F1/ T-Bucket

[Don Garrett]

Looks great Ken!

[PROPELLER]

Another DFV:
ENGINE
Good luck!

[Don Garrett]

Great link Dan...I'll been checking it out a lot when I build mine, thanks.

[kmeaders@q.com]

Thanks Dan. That link has some of the best pictures I've seen for clarity. Huge help.

[kmeaders@q.com]

Almost finished with the front and rear suspension. I need to connect the two today and finish the push rod/spring in the rear along with building the rest of the brake calipers. I got this T Bucket body off E-Bay. The motor is sitting there wanting to be worked on, so tomorrow I'll make more progress on it. I think this is a wild way to build hot rod. A little complicated and lots of fab work done twice ( unfortunately some three times), but I love it.

[Rick]

Wow, looking great Ken!

[kmeaders@q.com]

Thanks Rick and Don. Here's some pictures of starting the tube frame, aluminum rear bulkhead, engine block made out of styrene , same thing painted and one of the cam covers with bolts. Lots of stuff happening with these Cosworth motors that you can't fake. It's a fun project for sure.

[kmeaders@q.com]

Here is a few more of starting the frame. The top rails are the challenge to get around the wide motor and not weaken the front suspension assembly. The rear end part is fairly easy but those top rails have to fit the contour of the T Bucket body or it will end up a single seater ( being too narrow ). I've had one of these things and there's not much room for two people anyway. I think they're about 45 inches wide, total.

[kmeaders@q.com]

I need aluminum Centerline wheels for this. Does anyone make something like that or know how I can make them myself? I'm using the tires from a Big T and a Golden T I got from E-Bay. The rear tires are the rears from the Golden (wider) and the fronts are the rear tires from the Big T( again wider) if that is a help to you. Someday I'll try building a kit model instead of just using a part or two.

[Deuces-wild]

Looks great!

[kmeaders@q.com]

Thanks Deuces Wild So here's the deal I was worried about. The Cosworth barely fits in the bucket body, but it does fit. They're are just wide at the top end. One bank of injectors are almost done as is the gear cover and side pumps/plumbing. The exhaust is just stubbed out as a sleeve so I can slip the permanente pipes over them.

[kmeaders@q.com]

I'm taking a page from the airplane guy's book in making a buck that will fit the Cosworth motor and all the inboard suspension and still be narrow as possible to give the F1 look. I will cover this frame work with poster board and and glass over it and it should fit like a glove. This is just tie wire and cardboard cut to fit the different points I needed to work around. News at 11:00 to see if it works

[Rick]

Wow!!

[kmeaders@q.com]

I've got the front buck close enough to start fiberglass and about have the frame finished. This is certainly a different car, but I have thought about how it should look for years. What I didn't think about was how to get that look and make everything else work and fit. I'm so glad it's a model or I would have spent thousands on the parts I have redone over and over. The frame is made with styrene tubing, aluminum and brass tubing. Main rails are 5/32" (1 1/4") and the braces, etc. are 1/8" and 3/32"( 1" and 3/4") so it's not exactly like the Bird Cage Maserati but still a lightweight space frame. That air box, on the hood, will have 8 holes, that match the injectors, with screen to give that vintage F1 feel. The best part of this is creating as you go and not having a clear cut plan that has to be followed.

[kmeaders@q.com]

The rear housing has the four main rails sticking past the aluminum bulkhead. The top one will have a rocker arm that connects to the push rod and the coil-over. The bottom one holds the spring, just like the front end. Designing your own suspension is really a lot of fun. This one puts the roll center about 5" off the ground in the front and 6 1/2" at the rear. The cool thing is the springs are at farthest points possible in the frame and the A arms pivot 7" apart at the center making a wide arc during travel, so the camber doesn't change as drastically. Enough rambling; I hope you enjoy the pictures.