Thread: I couldn't build it for $3 K either!

Tweet

Looking good, nice stance.
BradC

Thanks guys. It sure feels good to be this far along.

After I got it all together today, I just sat and looked at it for awhile.

Don, I don't know who made these lights. I got them from The Hot Rod Company. They're supposed to be Guide repros.

Mike

Hi everybody! I've been MIA for a while.

One of my other interests is my motorcycle and it has been taking up most of my time. I sold my Kawasaki Nomad and have been concentrating on the GL1500 Goldwing I got from my dad. The wing sat for a long time and the carbs were in pretty bad shape. My wife and I rode it to Missouri last year, but it just didn't run quite right. It stumbled pretty bad on take off and stalled easy if you weren't really careful with the clutch. This year I pulled the carbs and went through them. Not a job for the faint of heart, but well worth it. The old bike purrrs like a kitten now. We took a little trip through New Orleans and down the Gulf coast last week and it never skipped a beat.

My bucket project hasn't been completely at a standstill though. The good news is that I did get my serial number and plates from the state. It had to be registered as a 2008 assembled vehicle which I didn't like, but so far no one has said anything about emissions. Louisiana doesn't follow the SEMA model that allows replica vehicles to be registered as the year they represent. I hope that changes in the future.

Buying a title for a T would be pretty risky here since the state workers make sure every i is dotted and every t is crossed. You would probably still need a notarized bill of sale from the person listed on the title since Louisiana will not accept a witnessed title transfer. If any "red flags" go up, you will have to get an inpection by a state trooper from the "Towing and Recovery" department. Getting the registration I did is not ideal, but was less risky.

It's still a very convoluted process that has taken over a month and 2 trips to the state office in Baton Rouge. As an example of how persnickety the state is, my insurance card had my car listed as a "2008 Ford T Bucket", but the state would not accept that. I had to get new cards that listed it as a "2008 Assembled T Bucket"! While I was there, I ran into a guy trying to get an assembled motorcycle registered. He was on his 4th trip and didn't think he was going to go home with papers. I can assure you that very little "rule bending" will go on. Worse yet, the lady that processed my stuff said the rules change so fast that they have a hard time keeping up.

I had been given the numbers for Towing and Recovery before I started building and the trooper had told me what kind of paperwork I would need when the time came. I have a long temper, but got very frustrated a couple of times. I knew that getting an "attitude" would do me more harm than good, so all I could do was sit there and say "Yes, mam" and "No, mam". You are completely at their mercy.

I've also been contemplating an engine change. I picked up a '66 283 and have it at the machine shop getting checked out right now. If it's rebuildable, then it'll be my new powerplant. I'm thinking something along the lines of a 300HP 327 cam and better heads than the old Power Pack units that it has now. Maybe bump the CR as high as I can on pump gas. Should be good for 250+ HP and really sip gas with the 3X2's.

I've also just got started doing a little sanding and body work.

Mike