground with no weight on it.

I rebuilt the rear hairpin brackets to move the pinion up on the lowered frame. The bottom of the rear frame (before the kickups) will be about 14" off the ground with no weight on it.
I am still working on removing the excess steel on top of the kickups, and the upper shock mounts have to be moved back.

The rear axle has also been stripped of all the old brackets, need to get the lower coilover mounts welded on once I have the engine in place and set the pinion angle, then I can raise the trans support.

I'll upload more photos to my website later.

 

[sschutze]

I took my original windshield apart last night, I'm glad I budgeted a new windshield into the build now.
The chrome posts were in good condition, but the upper and lower frame around the glass was shot. Water got behind the rubber and rotted the lower frame. The upper frame was only in a little bit better condition.

I'm going to replace it with a 14" tall single pane style frame.

If anyone is interested in my old 20" tall posts, there are in very good "drivers" condition, but could be re-chromed to a "show" condition very easily. I'll sell the posts and chrome wingnuts that hold the upper frame for $30 + shipping. My zip code is 97302 (Salem Oregon) if you want to calulate the shipping costs.

 

[sschutze]

I also have a set of brass windshield support rods for sale with or without the windshield posts.
Make me an offer.

If anyone is looking for a set of chrome faux tailgate brackets I have those too. They are in excellent condition and include the mounting bolts.

There's a picture on my website, use this link:
Faux Tailgate Brackets