1960’s Style T Bucket Hot Rod

[Dennis Lacy]

I’ve never been a big fan of T Buckets, not even a mild one. Despite that I have come across a few pictures of 60’s era T’s that I’ve actually liked. Not too long back I picked up the most recent issue of Revell’s T Street Rod (originally Monogram Little T) and figured I’d give a T Bucket a shot. Naturally I made changes but I tried to keep this one simply and mostly work with the foundation provided. Now that it’s finished I have to say I definitely wouldn’t mind a full size version to haul around town in! ?

Modifications:

- Front axle, spring, split wishbones, tie rod from Revell ‘29 Roadster. Front tube cross member with spring perch from Atlantis Mooneyes Dragster extra frame.

- Modified steering box from Revell ‘40 Ford’s with pitman arm from AMT Double Dragster. Home made drag link rod.

- Laced front wheels and tires from Revell Tony Nancy 22Jr. Mags and piecrust slicks from Monograms Boothill Express. 

- Front cover, belt drives, blower setup and modified hoses from Revell ‘29 Roadster. AMT parts pack Chevy shotgun headers. Magneto from AMT ‘57 Chevy wired. Mickey Thompson valve covers of unknown origin with breathers added.

- Chrome gauge panel and dash hole grafted in from Revell ‘30 Coupe. Cragar steering wheel from Monogram ‘32 Roadster. 

- Revell ‘32 Ford series taillights.

Tamiya TS92 Metallic Orange and TS7 Racing White. Revell ‘30 Coupe gauges and license plate decals. 

[rrb124@sbcglobal.net]

Super. Love the Chevy Shotgun Headers. Good color. 

[Zippi]

I'm like you Dennis.  Just not a big fan of the T Bucket's but I'm liking this one.  Love that skull head gear shift knob.  Great looking body color.  Nice clean looking build.  

[Kit Karson]

Sweat "T" Brother!  Great build up with a beautiful combination of parts & colors!! -KK

[Ace-Garageguy]

Very nice indeed. I could definitely live with that.  

The only things I don't like about T-buckets are the lack of front rubber and brakes, but of course you have to go that way to get "the look", and the high seating position most of 'em end up with...sitting on it instead of in it...and fixable.

[chris chabre]

Im like you, very few T buckets catch my eye...This though is definitely one Id enjoy

[Dennis Lacy]

On 4/3/2023 at 12:10 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

Very nice indeed. I could definitely live with that.  

The only things I don't like about T-buckets are the lack of front rubber and brakes, but of course you have to go that way to get "the look", and the high seating position most of 'em end up with...sitting on it instead of in it...and fixable.

Thank you and agree on all of that. It certainly helps when they have an up-top so at least if the passengers are within the top it takes away from that cartoon aspect. Seating position can be engineered but in a channeled ‘23-‘25 Roadster body you run out of room quick! The driver would probably need to do Yoga regularly to stay limber enough to be comfortable! ?

I’ve driven a little T Modified with rear brakes only. In that case it was 12” Lincoln Bendix with 2” (original 1-3/4”) wide shoes and larger bore front wheel cylinders. In that light weight Modified the brakes were actually pretty decent under normal circumstances. I didn’t have to panic-stop (nor did I think to try to see what it was like) so I can’t speak to how that would go. 

On 4/3/2023 at 4:25 AM, Zippi said:

I'm like you Dennis.  Just not a big fan of the T Bucket's but I'm liking this one.  Love that skull head gear shift knob.  Great looking body color.  Nice clean looking build.  

Thanks a bunch! From the small turnout of comments (at least so far) it would seem most people share our sentiments. ? And for the record, even after building one I’m still not a big fan! ?

[Scott8950]

Absolutely stunning 

[#1 model citizen]

Great color. clean build. I'm not much for T-buckets either, but this one's nice!

[larman]

Super job! Great color, choice of parts and stance make this a stand out T-Bucket! I always enjoy following your build threads too!

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

Nice! Love that paint....period perfection.... -RRR

[Phildaupho]

Well built. If it was full scale with that engine it would surely have won a match race against the Ts of Ivo and Grabowski. 

Edited April 5, 2023 by Phildaupho

[Dennis Lacy]

On 4/4/2023 at 4:14 PM, larman said:

Super job! Great color, choice of parts and stance make this a stand out T-Bucket! I always enjoy following your build threads too!

Thank you and thank you! ?

On 4/4/2023 at 6:39 PM, Phildaupho said:

Well built. If it was full scale with that engine it would surely have won a match race against the Ts of Ivo and Grabowski. 

Oh yes, no problem! ?

[68shortfleet]

Another incredible @Dennis Lacybuild. once again you come up with just the right combination of parts for a killer build.

[Rattlecan Dan]

That's extremely nice looking! Nice Job.

[espo]

Great looking color and paint finish. Very cleanly built.  

[Dan Hay]

Rad! There may be a real Bucket T in my future because of their sheer simplicity. My dad had several growing up.

[Limeyglue]

Fantastic build Dennis.  Nice mix and match of parts

[Spex84]

Tasty T!

Great proportions and resonant parts choices...as usual, a bunch of stuff that "just works".  The Revell '30 kit blower bugged me when I was nitpicking that kit (too square for my tastes), but turns out it's a perfect mirror of the T pickup bed's curves! Similarly I've never been a big fan of those Revell '32 series rectangular taillights, but I love 'em in this application! They match the shape of the blower and echo the quickchange, too.

 I'm not a T-hater, but like nearly everyone else I'm underwhelmed by the appearance of a T with an actual driver perched on top of it ? That's why I like T's with sunken seats and other engineering tricks so the driver can sit low. In 1/25, no-one will ever have to worry about a driver ruining the view, haha.

Killer work. I'd happily park this T on my shelf ?

[Dragonhawk1066]

Very nice!

[Dennis Lacy]

On 4/6/2023 at 5:10 PM, 68shortfleet said:

Another incredible @Dennis Lacybuild. once again you come up with just the right combination of parts for a killer build.

Thanks Jason! I’m just sticking together what I think looks right. 

On 4/8/2023 at 2:28 PM, Dan Hay said:

Rad! There may be a real Bucket T in my future because of their sheer simplicity. My dad had several growing up.

Nice! I’ve never experienced one. I probably should. 

5 hours ago, Spex84 said:

Tasty T!

Great proportions and resonant parts choices...as usual, a bunch of stuff that "just works".  The Revell '30 kit blower bugged me when I was nitpicking that kit (too square for my tastes), but turns out it's a perfect mirror of the T pickup bed's curves! Similarly I've never been a big fan of those Revell '32 series rectangular taillights, but I love 'em in this application! They match the shape of the blower and echo the quickchange, too.

 I'm not a T-hater, but like nearly everyone else I'm underwhelmed by the appearance of a T with an actual driver perched on top of it ? That's why I like T's with sunken seats and other engineering tricks so the driver can sit low. In 1/25, no-one will ever have to worry about a driver ruining the view, haha.

Killer work. I'd happily park this T on my shelf ?

Thanks Chris! I guess that blower is a little wonky but not enough for me. I like the taillights as a good universal option. I didn’t do it in this case but I’ve sanded the housings down to half their thickness and it makes an immense difference. 

[Spex84]

2 hours ago, Dennis Lacy said:

I didn’t do it in this case but I’ve sanded the housings down to half their thickness and it makes an immense difference. 

Good tip, thanks!

[OldNYJim]

On 4/4/2023 at 3:05 PM, Dennis Lacy said:

I’ve driven a little T Modified with rear brakes only. In that case it was 12” Lincoln Bendix with 2” (original 1-3/4”) wide shoes and larger bore front wheel cylinders. In that light weight Modified the brakes were actually pretty decent under normal circumstances. I didn’t have to panic-stop (nor did I think to try to see what it was like) so I can’t speak to how that would go.

I chatted with Joey Wagner about his 1:1 turtledeck T that he's building right now, also without front brakes, and he said in his experience he doesn't mind the lack of front brakes too much - his Tamale Wagon doesn't have them either and he says if he brakes hard and locks the rears at least he can still steer, rather than all four wheels locking up.  Of course, he's braver than me...

Great looking build - super elegant and not at all cartoon-y looking - soon as my lotto numbers come in I'd like you to build me a real one please ?

[Kodiak Island Modeler]

That little bucket totally kicks!

[ChrisR]

Looks great!