Ron Pope Motorsports                California Custom Roadsters               

wanting a T?

Ted Brown

Member
I see a few pics of T Buckets for sale on eBay here... like.. ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-Model-T-Bucket-1916-T-bucket.... I see he is asking $9.500 no matter how much you may want to change, that is a great price, you can not buy all the hard parts for that money, heck you could put a whole new chassis under a used car say you did not care for all the suspension, etc. and still be way money ahead of what it costs to build one from scratch...
that car has a nice body, and wheels and radiator rear end, engine, even if it does need work on the engine, all the parts are there to begin with... SO: Guys that want to get into a T Bucket, here is your chance, and you know they will take even less, CASH MONEY!!
thinkn.gif
 
...I see he is asking $9.500 no matter how much you may want to change, that is a great price, you can not buy all the hard parts for that money...

Very true. When i decided it was finally time for a T-Bucket i sat down with a stack of catalogs and a parts list. It didn't take long to realize it would be much cheaper to buy someone's abandoned project, or since i was working 60 hours a week and i still had the '56 Chevy to finish, maybe the best thing for me was to just buy a completed, licensed ready to cruise car.

I found one on craigslist, the price was right and the licenses plate said "T BUKET". How could i resist? It wasn't a cherry pie with paint chips here and there and some of the chrome is slightly rusted in spots but it fired right up and ran good, it was built in '71, registered as a '23. I figured i'ld cruise it for a couple of years then tear it down and freshen it up.

It had a 327, tunnel ram, 800 cfm Holley, gear drive, Mallory Unilite distributor, built powerglide, '65 Corvette rear end, vertical steering column and a T wheel. WB is about 100". It's running Centerlines (5x15's and 12x15's) and wore out 29x18.50-15's Micky Thompson's on the rear and no baffles. I added new tires, changed out the tunnel ram for an Edelbrock Performer intake/600 cfm carb, baffles and a few odds and ends and cruised it.

I'm in the process of tearing it down for new paint and interior. Look around. The bargains are out there.
 
Ted is correct about this being a good time to buy any kind of classic/collector car. I have followed this market for over 30 years, and in the last 2 years have watched it drop a lot for the very first time. Couple that with the fact the banks are screwing you on your savings interest, it is time to buy that car of your dreams. Keep it and enjoy it for 10 years, sell it and be ahead in returns over the bank's interest payments for 10 years. Most current owners of the cars you might want are not aware of how much they have slipped in the market. If you see something that you might want on Ebay, save to your hard drive the pictures and rename the file number to a name that will be useful for future referance, like engine, tranny, asking price, and most important the seller's phone number. Wait till he lists it a 2nd time, then wait 2 more months and contact him. You all know the drill from this point forward as far as bargaining.

Bob
 
I have found that if you offer 1/2 the asking price in cash, because that is all the money you have :), and leave your number, then walk away, you just may be getting a call... It is always best to ask more and be able to come down, than to stay at one price... Any time you can buy a complete car for less than it costs to build, it is best to buy that way, unless you have to replace EVERYTHING, then there is no sense to buying that car in the first place...
 
I initially was going to buy a "project" T, someone else had started to rebuild it but lost interest. I was working away from home and during my down time at the hotel I started researching what it was going to take to get it back on the road. He sold it before I was able to buy it, so I then was going to build one from the ground up. I figured I'd have a minimum of $12,000 into it, knowing that was a VERY conservative figure.

I ended up buying a running car for $6000 (in JULY no less) and was able to drive it home. I'm in the process of rebuilding and updating the suspension, but I'm VERY happy with the car. There are always deals out there, but you have to find them.
 
Finally a new guy who isnt tring to build a T bucket for 2000.00 dollars . Its refreshing to see a new guy who wants to build a viable safe car and have the forsight to know its going to cost to do it. I just cringe ( Its the ted brown effect) when someone asks "Hey Have any of you guys built your front axel out of a fence post" ARG so welcome Steve
 

     Ron Pope Motorsports                Advertise with Us!     
Back
Top