The Hot Rod Frame and Body arrived

The long wait is over – and believe it or not the three months have gone by relatively quickly – the frame and body for the T Bucket arrived today.

First the inspection and then checking off all the various custom parts and fittings that were ordered

Now for the fun part – I have to open up every box - and it looks like every part I ordered is there – no damages and it appears everything is in better condition than expected

There were only several back-orders that did not make the shipment

• Sanderson Headers
• Wilwood front disc brakes
• Windshield wipers etc

I’ll still have to order the instrument gauges, wiring kit, 4 way flashes, ignition, battery and so on.

The first thing I do is place the frame on axle stands

Then I begin the job of attaching as many parts to the frame as possible knowing full well I’ll be taking everything back off again – it’s a constant on and off process – until I’ve got it right. Once every part is fitted and every bracket welded – I disassemble it all again and then take it to paint

Assembly: 

1. I’m curious to see how the special order chrome front end looks  
2. Master cylinder nicely tucked inside the frame
3. Installing the rear Currie 9 “ Ford axle
4. Steering box
5. Front shocks
6. Radius rods
7. Actual working 1923 radiator thermostat
8. The radiator
9. Headlight and chrome brackets

chrome front end

chrome front end

master cylinder

Currie 9" Ford axle

steering box

front shocks

radius rods

working 1923 radiator thermostat

the radiator

headlight and chrome brackets

engine ready to go

half-way in

engine mounted to frame

I place the Mickey Thompson tires next to the Bucket just to see how it will look

We place the body back on and vice grip the radiator to the frame – now comes the detail work.

Stay tuned for Episode #4

We run into some problems!

• We find out that the engine is sitting to low and hitting the steering box – Oil pan will hit speed bumps unless we do something
• Were not getting the look we want
• We find out that the front king pins won’t fit the spindles

Ford T-Bucket Engine Dyno Testing

Dyno Test

Well we did it – the engine was dynoed Thursday evening in Langley and we’re happy with the results. Just like we planned - it looks like we’ll get the 400 horse power after all. Remember we only put in a 280 cam because we didn’t want to have an unmanageable ride. It idled beautifully at 850 – 950 rpm’s - we got the low rumbled we wanted.

As we did each run we saw that the new engine was breaking in – each pass gave us 7-9 additional horse power.

Torque remained constant to our surprise – the technician said that the high rise manifold played a huge role in this.

3,330 rpm = 355 Clb-ft torque

4,900 rpm = 382

We knew going into the test that without our new custom made headers from Sandersons, test results wouldn’t be the best – Headers won’t be arriving for another two weeks. Considering that the exhaust manifold we used was stock and unsuitable for the test our horse power still reached a respectable 376 hp
5,600 rpm = 376 hp
Again the technician felt that we lost at least 20 hp because of this - so if you add it all up we got our 400 hp (396)

I just wanted to say how pleased we are with the engine build, thanks to Canada Engines. Steve was most helpful in the details, not only choosing the right performance parts but recommending aluminum paint on bare parts such as the high-rise Manifold, Water pump, Tranny and other items that complemented the red engine. It’s easier to keep clean and always looks fresh. Braided hose and fittings, topped with a stainless nut and bolt package; red plug wiring meticulously woven to the plugs
We got the hot rod look we wanted.

About the Cap-it Hot Rod Power Train

Power train Specs:
1969 - 351 Cleveland Ford
10:7:1 Compression ratio
Race Cam
2 – 4 barrel Edelbrock 500 CFM carbs
Weiand Dragster Tunnel Ram
Edelbrock – water pump
Polished valve covers
MSD Distributor
MSD Blaster Coil
MSD Plug wires
Mastertorque starter
Chrome alternator
March Billet brackets & pulleys
Hopefully a comfortable 400 horsepower engine
Ford C4 automatic transmission with a (2500 – 2800) torque converter
4:56 gears

The goal here is three fold. 

1. We want to be able to have enough horse power to spin those 18” soft wide tires without too much effort. After all an engine looking as powerful as this one has got to do something other than to look good.
2. The Weiand dragster tunnel ram is there for looks only – This style manifold only works well between 3 – 6,000 RPM’s.  Bucket’s are not normally designed to be a dragsters – as an artist I remember when I was young,  we always drew cartoon T Buckets with over-sized full blown engines with five foot stick shifts – I wanted this one to be similar.
3. The Bucket has to operate relatively easily on road trips and especially at low RPM’s so we don’t want that much horse power. The vehicle’s total weight should come in at around 2,500 lbs; the C4 Tranny combined with the 4:56 gears and 31” Mickey Thompson’s should allow us to achieve 2975 RPM’s at 60MPH (100km) and in addition prevent lurching forward while driving slowly. We’ll want to drive this one in parades etc.

It’s been a lot of fun establishing optimum goals for the build but only possible after reading stacks of Hot Rod magazine and searching every internet site available in an effort to learn from the other guys.

Our over all Vision:

It appeared to me that every T Bucket out there had a small block Chevy in it - not that I care but in my mind a 1923 Ford T- Bucket is a Ford. What’s a Chevy engine doing in a Ford anyway? Why go to all the work and not do it right.

1. Seeing that T buckets became so popular in the late 60’s I decided to put in a late 60’s Ford engine – a mustang 351 Cleveland – very rare indeed - parts like pistons have to be machined – you don’t buy them off the shelf, most Cleveland parts cost many more times than other engines but it’s reminiscent to those hot muscle cars of late 60’s. It was introduced in 1969 as Ford’s new performance engine and was built through the end of 1974 model year. It incorporated elements learned on the 385 big-block series and the Boss 302, particularly the poly-angle combustion chambers with canted valves and thin-wall casting technology.  Inside the block are large main bearings for durability with 4 bolt mains. Reduced demand for large engines due to fuel economy regulations led to the abandonment of the Cleveland production line. 
2. We’re building a true Ford - Ford everything.  Ford 9” rear end, Ford axles, spindles and brakes, Ford body and pick-up box, Ford gauges and Ford engine.

Stay Tuned:

On Dec 10, 2010 we’ll see what this engine build actually produces power wise, we plan to Dyno test it so stay tuned for the results.  Steve at Canada Engines in Surrey is doing the build and Dyno test.

Next:

The chassis and body arrive at the Cap-it Shop just before Christmas.