Early 60s T-Bucket

[OldNYJim]

I’ve got a bunch of unfinished projects on my bench, but this one keeps gnawing away at the back of my brain so here goes…

Most people here probably know Roth’s Tweedy Pie T bucket; but it wasn’t really a ROTH build.  Bob Johnston built it in the 50s, originally with a Flathead and then later a Small Block Chevy, and Roth ended up buying it, making a few tweaks to fancy it up because he had promised Revell a car for that year and hadn’t built one…and just like that, 11 million replica model kits were born.  I’m not building a replica of that car at ALL, but I’m definitely going to be heavily drawing my own inspiration from it. Some more info on the Tweedy Pie here: https://kustomrama.com/wiki/Tweedy_Pie

There’s obviously a perfectly good kit to use to build this project - but I don’t have one, so I did some parts-box digging.

So, here’s what I’ve got to start with - a Small Block Chevy, some whitewalls and reverse steel wheels that may or may not make the cut, an AMT body, and the one Revell Tweedy Pie part that I WILL use on mine (seeing as how it started this whole train of thought in the first place) - that heavily chopped 32 (34?) truck grill:

I also printed a 32 front axle and a few other bits that I may or may not use…

First thing I liked about the Tweedy Pie is that wider-than-normal body.  That was done on the 1:1 to help it fit over 32 frame rails better, but they had to narrow those significantly anyway for it to work, so I’m doing it for aesthetic reasons only.  I like that little body looking a little squarer to improve the proportions a little.  

Original:

Slice and dice’d:

I too will use a 32 frame on mine, although honestly it would be easier just to use some square bar…quick wheelbase mock-up on some Post-It’s so I could figure out where to chop, and a parts-box AMT street rod frame as my victim in the background:

And much chopping, measuring and gluing later and we have this:

Excuse the styrene ‘pins’ - they’re just waiting for the glue to dry to fill a bunch of holes I won’t be using…

Quick mock-up with the body on:

I need to be careful to leave enough room for the engine - this thing is SHORT…

Next job was mounting the axles - using a suicide perch up front with the leaf spring mounting on top of it to drop the nose a little:

And the rear mount is a little over-engineered-looking right now but it’ll all be hidden when the body and seat are in place…I can see this little thing being fragile so I’m taking the chance to build in some big beefy mounting points where I can to toughen it up - I learned this year that it sucks when a contest judge picks up your build wrong and breaks it…

The banjo rear end is a parts box piece, and the spring is one of the spares from the Atlantis Mooneyes dragster.  And that’s about where I got it so far…it’s a cute little frame tho!

I’ve left some ‘adjustability’ in the rear end so I can tweak it up and down, but it’ll definitely have some rake either way…next jobs will be some more ‘roughing-in’ of parts to get the look in my head - probably the headlamps and gas tank.

Thanks for looking - more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

Edited October 31, 2022 by CabDriver

[Bullybeef]

That’s looking really good Jim? I started One similar a while back, it’s still only on mock-up, but it’s a pre Roth build, still has a flat head. I too started with a pile of parts. 

Edited October 31, 2022 by Bullybeef

[OldNYJim]

35 minutes ago, Bullybeef said:

That’s looking really good Jim? I started One similar a while back, it’s still only on mock-up, but it’s a pre Roth build, still has a flat head. I too started with a pile of parts. 

Great start!!  Looks like you’re traveling that same road as I am…I ALMOST went with a Flathead with this too, but I might end up giving it some more mid-60s influences when it comes to paint and details and I figured the SBC was a better choice if I want to end up with something a little closer to the Roth-refreshed Tweedy Pie than the late-50s original.

Would like to see more on that build!  Dennis Lacy is doing his usual OUTSTANDING work on a T-bucket too right now:

 

[Dennis Lacy]

Great start, Jim! 
 

A word of advice on the Ala Kart rear tires. Put some .040” material (roughly) on the backsides of the whitewall inserts and that will make them flush with the tire side wall. As they come they are a bit sunken. Go back and look at the pics of the ‘34 Pickup I DM’d on Instagram. Those have been shimmed. 

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

Anyone for T? Yes, sir! Looking good. We can't have too many T-Buckets around here! -RRR

[slusher]

Another cool build, Jim!

[bobthehobbyguy]

Love it. Another great t project in the works. Great start.

[OldNYJim]

Thanks everyone!  And thanks @Dennis Lacy for the tip - I’ll cut some rings to space those out a little ??

A little more progress…and I got a new phone between yesterday and today so the picture quality may improve half way though this post…

Made some headlamp risers…I wanted to kinda hide them behind the grille rather than having anything too complex and visible:

Headlamps themselves are from the Revell 29 - each kit comes with a couple or three sizes so I have buckets of these right now…

Wanted to work on the fuel tank next, but couldn’t find one in my stash that looked right and I didn’t have any styrene tubestock that would work.  I DID think of making an aluminum one on my lathe but was worried the weight would make this thing wheelie on the shelf ? Thank God for dollar store kid’s paintbrushes:

And then, the next job is figuring out where the engine sits and how little space I’ll have left once it’s in the frame. I’m using the Revell Parts Pack Small Block Chevy, but backdating the trans somewhat to a Ford Toploader.  Had to sand down the bellhousing into something resembling an adaptor and then mate the 3D printed trans to that:

And finally for today, I’ve been messing with designs for a kinda stylized steel wheel with knock-off centers…I want them to kinda LOOK like steelies with baby moons but also not…still playing with this design but I’ll print some this week and see if I like them.  I want the wheels to be little pieces of jewelry in their own right, but not detract from the rest of the car or look TOO out there - just different enough to be interesting.  They look cool in chrome in my rendering program, but need to see some real ones next to the car to see how they look…

And a quick end-of-day mock-up:

More soon, soon as I’ve done more!  Thanks for looking!

[slusher]

Very nice work ,Jim!

[Bullybeef]

Jim, your work on this has me jonesing to get back to work on mine, I’ll have to do some rearranging in the backlog cabinet and see if I can move it up in the rotation haha. The 3D printed parts are so nice as well. 

[OldNYJim]

21 hours ago, slusher said:

Very nice work ,Jim!

Thanks buddy!

10 hours ago, Bullybeef said:

Jim, your work on this has me jonesing to get back to work on mine, I’ll have to do some rearranging in the backlog cabinet and see if I can move it up in the rotation haha. The 3D printed parts are so nice as well. 

I’d love to see that!  I’m on a real T-bucket kick right now - so many cool ways to build one!  
 

Speaking of building one…a little more progress…

Made some crossmembers - not quite done with them but good enough for mocking-up:

Printed some Vette valve covers, just as another little nod to the Tweedy Pie - the script is REALLY fine on those, so I’ll need to be careful when painting them…

And tonight I spent some time messing with getting the engine located.  Well, there’s not too much CHOICE in how far back or forwards to locate it in a car this small, but it took some fiddling…and about a 12 scale-inch reduction in the length of the torque tube:

Just roughly mocked up here with some tacky glue and some temporary mounting blocks - it actually needed to move back some more before I was done but I got it about right after a couple of tries…

Incidentally, this view demonstrates something I wanted to achieve in cleaning up the view of this car from the back somewhat by hiding the spring in front of the axle rather than behind it - it’ll make more sense when I start work on some of the smaller details.

And another mock-up to see how we’re looking…

Trying to make sure I can have a flat firewall and but not have the front pulleys hit the radiator - luckily the grill shell is pretty deep with that extra lip on it so I should be ok…

Plenty still to do - gotta figure out a way to build a windshield frame at some point - might have to break out the brass and the soldering iron

Thanks for looking - more soon!

[TooOld]

Lookin' good Jim !  I like the spring in front of the axle , it'll look so much cleaner that way . 

Very interested in what you do for a windshield frame , I tried soldering a brass one a few years ago with some success but not great . 

[OldNYJim]

On 11/4/2022 at 4:47 AM, TooOld said:

Lookin' good Jim !  I like the spring in front of the axle , it'll look so much cleaner that way . 

Very interested in what you do for a windshield frame , I tried soldering a brass one a few years ago with some success but not great . 

Thanks Bob!  I made a start on that windshield today, along with a bunch of other stuff…

First up, shortened some Revell 29 Ford linkages for the front axle, and scratchbuilt some for the rear:

All of these parts will need further fettling and detailing - I’m just kinda ‘sketching’ this for now to get the major components locked in…

Stance check:

What’s really missing from this picture is that windshield though…the kit part is necessarily blocky and too ‘heavy’ looking, and since I widened the body it doesn’t fit anyway….so, I dug out the new soldering setup I picked up earlier in the year…

And made this:

It’s sitting higher than it will when mounted for good here - but I added about 5 scale inches compared to the kit piece to give it a more cartoony look…I want this thing to look cute!  Looks better than the kit part I think…

And then, back to the frame, I had the 3D printer running, making some brake drums and got that handled…

And tomorrow’s project will be messing with the wheels and tires some more:

Also on the cards for tomorrow will be trying to figure out an interior, and once I know the steering wheel position I can work on the steering too.

Thanks for looking - more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

[Bainford]

Digging the concept, Jim. Looking good. 

[slusher]

Really coming together,  Jim!

[OldNYJim]

Thanks fellas!

Did a little more the last couple of nights and days…

The Tweedy Pie has a distinctive dash with a radiused top, so I scratchbuilt something inspired by that…still not going for a REPLICA, but trying to take some of the main details I like and remix them into something of my own…

The steering wheel will be much more upright than that, but it’s just putty’d in there right now…next chore was the floor - got a rough ‘sketch’ of that made:

Did some of the fiddly work with spacers and shims and whatnot to get the wheels fitted to the tires nicely and getting it up on it’s wheels:

And final little bits of fabrication I needed to do was just making some interior panels and find a seat.  Went though a bunch of seats before I found one I liked…funnily enough, ended up with one from an AMT T kit ??

Not a single part here is ready to primer yet…but everything’s far enough that I can start finishing each part up nicely now, drill and pin where needed and actually start making all these mismatched parts look pretty!  

Thanks for looking - more soon, soon as I’ve done more!! 

[alan barton]

I'm really enjoying your work on this one, Jim, having built quite a few T bucket models myself.  I'm very impressed with your brass windscreen frame.

Cheers

Alan

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

Looks like it's coming along nicely... -RRR

[slusher]

looking great Jim, looking forward to more!

[vtecfour]

Nice skills and patience.

I much prefer the original Tweedy Pie as built by Bob Johnston and constructed the Revell re-issue with a de-chromed, more paint look.

Quite a fiddly kit with tiny parts, but worth the effort.

Dan

 

 

Edited November 11, 2022 by vtecfour

[OldNYJim]

Thanks everybody!  GREAT build @vtecfour!  
 

Some more progress…got a bunch of parts cleaned up and into primer:

I shot a paintjob that I didn’t like in the end and redid it - settled now on Createx pearl orange - although I’ll be adding some more to this before I’m done, because can’t-leave-well-enough-alone-itus:

Shot the engine in Alclad chrome then laid down some pearl candy…not a thing that probably happened very often in 1:1, but I’m giving myself some leeway for a showcar type build…

And finally decided on an intake setup - decided on this cool Weber setup.  Those little trumpets were kinda delicate but it’ll look cool chromed I think!

Thanks for looking - more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

Edited November 15, 2022 by CabDriver

[Bainford]

An excellent example of model building and scale fabrication. It has a cool period look, too. 

[NOBLNG]

Fabulous work Jim! It looks like that 3d printer is worth its weight in gold eh?

[MeatMan]

Awesome multi-media build!

[OldNYJim]

Thanks fellas!  I’m still plugging away on this - I decided on a solid orange for the paint, because I still didn’t like the first two paintjobs…finally found a shade I actually liked on this little T, even if it isn’t as ‘fancy’ as the previous two efforts.  It’s funny, the first two ideas came out how I imagined them, and I liked the COLORS - just not the ‘feel’.  My brain works weird, I know…

Went to Michael’s this afternoon and looked at every rattle can and didn’t find anything but found an acrylic that I liked in the end…

Seeing as the frame was always going to be black, I couldn’t be TOO indecisive with THAT…I’d usually paint any type of exposed frame in a gloss finish, but decided on a satin finish this time to see if that helps all the chrome pop a little more:

And….that’s the shameful progress in the past week.  Lots of prepping parts for chrome though, which will be tomorrow’s project, and then I can get started on getting this thing to ‘roller’ status…at least the pile of parts is getting bigger I guess ?

I set myself a month to build this, and with Thanksgiving this week if I get everything in chrome that needs to be I can have a fun Thursday eating turkey and assembling some stuff - exciting!

More soon, soon as I’ve done more!