New to T's need help

[rdavis]

Hi I'm a new member to the forums & to T Buckets, I have recently aquired a T Bucket thru a trade. I would like to make sure the car is safe so I can drive it to some shows, I do not know what to look for, can you give me some guidance on what to look for, I can take some pics of things and post so you will know what I have as I do not know what's on it.


Thanks for any help!

 

[EX JUNK]

The first thing that I noticed in the picture, beside the incorrect Ackerman, was that the front brake lines seem to be rather short. It might only be camera angle but if I were you, I would turn the wheel to full lock in both directions and check to see that neither line is pulled too tightly. The front shock angle seems to be a bit much for them to work effectively. Usually they are mounted no more than 30 degrees from vertical to work the most effectively. If you are satisfied with the ride, then leave them alone.

Other than that, you have acquired a very nice looking ride.

Jim

P.S. Please don't misunderstand what I've said. I am in no way tearing your car down, I'm trying to give some "constructive" criticism.

 

[rdavis]

Thanks Jim, I appreciate your help, I do need someone to tear down my T, I want to go thru this with a fine tooth comb and make it right, this will be a learning experience for me and I need the help from people who know what they are doing.

I was thinking the shock set up looked questionable notice the drivers side has a wierd bow in it.

I will double check the brake lines, I have driven it and I don't recall looking at the brake lines when turning.


Hmm Ackerman - you can tell that from a photo, LOL! I better start doing some reading about it

Thanks for the input I'm sure I'm going to have a million more questions, please if anyone of critical areas of concern and want to see a certian area of the car for questions please let me know and I'll take a pic of it.

 

[rdavis]

Ok after reading up about the Ackerman, It looks like with the setup I have with the single bar in the front and turning bar on the side, I can not set up a true Ackerman effect Right? So the best I can get is to adjust toe to the best you can get and that's it?

 

[EX JUNK]

Ok after reading up about the Ackerman, It looks like with the setup I have with the single bar in the front and turning bar on the side, I can not set up a true Ackerman effect Right? So the best I can get is to adjust toe to the best you can get and that's it?

You can get true Ackerman with the tie rod in front of the axle by modifying your steering arms. By that I mean, they must be moved outward. Check the picture below.

Here is a very good explanation of Ackerman courtesy of the NTBA.

http://www.nationaltbucketalliance.com/tech_info/chassis/ackerman/Ackerman.asp

You might also want to check these other links on alignment that the NTBA has.

http://www.nationaltbucketalliance.com/tech_info/chassis/WheelAlignment/index.asp

http://www.nationaltbucketalliance.com/tech_info/chassis/st&sq/Sq.asp

Jim

 

[rdavis]

Thank you!!! Good Stuff now I have a project

 

[rcnurd]

Hi I'm a new member to the forums & to T Buckets, I have recently aquired a T Bucket thru a trade. I would like to make sure the car is safe so I can drive it to some shows, I do not know what to look for, can you give me some guidance on what to look for, I can take some pics of things and post so you will know what I have as I do not know what's on it.


Thanks for any help!

[attachment=4828:Mytbucket.jpg]

This might be just a matter of preference on my part, but it'll be something for you to think about. I noticed the tie rod is under the steering arms. I would put the tie rod on top with the bolts thru the top and the nuts on the bottom. The way it is, , if a nut falls off, (cause these cars vibrate and shake some), the tie rod would fall off and you'd lose steering. With it on top, if the nut fell off, the bolt would still be there to hold the tie rod on till you could get off the road. Like the drag link from the pitman arm to the steering arm. I also try to use nylocks on most of the critical bolts, and lock or jam nuts on the radius rods.

Nice ride.....have fun and be safe.....rcnurd

 

[EX JUNK]

This might be just a matter of preference on my part, but it'll be something for you to think about. I noticed the tie rod is under the steering arms. I would put the tie rod on top with the bolts thru the top and the nuts on the bottom. The way it is, , if a nut falls off, (cause these cars vibrate and shake some), the tie rod would fall off and you'd lose steering. With it on top, if the nut fell off, the bolt would still be there to hold the tie rod on till you could get off the road. Like the drag link from the pitman arm to the steering arm. I also try to use nylocks on most of the critical bolts, and lock or jam nuts on the radius rods.

Nice ride.....have fun and be safe.....rcnurd

Very good point , rcnurd, sorry that I missed that.

Jim

 

[putz]

The shock must be bent if bent it won't compress. It looks like you might on the headlights but do you have directionals. Any pics of rear suspension. How are seat belts mounted to body or frame?Emergency brake!!

 

[lincolnuT]

This might be just a matter of preference on my part, but it'll be something for you to think about. I noticed the tie rod is under the steering arms. I would put the tie rod on top with the bolts thru the top and the nuts on the bottom. The way it is, , if a nut falls off, (cause these cars vibrate and shake some), the tie rod would fall off and you'd lose steering. With it on top, if the nut fell off, the bolt would still be there to hold the tie rod on till you could get off the road. Like the drag link from the pitman arm to the steering arm. I also try to use nylocks on most of the critical bolts, and lock or jam nuts on the radius rods.

Nice ride.....have fun and be safe.....rcnurd

The tie rod looks like to me they are regular tie rod ends. Am I not seeing right, sometimes I don't look very good? LoL

Don't forget those safety washers on all the rod ends...............

Mike

 

[Mike]

Is the shock actually bent? It looks like the spring is bound up like a boy dog and I think that is creating the illusion.

 

[rdavis]

Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate all the help!! Here are some pics to show these areas better, also a rear suspension shot, not in the car but plans to install - ebrake & seat belts, I'm going to redo the electrical also with a painless harness, whats in here now looks pretty sketchy, also look in the pic showing where the bar attaches from the front end to the frame, there is a piece of metal welded in lowering the mounting point do you know why this would have been done?

 

[rdavis]

Is there anyway to make the front of the radiator look better, some kind of screen or something to put over the front of the radiator fins?

 

[Keeper]

How are those spring shackles mounted to the front axle? Are they welded on?

As for the radiator, you could always get a rad shell to help cover it up. Add some ss screening to the front and you are all set.

 

[Youngster]

First let me tell you what parts your frontend is made of. The axle is a '42 to '47 as is the spring. The spindles are '37 to '40. The bones are Model A units.

There are a number of things that need attention.

1. The spring has way too much rate for your light little T. I would think there isn't much flex to it. A shorter Model A spring (29") would soften up the front end. By mounting the spring to hangers off the inside of the bones, you would be able to run the tie rod behind the axle.

2. The king pins are '42 to '48 pieces and are too long for the spindles. The long king pins will speed up the wear on the spindle bushings. Order a kingpin set for a '40 Ford to cure this problem. Be sure to have the bushings reamed to fit the king pins.

3. The Model A bones are inverted fro spring clearance requiring the long frame brackets. These bracket where used to try to get some caster on your axle. With the Model A spring you won't need to worry about the clearance and the bones can be turned right side up. You will also be able to remove the extention from the frame mounts.

4. The shock issue has been addressed already. If I were doing the up grade, I would use the shackle mounts from Speedway along witha set of Pro shocks from them.

These mods will improve the adjustablity a ride quallities of your car as well as lowering the front end.

Ron

 

[rdavis]

Thank you Youngster for that very helpful info!!!!!!! I would love to get this front end right and remove that extention block that was added. Now I'm going to do some reading so I can understand what the parts are you'er talking about. :fidget:

Thanks Again.

 

[one finger john]

Looks like passenger rear shock is bent at the top. What are those things off of?

 

[rdavis]

Ok from doing some reading I understand most of the things you mentioned, a couple of questions I have is:

To mount the spring from hangers off the inside of the bones, how would/do I get hangers on the inside of the bones?

I do not understand about the kingpins being to long for the spindles, that's the pin going from top to bottom thru the axle where the grease fittings are right? Holding the hub/knuckle and then the spindle is what the rotor is mounted to right sticking horizonal from the hub/knuckle.

Sorry I sound like such a newbie, I am very mechanically inclinde tho. :news: and probably misspell alot of words

 

[rdavis]

one finger john, I'm not sure but they look like old motorcycle shocks to me.

 

[rooster57]

one finger john, I'm not sure but they look like old motorcycle shocks to me.

I think they are dune buggy or old cycle shocks