Body Work

No pics on this one yet. Ricky came over tonight and laid out the attack plan for Friday. We hit the body work head on that morning. I should have some fiberglass laid in and some progress pics sometime on Saturday.

LOTS of progress this weekend!

Finally, after months of gathering parts, getting sick, gettting married (but not sick of being married...) I've made some progress.

Big thanks to Chris for coming over to weld up the rear end brackets!

ON TO THE PICS!

More to follow!

Rear Mock-Up

Rear end mockup has FINALLY begun! It took me awhile to get moved to the new place, and get the garage setup. Next up is the front spindles/brakes.

Front end mock-up

Sorry about the crappy cell phone pic. There weren't any batteries in the good camera. I'm still waiting on the rubber parts of the friction shock. But, now I know everything goes together right. The front panhard bar is giving me some troubles though. One of the threaded ends is a bit wonky so I can't get the rod end to go in.

I didn't get to mocking up the rear end. I need a little extra man power, and the rear shock mounts aren't here anyway.

I also mounted the brake master and pedal. The steering box got put on as well.

As soon as I get that all put together, I'll start measuring for tires.

Front Axle and Spring

Got my front axle, spring, and hardware today. So, I pre-assembled it in the living room (Please excuse the shit-brindle brown carpet.) . More will be arriving tomorrow.

Still Waiting....

Still waiting for parts that seem to be in UPS limbo. No worries. The boys at Spirit sent some parts out on Friday, and sent more out today. I expect it all here by the weekend.

I got my steering box and headlight stantions from Speedway Motors today. They look like they will fit the bill just fine. Over the weekend, I picked up some front rotors and calipers.

My goal is to get the front end bolted up this weekend (pending part delivery, of course.)

I'll have a REAL camera out in the garage with me for the duration. Look for a FURY of updates over the next couple months.

Parts Galore!

I just ordered a ton of suspension goodness from my buds at Spirit Industries. I expect a shipment on Monday-ish.

The suspense is absolutely KILLING me.

Countdown to Suspension Madness

I will be ordering the complete suspension in a few days. Finally! We might just get this thing in rolling chassis before we move to the new place!

Ken, you ready? Free your calender!

Got a few more goodies in. I scored some 37 Ford tails off eBay, and some headlights from a co-worker.

Other than that, nothing much to report.

I don't know why I didn't look it up earlier, but I decided to run the casting numbers on my 400 Chevy. Here's what I found out.

1970-73		400		265HP		B & G body

Combined with the Edlebrock Performer intake manifold, a healthy cam, and a good carb, this should make for one scary ride!

THANKS KEN!

Got some goodies from Ken (fellow bucket head.)

And, he included a cool little extra for the firewall....

Tonight on the agenda is to adjust the valves. I'm following the procedure outlined here:


http://www.classiccarauto.com/impala/how_to/adjust_valves.shtml


Many of the gents at work follow this procedure with great success.


After that, I plan on installing the balancer, water pump, and alternator. I plan on picking up the alternator on Friday. Once the pulleys are on, I have to measure what belt length I need. I'm not running power steering, so one belt will do.

I've also been doing a little scrounging for parts. I scored a set of 37 Ford Taillights on eBay, a steering column and a starter from a couple guys at work.

Also, my valve covers from Ken should be here any day now. He said he included a "gift" as well. I am both excited and frightened.

Pics forthcoming....

General Stuff

Got the garage squared away on Friday. Wow. What an ordeal. Sometimes you just come to the conclusion that you have entirely too much stuff! I threw away a TON of useless garbage.



Saturday night was spent changing the timing chain tensioner on my old sportbike (1990 Kawasaki Ninja ZX750.) After the job was completed, it was time to enjoy the wonderful spring weather. I put the old bike through the gears, zinging it to redline several times. Someone made the comment that the T-Bucket will come close in power-to-weight ratio as my bike.



Scary thought!



Some parts will start to arrive this coming week. I'll get some pics.

OK! Let's do a little catch up.

I started my quest to build this T because it seemed (after crunching many numbers) to be the only option for me to build my own hotrod. To attempt to build anything else would take years, and bit too much cashish for this working man to cough up. (This is the part of the blog where I could babble on about what is wrong with our industry, the over-stufed, over priced, billet impregnated trailer queens that have made this hobby so expensive for the rest of us.... but I will refrain for once.)

I was originally going to weld up my own frame. But, recognizing that I could not run a welder in my tiny 1.33333333 car garage without blacking out my apartment complex, I don't think I'm really that popular with the neighbors already. Too many loud toys. Being plunged into total darkness would probably not go over too well. So, I contacted my good friends at Spirit Industries and bought a frame. I did, however, already have a body that was purchased from a local rod shop.

Quickly, it was realized that the body would have to be, um, MODIFIED to fit the chassis. So, I got Ricky to help me with a little Sawzall action.


He assured me that his previous years of bodywork would allow him to widen the body (about 1" in the front and 1/2" in the rear) and it would be no problem.

So, we mocked up the body and continued.

I got a little punchy after seeing the car hacked in 2 and temp screwed together with scrap wood. I decided I had to sit in it and grab an air cleaner lid for use as a steering wheel.










Next, came building the engine. I scored a completely done 400 short block thanks to my good friend and co-worker, Colin. After having some ordeals getting a matching set of stock heads, I started the top end assembly. So far, the engine is essentially assembled. I still need to adjust the valves, and start tacking on all the accessories, but here is how she looks at the present time.

The Edlebrock air cleaner is unlike anything I have seen. Anyone have an idea of how old it is? The Elite series valve covers will be going away in favor of some M/T that should be arriving any day now from Ken. (Thanks, yo!) I'm not sure if the scoop will be staying. I might go with a hilbourn style scoop. We'll see.


Today, I'll be headed out to the garage to finish up my shift kit install and to get the outside of the trans cleaned up enough to paint. After that, I'm going to finish cleaning up the garage. I'm going to need some room to begin cleaning up the rear end and for when the suspension parts start to arrive over the next few weeks. Once those get here, we'll start the pre-assembly. Once we have a rolling chassis, it'll probably be just in time for the move to the new house and MUCH larger garage.

Ken, you are my hero!

Well, Here it is. The start of my Bucket Blog. I've decided to follow in the footsteps of my good friend Ken and his Bucket Build Blog.

Here I will chronicle my build of my Spirit Industries based 23 T-Bucket Roadster.

Nothing but a frame to start with. Over the next few days I'll be uploading more pictures of the engine, body, and rear end.

The suspension is a few weeks away from order/delivery, but I still have a lot to do in the meantime.

Thanks for stopping by and check back often!