Hello

[Bill Pedersen]

Hello all,
I have already made a few posts, but failed to introduce myself. My name is Bill and I just wanted to say hi and give a little background info. I live about an hour south of Kansas City. I saw my first T bucket in a movie called The Lively Set back in 1965 and have wanted one ever since. Im in my early 50s and have an almost 14-year-old son. I want to teach him how to TIG weld and run a lathe and milling machine. I think that building a T bucket will be a good project for him to learn on. I am an old drag racer and have built a few cars along with a handful of aluminum bodies. We are hopefully going to get started towards the end of summer on the project. We will be building the frame and currently leaning towards using a CCR long body.
Bill Pedersen
Ottawa, Kansas

 

[Youngster]

Sounds like a good plan. Glad to hear you and your son are building together. That is something he will always remember and hopefully pass on to his son. Welcome and keep us posted on the project.

 

[tfeverfred]

How ya do, Bill! Welcome! It's so great that you're sharing your skills with your son. It's always cool to hear about father & son projects. I know you'll both have a great time. Not just building the car, but building it together.

 

[Mike]

Hi Bill!



I agree, it sounds like a great father & son project.

What kind of drag cars did you have?

 

[engine24355]

Welcome aboard! As the others have already said, sounds like you have a great plan in place. Good luck and let us know how we can help.

 

[WDP]

Howdy Bill and Welcome,
Glad to see someone else who remembers "The Lively Set". That movie was my first instance of seeing a Tbucket and it really burned into my brain! I believe Troy Donahue was racing James Darren if I remember right. Of Course the Chrysler Turbine car was in it but after seeing the bucket and Pamela Tiffen thats about all I remember about the movie.
Just finished up a Total Performance T and got It on the road in December after a 3 1/2 year build so I haven't spent too much time at the computer. I've put almost 400 miles on it in the last month and can't get the smile off my face. You're gonna have a whole lot of fun when you get yours going.
Seems like lots of good people and information on here. I need to post some pics when I sit down and figure how to do it.

Dale

 

[Bill Pedersen]

Hi Mike,
The last 2 cars I raced were Top Alcohol Dragsters. I built and raced this one in the mid 80s. The entire car is homemade including the chassis, body, wing, spindles, rack and pinion and paint. It was a lot of fun, but way to much money and time.

 

[tfeverfred]

Hi Mike,
The last 2 cars I raced were Top Alcohol Dragsters. I built and raced this one in the mid 80s. The entire car is homemade including the chassis, body, wing, spindles, rack and pinion and paint. It was a lot of fun, but way to much money and time.

YEA! Now we're talkin'! It will be interesting to see what your version of a T Bucket looks like.

 

[Mike]

I look at what it takes to run one of the blown alcohol cars today and just scratch my head. They are spinning those things so hard, maintenance has gone through the roof. And the pay-out?

I know the blower guys want to stick with what they know and what they have, but it sure looks like the A/FD combination is the way to go, if you really want the punishment of running that class.

We looked at moving from Comp into a T/AD at one time. The fellow I worked with had even gone so far as to purchase one of Gwynn's last alky motors. Looking at what it took to maintain one of those cars, even back then (early 1980's), the decision was made to stay as far away as possible.

A pal of mine worked with Bill Barney during the Castrol years, moving on to work with the Austins and then the Andersons. I realized I was getting old and gray and he was burning himself to a cinder. I'm glad the decision was made to abandon the T/AD project. The Comp car required enough TLC as it was.