CabDriver Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Hey, look at me following the rules and posting this in the right section (even if it is only just barely going to be a pickup). I’m such a rule-abider. Anyhoo, I don’t have the pickup flavor of T-bucket in my collection yet, and I’d like to change that, so here goes… I’m using the AMT 25 T double (triple?) kit for this one because I’ve collected a bunch of them from Hobby Lobby and they fall together pretty easily - plus it has most of the parts I’d want to use all ready to go in the box. I’ll make a few changes tho, just to improve it a little, but I’m TRYING to not remake every little part on this if I can help it… First up, tweaking that nice (ish) V8 60 front axle with some pins to help the fit a little… I’ll be adding some detail to this whole assembly, but I’m trying to get a roller together to start, and pinning helps with that… On the rear end, I’ve found that adding just a 1/32” or so of styrene to the ends of the leaf spring helps SO MUCH with mocking it up - just stops everything falling apart constantly whilst you’re messing with things, so I did that and added some tabs to change the wishbone mounting situation to my liking: I love how quick and easy it is to get some of these older kits to ‘roller’ status… The Lincoln Y-Block that comes in these kits doesn’t look much like a Y-block to me, so I’m swapping in a small block Chevy (*Tim Boyd sighs*): Note: I realize that the geometry on that rear end wouldn’t be that great now that I’ve got a longer trans and a different pivot point for the driveshaft (*Dennis Lacy sighs*) but A- I don’t want to modify every little part B- the suspension travel is pretty minimum and it might not be THAT bad and C- I’ve found more than a few 1:1s (particularly period cars) that have this same imperfect setup so I’m allowing myself some leeway… Still need to figure out how I want the linkages for the front end to look, but the kit ones are pretty lumpy and I’d like to improve the fidelity a little. After all that typing, time to test fit the body and interior to see how my new trans and engine fit… And next job is removing the ‘fabric’ cover from the pickup bed and making a floor for it so I can add some detail later: The kit has it sitting pretty low and I’d like it a little higher - just sitting on the frame it looks like this right now, but I’d like to bump it up some more still: Just doing the ‘sketching’ part of the build right now - broad strokes to get the basics down…more soon, soon as I’ve done more! 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 This will be cool; looking forward to seeing more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Looks cool already!😎 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippi Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Looking good and a Great start on a little T-Bucket. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoMoCo66 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 This will be cool. I love t buckets roadsters, trucks, c cabs, tall t's, exet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 Very nice start! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 Thanks fellas! Got some more done on this over the past week or so… Figured out the headlamp situation…I really liked the idea of using the stock T headlamps, but cleaned up the installation somewhat by mounting to the grille shell… I didn’t like the chunky hairpin suspension linkages that came with the kit so I swapped in some from the Revell 29/30 kits…I REALLY wanted to find some AMT ones that would work but didn’t have anything suitable in my stash… Added some spacers to the frame to get the rear bed sitting where I wanted it, and added some mounting pegs to help locate it consistently: Got my holes in the right place! I wanted to use the upright-mounted steering wheel setup like the kit gives you, so I modified a Revell steering box and the kit pitman arm…replaced the plastic linkage with a more in-scale one and got that mostly wrapped up: As you can see, the kit steering wheel is pretty disfigured so I’ll have to mess with that a little still… Made a driveshaft out of some parts-box UJs and some thin-wall styrene tube: ‘Sketched in’ the start of the gas tank, and made a dash panel: I’d like to play off the idea of a dash that references the stock T dash, which has two gauges in a panel on the center - modified the custom kit dash (which has, like, 8 gauges) into something more modest: Found some early ‘Vette valve covers that I had printed a while back that would dress up this base-level Small Block Chevy nicely: And that’s about where she sits right now…plenty to do still - probably tomorrow I’ll handle the pedals and what I’d like to do with the taillights, but it’s coming along ok! Thanks for looking; more soon, soon as I’ve done more! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 You're off to a grand start Jim! I'm looking forward to seeing where you go with this one. David G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullybeef Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 Jim, the more of your threads I go through, the more I have to come to the realization that I will have to invest in a resin 3d printer. cool work as always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris chabre Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 Ive been thinking of digging out one of my T kits but I keep finding other things to mess with. One thing Ive always disliked s how far back the body sits on the frame, which may be why I havent taken one out yet. Ill be watching as I think you have a coll little hot rod in the works 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 Thanks fellas! 2 hours ago, chris chabre said: One thing Ive always disliked s how far back the body sits on the frame, which may be why I havent taken one out yet. You’re right - they DO have the body sit way back…that’s something that, if I were designing this, I would change too - it looks more ‘right’ to me with the body forward a little. That said, I really wanted to build a loosely (!!) box-stock T Bucket from each of the available kits for my shelf, and that long-snout look is definitely a distinctive feature of these. Of course, ‘loosely’ box stock means I’m also changing a BUNCH of stuff on this, but I’m trying to keep the bones mostly as it comes out of the box 😬 A little more progress today…first up was figuring out the tail lights. I wanted to use the old lantern-style ones that come with the kit, but the detail is pretty soft. Stripped the chrome, sanded flat the domes and replaced with with some scrapbooking half-spheres that were about the perfect size: They’ll mount to the bedside like so: Lenses are from the parts box…there was some old semi kit that came with trees and trees of little round red and amber lenses of various sizes, and these are from what, whatever it was…super useful to have in the stash if you ever see them… I wanted to make some brackets to mount the fuel tank, and then realized that the kit COMES with the perfect part, assuming you have two of these kits on your shelf… there’s a little two-part Moon tank in this kit, and I used the end piece (just a tank-end and a bracket) times two: I had some engine parts to print, so I printed a cap…this is SUPPOSED to be a Ford Falcon radiator cap, but it made a nice cap for the gas tank instead… Also fresh off the printer today was all the bolt-on stuff to finish the engine, besides one piece I forgot…dohhh. I did print up some headers though: Plus, I don’t know how legit an electric fan would be for a mid-sixties period guide but I didn’t want a mechanical fan on there so I printed an electric one: That kit radiator is crying out for some more detail, so I’ll probably work on that this coming week…I also need to figure out the pedals and shifter, but before I could do that I had a big hole to fill in the floor…couldn’t find a perfect diameter piece of styrene rod so I spun up a scrap piece of sprue to make a plug instead: Plenty more to do, but I’m pleased with my weekend’s progress…more soon, soon as I’ve done more! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 There's just too much good stuff going on to comment on anything specific without feeling the need to comment on everything. Suffice it to say Jim, that I always find your builds entertaining and enlightening and I almost always learn something new. The scrapbooking hemispheres for example! 😮 I'll have to keep an eye out for those. They seem like they would be tremendously useful little greebles. David G. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milo1303s Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 On 3/10/2024 at 8:38 PM, chris chabre said: Ive been thinking of digging out one of my T kits but I keep finding other things to mess with. One thing Ive always disliked s how far back the body sits on the frame, which may be why I havent taken one out yet. Ill be watching as I think you have a coll little hot rod in the works Is it the body too far back or the frame too long ?? I love this kit and hate it at the same time something with the length ! Sorry nothing against original poster's build I like it but there is something with this kit !! lol!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Metallic Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 Looking really good Jim. Especially digging the suspension mods to get the stance where you want it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragtop Man Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 This whole thread is what the forums were designed to do. Smart, practical commentary and solutions, this is going to kill when it is all finished. Takes a ton of hot rod knowledge to see what mods are needed, then, execute simply enough to transform the finished product in a way that even an expert would have trouble picking it out. One question tho - in mockup, what adhesive are you using to keep the parts together while you are sketching? I see the tape, but it looks like some parts are attached (headers, for example) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris chabre Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 (edited) On 3/10/2024 at 11:07 PM, CabDriver said: You’re right - they DO have the body sit way back…that’s something that, if I were designing this, I would change too - it looks more ‘right’ to me with the body forward a little. That said, I really wanted to build a loosely (!!) box-stock T Bucket from each of the available kits for my shelf, and that long-snout look is definitely a distinctive feature of these. Of course, ‘loosely’ box stock means I’m also changing a BUNCH of stuff on this, but I’m trying to keep the bones mostly as it comes out of the box 😬 HAHA Im glad Im not the only one who loosely holds "box stock" as aterm of endearment. The build looks awesome, Edited March 17 by chris chabre 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris chabre Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 On 3/12/2024 at 8:02 PM, milo1303s said: Is it the body too far back or the frame too long ?? I love this kit and hate it at the same time something with the length ! Sorry nothing against original poster's build I like it but there is something with this kit !! lol!!!! I also am not taking anything away from the build, Its looking awesome, ( as does everything Jim builds) to answer your question, the body should be more forward on the frame, and when I build mine, I will shorten the front half of the wheelbas as well by tucking the front suspension closer to the cross member. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can-Con Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 About that body/frame thing,,, It's a "hot rod", there is no "right or wrong". Just my opinion, of corse. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted March 18 Author Share Posted March 18 On 3/12/2024 at 7:41 AM, David G. said: Suffice it to say Jim, that I always find your builds entertaining and enlightening and I almost always learn something new. The scrapbooking hemispheres for example! 😮 I'll have to keep an eye out for those. They seem like they would be tremendously useful little greebles. Thank you sir! They make a bunch of these little dots - I always check the card marking aisle in Hobby Lobby for anything useful…occasionally they have some domed clear ones that are good for gauge glass or even some types of light…plus I recently picked up some more dish-shaped ones that look like Baby Moon hubcaps. Love grabbing potential scratchbuilding supplies, even if I don’t need them right away! On 3/12/2024 at 7:02 PM, milo1303s said: Is it the body too far back or the frame too long ?? I love this kit and hate it at the same time something with the length ! Sorry nothing against original poster's build I like it but there is something with this kit !! lol!!!! Frame is slightly longer than is really needed - the Coupe version has a similar long-nosed look to it too…but I don’t hate it, just part of the look of this particular kit… 5 hours ago, Can-Con said: About that body/frame thing,,, It's a "hot rod", there is no "right or wrong". Just my opinion, of corse. Agreed! (Although I have seen some ‘wrong’ in my time too…but it was right to someone 🤪) Thanks for all the nice comments fellas! This week was prepping-for-paint week…not the most interesting, once I had wrapped up a couple of loose ends… That unusual back-on-the-frame body position means that the shifter would exit close to the firewall, so I borrowed a boot from a Revell 29/30 kit and mocked up a shifter that would clear ok…for my own amusement I also used the stock T pedals. I’m not sure if anyone ever modified a set to work ‘conventionally’ (they’re not clutch, brake gas in a stock T) but I’m sure you could if so inclined - and if I’m wrong you can barely see them anyway 🤪 The hole in the body for the firewall is bigger than the firewall, so ran some strip in there so I’d have something to glue to, and smoothed it all out and made it flat: Levelled out the frame rails with a touch of Bondo ready for paint: And after a few hours of messing with the frame and the body got far enough along today to get a bunch of stuff in primer: A coupla three rounds of tweaking and fine-tuning (mainly on the body) and it’s time for color! I had a colorscheme in mind for this one since before I started it…now I just have to hit the colors in my head and hope it looks ok when it’s all together… The body, grillshell, headlamps, dash and some other parts are going silver…I wanted a fairly coarse flake but not too dark and not bass-boaty….settled on Wicked Colors Aluminum which is a nice bright silver with a large (but not TOO large flake to it): Closeup: Flake is probably a little large for the era I have in my head, but I do like actually being able to SEE it - plus I think T buckets are more fun when they’re a little cartoony anyway… For the interior, rather than the standard black I wanted to do something a little inspired by the old 60s Cadillacs that had a blue interior - something fairly eye catching and unusual that you don’t usually see in a T bucket. I had a particular shade and look I was trying to hit, so I did some paint experimentations today and then shot a Tamiya dark blue base… Then, once that had dried, some light mists of a pearl artist’s acrylic by Decoart: The darker base color not only allowed me to tone the finished color to where I imagined it, but I could also feather on the pearl heavier around the top edges of the tub to lighten them up more than the lower portions to force some ‘shadow’ and depth to the tub somewhat…kinda worked I think… More on that (and everything else) soon…ran out of weekend already, but I’m excited to be laying paint! Thanks for looking - more soon, soon as I’ve done more! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted March 18 Author Share Posted March 18 On 3/14/2024 at 10:30 AM, Ragtop Man said: This whole thread is what the forums were designed to do. Smart, practical commentary and solutions, this is going to kill when it is all finished. Takes a ton of hot rod knowledge to see what mods are needed, then, execute simply enough to transform the finished product in a way that even an expert would have trouble picking it out. One question tho - in mockup, what adhesive are you using to keep the parts together while you are sketching? I see the tape, but it looks like some parts are attached (headers, for example) Oops, forgot to reply to this one, sorry….I really like Aleen’s tacky glue for stuff that I CAN’T pin in place (or don’t want to permanently glue yet) but anywhere I can I’m starting to use as many pins as I can. Those headers were a bear to drill for pins, but I was glad I did because they fit right in the block and hold in place perfectly everytime without even a drop of glue. This poster tack is SUPER useful too: https://a.co/d/4ZVorrd It’s endlessly readable and you can ball it up to be just the right size to support whatever you need it to - and it’ll hold about anything to about anything else and pull right off when you’re done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted March 25 Author Share Posted March 25 It’s Sunday night again folks, which means and weekend of progress(ish) in the bag…spent most of the past week in that endless cycle of sanding, priming, painting and clearcoating…but I got a nice stack of parts to show for it by week’s end… Engine is going mostly black, with some chrome…I debated silver but decided to keep most of the frame and suspension and running gear darker to help make that flaky body pop some more… Had a bunch of little chrome parts to spray, and I haven’t practiced my Alclad skills in a while so I shot them with enamel black, Testor’s enamel clear and then the chrome: Actually, a few of these parts got a satin enamel black base rather than gloss, to add a little variation in finish but without adding more colors into the mix…more on that when I get to assembly… Speaking of color mixing, I picked up some blue embossing powder for the interior carpet but it was too bright - added some black with a pinch of silver to get the tone close to what I had imagined: The steering column comes right up between the driver’s legs, and although lapbelts probably weren’t super common in 60s era T-buckets I still would rather not smash my groin into that column if I had to brake suddenly if this were real, so it got some simple lapbelts: Adds a little much-needed detail to the interior at least: Next project was making a wooden floor for the bed. Used some sheet styrene and styrene strip to make the floor: Shot the whole thing with Testor’s wood: Masked half, and added some woodgrain: Then removed the mask, sealed my work in with some lacquer clear, just a dusting, remasked the planks I hadn’t touched yet and gave them a coat of Crayola Peach to change the tone of the wood a little, then Crayola brown: Remove the masks, and voila! I’m still practicing woodgrain painting, but it looks ok I think: The pile of almost-ready-to-assemble parts is growing! Plenty more to do still, but it’s getting closer…thanks for looking - more soon! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 Wow Jim, everything looks fantastic! I really like the way the wood for the bed turned out and the chrome looks great. BTW, do you buy a new cutting mat for each build? David G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 12 hours ago, CabDriver said: It’s Sunday night again folks, which means and weekend of progress(ish) in the bag…spent most of the past week in that endless cycle of sanding, priming, painting and clearcoating…but I got a nice stack of parts to show for it by week’s end… Engine is going mostly black, with some chrome…I debated silver but decided to keep most of the frame and suspension and running gear darker to help make that flaky body pop some more… Had a bunch of little chrome parts to spray, and I haven’t practiced my Alclad skills in a while so I shot them with enamel black, Testor’s enamel clear and then the chrome: Actually, a few of these parts got a satin enamel black base rather than gloss, to add a little variation in finish but without adding more colors into the mix…more on that when I get to assembly… Speaking of color mixing, I picked up some blue embossing powder for the interior carpet but it was too bright - added some black with a pinch of silver to get the tone close to what I had imagined: The steering column comes right up between the driver’s legs, and although lapbelts probably weren’t super common in 60s era T-buckets I still would rather not smash my groin into that column if I had to brake suddenly if this were real, so it got some simple lapbelts: Adds a little much-needed detail to the interior at least: Next project was making a wooden floor for the bed. Used some sheet styrene and styrene strip to make the floor: Shot the whole thing with Testor’s wood: Masked half, and added some woodgrain: Then removed the mask, sealed my work in with some lacquer clear, just a dusting, remasked the planks I hadn’t touched yet and gave them a coat of Crayola Peach to change the tone of the wood a little, then Crayola brown: Remove the masks, and voila! I’m still practicing woodgrain painting, but it looks ok I think: The pile of almost-ready-to-assemble parts is growing! Plenty more to do still, but it’s getting closer…thanks for looking - more soon! I noticed in one of your pictures where you had painted many of the engine components that the intake manifold looks like a @ bbl. and your Carb. seems to be a large 4 bbl. Is this the intake you're going to use or is there another that you are using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 14 hours ago, David G. said: Wow Jim, everything looks fantastic! I really like the way the wood for the bed turned out and the chrome looks great. BTW, do you buy a new cutting mat for each build? David G. Haha! Thanks David! I picked up a few new ones at the weekend…Dollar Tree has them for $1.25 right now 🤪 11 hours ago, espo said: I noticed in one of your pictures where you had painted many of the engine components that the intake manifold looks like a @ bbl. and your Carb. seems to be a large 4 bbl. Is this the intake you're going to use or is there another that you are using? Great question! I’ve been struggling on the exact intake setup a little…my original idea was to use the stock carb, keeping in with the theme of the build…not super hopped up, not too crazy, just something achievable and easy for a garage builder in the 60s to have built. Thing is, the stock carb looks so WEEDY, plus this thing does have a Quickchange and drag slicks out back… Stock carb left, 4 barrel center and stock Manifold right… I chromed the stock manifold just in case I decided to go with it, but I think one of these plus the 4-barrel is how I’ll end up going… Tiny update, as I’m replying anyway…painted some stuff blue for the interior… Plus some aluminum for the Quickchange center - I really like these Vallejo colors for dull metal tones lately: And made a start on polishing the frame…I LOVE a nice straight shiny frame but I really hate polishing them… More soon, soon as I’ve done more! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 17 hours ago, CabDriver said: Haha! Thanks David! I picked up a few new ones at the weekend…Dollar Tree has them for $1.25 right now 🤪 Great question! I’ve been struggling on the exact intake setup a little…my original idea was to use the stock carb, keeping in with the theme of the build…not super hopped up, not too crazy, just something achievable and easy for a garage builder in the 60s to have built. Thing is, the stock carb looks so WEEDY, plus this thing does have a Quickchange and drag slicks out back… Stock carb left, 4 barrel center and stock Manifold right… I chromed the stock manifold just in case I decided to go with it, but I think one of these plus the 4-barrel is how I’ll end up going… Tiny update, as I’m replying anyway…painted some stuff blue for the interior… Plus some aluminum for the Quickchange center - I really like these Vallejo colors for dull metal tones lately: And made a start on polishing the frame…I LOVE a nice straight shiny frame but I really hate polishing them… More soon, soon as I’ve done more! I wasn't trying to be a smart you know what, but the intake looks very much like a TBI intake from say a 1500 series pickup. Nothing wrong with that, I have even owned such a truck and it served me well. I have to say the "carb" in your picture looks undersized even for the two bbl OEM TBI for said truck engine. Only my opinion for whatever that would be worth, if your plan is to use the 4 bbl carb in the picture consider finding a 4 bbl manifold. Otherwise you'll wind up with a carb that hangs out well beyond the mounting on the intake manifold. Should you be using an air cleaner that hides all that it shouldn't be a problem. If you don't have a good-looking small block Chevy intake PM me your mailing address, I'm sure I have something that would look much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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