Thread: Low-budget/T-Bucket Pickup

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Interesting. Did you have radials, or bias ply tires? The guy I bought the body from warned me about that also. He said that if I have any problems I should get the tires trued. He said that having round tires is every bit as important as having them in balance.

They were bias ply, that was in the 60's and the best set I had were Pirelli's that were on the 40 when I bought it. I drove both cars halfway across the country, the 40 from San Diego to Dayton, Ohio in 62 and the 36 from Dayton to Camp Pendleton in 64. One thing about driving a straight axle car or truck, you drive it, it doesn't drive you.

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

One thing about driving a straight axle car or truck, you drive it, it doesn't drive you.

And if you found yourself on an asphalt roadway where the lanes were not packed exactly the same height, you had better be cold stone sober and up on your game. I wouldn't drive another straight axle car if you gave it to me. Take it from me, the "Good Old Days" weren't what they were cracked up to be in ALL areas of hot rodding and drag racing.
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Originally Posted by techinspector1

And if you found yourself on an asphalt roadway where the lanes were not packed exactly the same height, you had better be cold stone sober and up on your game. I wouldn't drive another straight axle car if you gave it to me. Take it from me, the "Good Old Days" weren't what they were cracked up to be in ALL areas of hot rodding and drag racing.
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Where's your sense of adventure? I f I had one I'd drive the hell out of it as long as the axle wasn't bent and the king pins worn out. If you put many of today's kids in a straight axle vehicle they'd probably put it in a ditch.

They were VW size radials on steel wheels. Brakes were very heavy 39 Lincoln drums. All this weight created two very powerful gyroscopes. The axle itself was a 39-40 Ford I-beam and was pretty light compare to the wheels, tires and brakes.

I think what I was experiencing is known as axle tramp, where one side of a straight axle affects the other side through gyroscopic precession. The tire imbalance caused a little instability in the tires and this was amplified by the heavy wheels and brakes. Essentially, the two gyroscopes started fighting each other to remain upright. At just the right speed, the axle would bounce from the left wheel to the right wheel(not a wobble or shimmy, but a bounce) and could become pretty violent if you stayed at the "trigger" speed. Once I learned what the speed was (about 50 MPH in my case), I just didn't drive there. I either stayed under it or drove through it. As long as the tires were round and well balanced, it really wasn't that noticeable and the car drove very good, even at speeds over triple digits (closed course, insane driver, don't try this at home kids).

At the T-Bucket Nationals, I got to talk to a lot of bucket drivers and found out that many T's experience this type of bounce from time to time.

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

If you put many of today's kids in a straight axle vehicle they'd probably put it in a ditch.

I know a fellow that had a really nice 32 coupe with a traditional straight front axle. He built it with help from his dad who was an experienced old time hot rodder, so it was right.

He ultimately sold the car because he just couldn't get used to the way the straight axle drove. He learned to drive in modern cars and the beam axle was just too different for him. He told me that he never felt confident that he was fully in control of the car.

His dad told me that it was very tight and you could drive it with one hand, but he grew up driving straight axles. The old man said the problem was that his son fought the car with white knuckles instead of relaxing, trusting the steering and suspension and just guiding it where he wanted it to go.

Now, if you want a miserable driving experience, find yourself an old twin I-beam Ford truck. After a few miles of wear, you didn't actually drive them, you kind of herded them between the ditches! Great farm trucks, but terrible on the highway.

Originally Posted by Hotrod46

I know a fellow that had a really nice 32 coupe with a traditional straight front axle. He built it with help from his dad who was an experienced old time hot rodder, so it was right.

He ultimately sold the car because he just couldn't get used to the way the straight axle drove. He learned to drive in modern cars and the beam axle was just too different for him. He told me that he never felt confident that he was fully in control of the car.

His dad told me that it was very tight and you could drive it with one hand, but he grew up driving straight axles. The old man said the problem was that his son fought the car with white knuckles instead of relaxing, trusting the steering and suspension and just guiding it where he wanted it to go

I know what you mean. Years ago the first exit off I-5 past Disneyland heading north, I believe it was Anaheim Blvd, was like a washboard for the first 1/4 mile or so and it was one of the few times I drove my coupe with two hands. It was so bad that if you didn't slow down considerably you could lose control. I would scare the hell out of people by taking it a little faster than I should have. Those were the good old days.

I had a ‘78 and a ‘79 Ford twin I Beam. One day one on the way to work one of the front shocks started leaking badly. I hit a dip in the road and nearly bounced it into the ditch on a clean, dry, paved road. I put a small block Chevy in my ‘79 Ford pick up.

Originally Posted by Driver50x

I put a small block Chevy in my ‘79 Ford pick up.

You are the spawn of the devil!!!!!! What a terrible thing to do to a nice Chevy engine!

I was a at an event in my 46 and a guy came up admiring it. He was really into it until I told him it had a Chevy engine. I told him he could buy it and put any engine in it he wanted. It didn't bother him that much apparently!

LOL!
The best part was I had “Powered by Chevrolet “ lettered on the tailgate. Plenty of people told me that was the best Ford ever, or a terrible thing to do to a Ford.

Originally Posted by techinspector1

I wouldn't drive another straight axle car if you gave it to me.
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This is not helping my decision to keep my 48 Dodge stock lol

Originally Posted by 53 Chevy5

This is not helping my decision to keep my 48 Dodge stock lol

Where is your sense of adventure?

Throw caution into the wind, a rebel without a cause! lol

It’s not practical to put the tie rod behind the axle on this car due to the frame and radiator location. So I’m leaving the steering arms pointed forward. I heated the arms up and bent them out about 2 1/2 inches to get the Ackerman in the ballpark.

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I shot some primer on the body and sat it on the frame. The paint will come later.


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