Mark Niver, 1950-2010

A celebration of Marks life was held on July 30, 2010 at 7PM at Scottsdale Air Park, 15100 N. 78th Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85260. In lieu of flowers the family requested donations to be made to the Racers for Christ P.O. Box 1208 Gilbert, AZ 85299-1208 or the Phoenix Rescue Mission P. O. Box 63005 Phoenix, AZ 85082-3005.

Not only did Mark’s fabulously detailed T-Bucket, which he built in his early 20s, leave an indelible impression in my mind, but more recently it’s memory was revived through the pages of Hot Rod Deluxe magazine. The March 2010 issue in a lengthy “Treasures of the (Petersen) Archives” ran the following photo with the caption “We have no idea where this came from, but it’s a great picture of three young guys with a very cool hot rod in the driveway.”

Mark Niver's T-Bucket

Homemade independent rear suspension from '57 Ford axle.

Almost 30 years later, Mark’s hot rod fabrication talents were chronicled in the May 2, 2003, issue of National Dragster in Bruce Dillashaw’s story, “Almost Never Niver”, which was appropriately subtitled “MARK NIVER COULD WIN MORE OFTEN WITH STORE-BOUGHT PARTS, BUT WHAT FUN WOULD THAT BE?” The story followed Mark’s victory in March, ’03 at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event in Tucson, Ariz., which was his first in 20 years and 10 days and only his second in 30 years of racing.

Dillashaw went on to capture the essence of Mark’s mechanical genius spirit and I believe part of that story is a very fitting memorium to Mark as a machinist, fabricator and racer: “The big deal for Niver, an expert machinist for 35 years, has always been trying to win with parts that he makes. His car is an anomaly in an eliminator that otherwise is much like the lower Sportsman classes; in Top Alcohol Dragster, it is possible to assemble a complete turnkey car and never fabricate or build anything. By contrast, Niver built the chassis (12 years ago), cylinder heads (old-style Donovan replicas that he fabricated from billets without blueprints 13 years ago), rear end (25 years ago), injectors, rocker arms, valve covers, barrel valve, main bearing girdle, and fuel tank, among other pieces.”

“Winning is not the most important thing to me,” said Niver. “I enjoy making parts, trying new ideas, and seeing how well they work on the track.”

“He worked with Norm Drazy in 1988 to develop Drazy’s new PSI screw supercharger and put his name in the headlines at the 1988 From Autolite Nationals when he ran a 6.25 (low e.t. of the meet), but Gary Southern, driving Dale Smarts dragster, got the recognition for using the PSI when he won the U.S. Nationals a month later.”

“As is characteristic of a machinists like Niver, the appearance of a part is almost as important as its function. The key to Niver’s recent performance turnaround are injectors that he built 12 years ago after Warren Johnson gave him the dimensions for the runners. ‘I thought the manifold was ugly, so I let it sit on the bench all of those years,’ Niver said.”

“Niver’s performance is proof that you don’t need to have the latest parts. Every Top Alcohol Dragster entry uses modern KB, BAE, Rodeck, or Fontana blocks with the latest Alan Johnson, BAE, or Veney cylinder heads, but Niver’s engine block is one of the original aluminum Donovans that debuted in 1972 as a replica of the early 392 Hemis. He has just the one in the car and one set of spare cylinder heads that he built. Parts are no longer made for Donovans, and Crower is one of the few companies that still make crankshafts for the supposedly outmoded engine design. ‘I still use a Donovan engine, but does that make a difference? No, but it is a pretty good excuse.’ Niver said of his time between final rounds.”

Mark Niver memorial sticker

The T-Bucket world is fortunate to have been graced with the spirit of Mark Niver.

To start, no Southern California show would be complete without a California Custom Roadsters T-Bucket. I’m not sure if Ed Gorlek’s was a CCR turnkey build or was built from one of their kits, but when strolling past hundreds of cars the unique CCR front suspension treatment always catches my attention.

With a tasteful amount of chrome and a very nice white paint job, it was good to see Ed had also chosen a Ford to power his Ford.

When looking at the rear end, though, Ed’s T-Bucket had some changes done to what looked like a previously buggy sprung rear axle (the former CCR spring mount brackets were still in place). Evidently, Ed must have chosen to seek a more comfortable ride with a coil over shock setup and in doing so also changed the rear radius rods to a four-bar style and applied some creativity to also incorporate a really heavy-duty looking step for getting into his bucket.

Overall, a very nice, clean T-Bucket that fit into the Southern California setting with ease.

The next bucket to catch my eye was Patrick Copeland’s red T-Bucket that had the distinct look as being a home built bucket from the past with its I-beam front axle, with the spring mounted on top of the axle.

Patrick had also chosen a Ford engine and the car cut a nice profile with what appeared to be an almost 4″ channel job.

Further confirming my suspension it might be an older home built T-Bucket was the use of what looked like a Ford truck steering box, rather than the more conventional contemporary Corvair or Vega boxes.

Further on down the street, in a bit more “scruffy” surroundings, I caught the 1926 Ford T-Bucket of Richard Nuss. You might want to call this rusty, flathead powered T a “rat rod” but to me it appeared to be built in respect to how hot rods were built on a budget more than half a century ago.

While Richard’s rusty rod had a few modern touches, nothing seemed overly out of place and this little bucket had a great stance with its quarter elliptic extended front suspension.

Whether coming or going, this little T-Bucket had the look of fun all over it. There is a lot to be said about simplicity and exposed mechanicals.

It was a fun morning taking a relaxed stroll down the main street of El Segundo and getting a chance to see a large number of beautiful Golden State hot rods. I might even expend this “Top 3″ idea to other shows I visit.

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Please check your inbox for the download link.

The most complete

Hot Rod book

ever written!

250+ pages comprehensively reveal every detail of how to build a T-Bucket roadster from everyday materials and junkyard parts.

Build it yourself and save thousands of dollars compared to a T-Bucket kit car or searching all over for a T-Bucket “For Sale” — while customizing it to your own tastes. All T-Bucket parts and dimensions are covered in specific detail.

Hot rod, street rod or rat rod. T-Bucket or Bucket-T. No matter what you call it, this is how you build it! T-Bucket roadsters are based on the Ford Model T roadster, of which millions were built. What’s really great, though, is that the Model T roadster body continues in production today in durable, economic fiberglass from many manufacturers around the world.

“How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000” was previously available only as a rare, out-of-print “collectors item” that sold for anywhere from $100 to $200 or more. Heralded by Rod Action magazine as “the most complete book of its kind ever written and even if you never plan on building a T-Bucket, this book deserves a place in your library!”

Now, you can download the new eBook version immediately FOR ONLY $9.99!

At last! How to build a true low buck hot rod!

In 1986, professional T-Bucket builder Chester Greenhalgh unleashed on the hot rod world the now legendary shop manual, “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000″. Using the same self-sufficient, scratch-building expertise he employed for his many T-Bucket customers at Chet’s Car Craft in Naples, Florida, the book was self-published — and with a tiny marketing budget, quickly sold out. Never before had such a comprehensive hot rod building book been published! A conventional book publisher then introduced an edited version of Chester’s copyrighted work to a mass audience as “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster on a Budget”, which also sold out and became a much-desired hot rodder classic, with many people paying more than ten times the original price! Now, thanks to Chester and digital technology, you can immediately download your own personal copy of this hard-to-get gem for just $9.99 — and that’s for 250+ pages chock-full of valuable T-bucket building information, construction photographs, diagrams, illustrations, charts and templates! DOWNLOAD YOURS NOW.

Table of Contents:

• Frame: Complete detailed T-bucket frame plans with dimensions and templates, including front and rear spring perches, steering bracket, radius rod brackets, shock and body mounts. Best and easiest ways to cut, weld and triangulate the frame, prepare, prime and paint finish. Includes complete Bill of Materials and suggested bargain sources. By the way, this is where 90% of other T-bucket plan sets END!
• Body: What is really cool is that the first fiberglass T-Bucket bodies were introduced in 1957 for $149. If they had kept pace with inflation, today you would have to pay $1127 for one. Fortunately, most T-Bucket bodies today cost about half that amount! How to get the best deal on your body. Wood reinforcement for the fiberglass body. The cheap and simple technique that will make people think you have a STEEL T-bucket body. Installing the floor and transmission cover. Cutting the body for bellhousing clearance and to channel body over frame. Working with fiberglass. Seat riser construction, windshield bracket reinforcement, and hidden tool compartment.
• Pickup Box: Instead of buying a fiberglass T-bucket pickup box, how to build your own from junkyard parts and make it strong enough to sit on, actually haul stuff, or maybe even use as a rumble seat for the kids!?
• Bodywork: Removing mold release from your fiberglass T-bucket body, sanding and “On the eighth day, God created Bondo.” How to set up your Bondo table, how to use a body file and finish sand. Working with Feather Fill.
• Painting: A professional’s tips for garage painting your T-bucket. Lacquer, enamel, acrylic, urethane, or water-based paints? Tips on how to incorporate different color panels over a base color, fading in colors, striping, etc. for a truly professional custom paint job. How toothpaste fits into the picture and why you should avoid drugstore striping tape.
• Springs: Front and rear transverse Ford-type springs. Don’t have to be Ford, though. How to rebuild and refinish old springs. Spring lubrication methods. Templates for spring alignment strap and spring perch bottom plates. Build a low-buck, shiny spring perch cover from roof flashing. Alternative cheap or free spring sources for your T-bucket hot rod; where to look and what to look for.
• Front Axle: Low cost T-bucket front axle options: early Ford, old pickup trucks, Econoline. How to make that dual semi-elliptic truck axle look good with a transverse spring (including how to Bondo a front axle). Low cost disc brakes. How to build the poor man’s four bar and make your own low-cost friction shocks. Eliminate the rare, costly Corvair steering box, with other GM and Ford choices, including the school bus box that will feel like power steering! Templates for batwings (radius rod brackets), spring hangers, shackles, steering arms, and shock mounts. Drag link construction. Front end alignment.
• Rear Axle: How to prepare inexpensive GM 10 and 12 bolt rear ends, and give them some flash. Rear batwing templates. Junkyard tie rod ends as an alternative to expensive heim joints in your T-bucket construction (important when you’re using 15 of them in the overall build). Building and attaching rear spring hangers. Adjusting pinion angle. Rear shackle alignment.
• Rear Radius Rods: The T-bucket hot rodder’s truly low cost radius rod solution. It’s been used for years. With gussets template and info on radius rod adjustment.
• Steering Column: Build your own using a chrome exhaust pipe extension, a cheap bearing and old radiator hose scraps. Steering column floor support template. How to find and refurbish the lowest of low-buck T-bucket custom steering wheels.
• Firewall: Easiest way to make your T-bucket firewall template. Variety of materials, what to avoid using. How to attach the firewall and how to shorten transmission dipstick for clearance, if necessary.
• Engine: What to do before you pull the engine from your donor car, how to clean it up, how to paint it, and how to get the most from your chrome dress up bucks. How to build your T-bucket motor mounts, including templates. Fan spacers for most efficient cooling. How to build your transmission mount, with templates.
• Brakes: How to adapt intermediate GM disc brakes to early Ford and Econoline axles, including templates to building your own adapters and saving money. Building an integral brake pedal/master cylinder assembly that removes from the frame of your T-bucket in one piece for easier servicing. Diagram and instructions for laying out your brake lines, including proportioning valve, and how to plumb them. The poor boy’s Coke bottle method for brake bleeding. Installing a junkyard find emergency brake. And, for the really bucks-down builder: how to turn your own rotors, the cheap way.
• Radiator, Mounts and Shell: Page and a half of $50 or less junkyard or low-cost parts store alternatives to the high dollar ($350+) T-bucket radiator dilemma. Templates for brackets to mount radiator to chassis. A unique alternative to the model T radiator shell. Mounting the shell to the radiator. Low cost, hardware store grille filler. How to build your own decorative radiator cap from a 2″ chrome exhaust extension and a junk, busted, swap-meet moto-meter. Hazards to avoid like lightweight racing fans (72 stitches and a hand that will never hold a Coke again — true story about a friend).
• Battery Box: Using bedrail to build an out-of-the-way, underframe battery box for your T-bucket so you don’t use up all your pickup bed space; plus a low-buck hardware store louvered soffet to cover up that “el-cheapo” battery.
• Driveshaft: Dune buggy proven, do-it-yourself driveshaft shortening method that’ll save big bucks for any T-bucket builder. Super special bonus: bathtub balancing your driveshaft!
• Fuel System: How to plumb your T-bucket fuel system, gas tank alternatives and how to build your gas tank mounting brackets.
• Headlights and Taillights: Best sources for cheap T-bucket hot rod headlights. Save by building your own headlight brackets. Super-cheap, off-the-shelf, buy-’em-anywhere taillights and how to build simple mounting brackets for them.
• Dashboard: Easy technique for building your own custom wood dash, with deep wood grain finish. How to cut holes for instruments, turn signal indicators and bright headlight indicator. Best of all, wire this custom dash out of your T-bucket to avoid standing on your head and take it out for servicing by loosening two screws.
• Electrical System: This chapter alone will save you ten times the purchase price of a specialty T-bucket wiring harness and you can avoid ten times the headaches. If you’re using a small block Chevy, you don’t even need to look at the schematics because complete simple, step-by-step wiring instructions are given. Ford wiring diagram included just in case you’re a rugged individual. No need to spend big bucks for a wiring harness. Simple wiring components readily available at Radio Shack or your local auto parts store. Where to locate cheap gauges and suggestions for cool junkyard speedometers.
• Gas Pedal: You gotta have something to stomp on to go fast. So, how to adapt a junkyard gas pedal to your T-bucket, along with routing the throttle cable.
• Gear Shifter: Again, save big bucks by building your own nostalgic, long-arm T-bucket floor shifter for your Turbo-Hydro 350 or 400. Where to locate cheap, long shift arms and unique, cheap shift knobs. Plus, if you’re lazy, how to hook up a Ford Mustang shifter instead (p.s., doesn’t even have to be a Mustang — Pinto will do).
• Upholstery: Poor man’s quick and easy T-bucket upholstery for the interior side panels, seat bottom and back, seat riser panel, floor and firewall. And, if you decide to turn the upholstery over to a pro, the techniques and prep covered will save you a couple hundred dollars. Chester’s unique pickup bed cover construction, which can double as a “rumble seat” if you’re just cruising the fairgrounds at 5 mph.
• Windshield: Again, save big bucks by constructing your own custom T-bucket windshield frame that can be polished to a chrome-like finish. Make your own windshield support rods and give them a low-buck chrome effect. Rear view mirror and windshield wiper considerations included.
• Suppliers: A few sources for some of the T-bucket build components you either can’t find in a junkyard, make yourself, or purchase locally.
• Epilogue, Titling your T-Bucket: Not legal advice, but some words of experience on how to most quickly and economically figure out this vital step to getting your T-bucket on the road.

All that for just $9.99? You bet! This will absolutely be your best hot rod investment yet!

So, just what is this eBook thing?

For over a decade, the only way you could get this information was to search rare booksellers and online auctions, pay big bucks for it and then wait a week or more for the mailman to finally deliver the book. But not any more! We want it to be accessible, affordable and immediate so everyone can now benefit from this unique hot rod building information.

Instead of ordering the book printed on paper, having to pay shipping and, worst of all, waiting who knows how long for it to arrive — order your eBook and be reading, enjoying and using it in a shade over 5 minutes. Still not really sure what an eBook is? The easiest thing to do is download a FREE Chapter by clicking here! Absolutely no strings attached.

Once you’ve seen the FREE Chapter, you’ll want to purchase all 250+ pages of valuable hot rod building info. Then, just click a “Buy Now” button and you’ll be securely directed to PayPal to make your $9.99 payment. You don’t have to have a PayPal account. Just look for the “Don’t have a PayPal account?” and click on the link to purchase without having a PayPay account. (For more on ordering your T-Bucket eBook without a PayPal account, click here).Oh, we forgot to mention that the next best thing to getting it quickly as an eBook is getting it cheaply.

After you’ve paid, be sure to click on the “Return to Merchant” button in PayPal and it will immediately take you to a Thank You page with your encrypted download link. Simply click on the link to save it to your computer, be patient for about 5 minutes while all 250+ pages download and then you’re ready to start using Chester’s tons of valuable information.

It’s delivered to you as a PDF file that you can read on your monitor or, if you wish, you can print it out. Remember that the encrypted download link expires in 12 hours and just to be safe we automatically send you an email with the encrypted download link in it also.

Buy in the next 15 minutes and we’ll give you some really cool bonus content at NO EXTRA COST!

Special Offer #1:

If you order in the next 15 minutes, we will include as
BONUS CONTENT:the story behind and pictures of Chester’s Traditional Flathead T-Bucket!

We’ve said a lot so far about Chester’s legendary book. But, you’ll really know that it’s a “must have” after you read what some of the many enthusiastic purchasers have to say about it.

What purchasers have to say, Part I:

Anybody who wants to build, buy, or dream of a T-Bucket should have (this) book. It is by far the best printed word on our drivers and dreams.

The book contains a TON of good information …

I built a T and enjoyed it for years thanks to the book.

I have an original copy of Chesters book that I have owned for at least 20 years. … Mine is dog eared and worn and I refer to it more times than I would ever care to admit. This book has built at least 5 T-Buckets over the years for me and friends. I would never sell mine at any price but I am glad to hear that old Chester is doing well … Over the years I would hit a spot on a build and just not be sure what to do next. Without a doubt Chester has pulled me through some of those tough spots with his ‘Common Sense’ approach.

Got some cool (stuff) in it like how to make a windshield frame out of EMT!!

It’s a little gold mine of how to build a car start to finish. If you want to spend more it’s in there too.

So, I ordered my first eBook. And, I have to say the book is awesome. The Craziest part is the book has been out of print for almost 16 years and it’s pretty much the bible of … building not just a T-Bucket but any hotrod.

A Tale of Two T-Bucket Books

Chester wrote them both, but the original’s still the best and here’s why:

• Old School’s The Best! The original “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000″ was self-published by Chester. In the 1980′s, self-publishing meant laboriously typewritten copy (with no spell checker and automatic correction), Instamatic black and white photos that had to be screened for offset printing, which was done on conventional 8 1/2″ by 11″ paper, and then spiral bound with a nice color cover. The later version, “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster on a Budget” was a nicely done trade paperback with typeset copy and perfect binding, which looks good on your bookshelf but won’t let pages lay flat on your shop table for easy reference. The new eBook is scanned from Chester’s original material, including photographs, and it’s just like you had one of the coveted original copies of the book, but you didn’t have to pay the big bucks on eBay or Amazon!
• More and more photographs! The original “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000″ actually contains over 70 more photographs than the paperback version! In total, over 400 photos, templates, diagrams and illustrations that will save you time, trouble and money! If you already own the paperback, you’ll have numerous “aha” moments when you finally see the original photos that were left out in order to keep the paperback to a certain size. The additional insight and knowledge provided by these original photos will make your T-Bucket construction project go much quicker and easier.
• You get the unedited, complete version! As noted, Chester has a great, although sometimes offbeat, sense of humor. When it came time for the mass market paperback unfortunately some of that was lost. Nothing’s held back in the official, Chester-authorized “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000″ eBook rerelease!
• More pages and BONUS CONTENT! As noted, the paperback “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster on a Budget” was edited to fit a certain size and page count. It contained 144 pages. By comparison, Chester’s original “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000″ contained 242 pages. And, the eBook version now includes bonus content that makes it a whopping 250+ pages!
• You can get all this now for just $9.99! If you haven’t already, simply click on the Buy Now button below and then you can safely and quickly check out through PayPal for only $9.99. You don’t have to have a PayPal account. Just look for the “Don’t have a PayPal account?” and click on the link to purchase without having a PayPay account. The price today is half what original purchasers of Chester’s “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000″ paid in the 80′s (plus no shipping charge) and as little as 5% of what people have been paying for this valuable information from eBay and Amazon! It’s the best hot rod information and entertainment value going! Click Buy Now and get ready to download all 250+ pages immediately. You simply can’t go wrong with this deal!

What purchasers have to say, Part II:

I’ve already gotten my money’s worth, just from this phrase: “Everybody says they’re an expert arc welder, but most of them look like they’re stacking chickenshit with chopsticks when they try to do it.” That’s 10 bucks, right there.

I downloaded the free chapter and then the full meal deal. The more info I have, the better I hope to do with my build. Thanks for making it available online instead of snail mail.

When I bought my first copy from an ad in the back of a car magazine, I about wore the darn thing out reading and day dreaming about building a cheap T-bucket, always enjoyed that book…

I’m probably the only one … in the known universe to go the Library of Congress … and Xeroxed the whole book. Sorry, Chester but I could not find the book when I needed it—-I leafed thru it at a bookstore once and thought “this is a really good book,” but, being the cheapskate that I am, I didn’t buy it at the time. Then, when I needed it, I couldn’t find it … This was around 1995-97 … This shows you how well the book is written—that I would go to such extremes to find it. I thought the way things were explained was great and how you went into detail. I found the electrical section to be especially helpful. All books and magazines dealing with cars should be written this way! p.s. I’m probably the first and only patron of the Library of Congress to touch that particular copy of the book. Now that I know where to get a copy, I will buy one since I’ve lost most of the Xeroxed pages anyway.

Just bought it. Cool stuff – I might even build a T-bucket just to do it.

It’s equal parts interesting, nostalgic and funny. You know you’re in for a good read when the acknowledgments start like this: ‘I wrote, published, and sold this book despite the ridicule, harassment, and constant nagging of my wife (now ex-wife) and her entire family . . .’

The thing I liked about this book is, it covers every freaking thing it takes to build a T. Most just cover the basics.

It’s all those little things that will get ya when you build something.

Chester’s Alive!

The author: Chester Greenhalgh

Not long after the 1990 release of “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster on a Budget” Chester Greenhalgh seemed to disappear from the hot rod scene. There were various rumors and theories discussed among T-Bucket aficionados and posted on various Internet news groups. With both versions of Chester’s books quickly going out of print, the secondary market for them started going through the roof! Commanding prices more than ten times the original publication price, rodders wondered why Chester wasn’t introducing a new or reprint version to meet the growing demand for his T-Bucket building expertise. To make a long story short, Chester had left the hot rod world for a career related to the golf course industry that took him all over the country and then south of the border.

As a special eBook bonus, you’ll be able to read Chester’s own account of why he left rod building, where he is now, and his future book plans–which will undoubtedly cause more excitement for budget-minded hot rodders everywhere.
Born in Nevada, and starting with a channeled Model A at age 13, Chester Greenhalgh (pronounced Greenhelj) graduated at the top of his Army Mechanics School and his intellect and innate mechanical skills took him to the Northwest and then to the Southeast where he eventually opened Chet’s Car Craft in Naples, Florida.

There, he not only painted cars but began building T-bucket roadsters on a working-man’s budget. Chester evolved scrounging to a fine art in his hot rod building for himself and his customers. He then began a journey to meticulously photograph and record literally every step involved in T-bucket construction, which resulted in his self-published “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000″ in 1986. No other book in hot rod history had ever taken such a detailed, comprehensive approach to rod building. Chester achieved his objective: a book that enables an average mechanically inclined person to duplicate a professionally built T-Bucket roadster in a home garage on a beer budget.

Most authors appear in a serious photo wearing a cheap suit. But, not Chester! While you will be absolutely blown away by the detail in this comprehensive shop manual, you’ll also find yourself frequently laughing at Chester’s offbeat sense of humor relating to the hot rod building world. If you’re ready to kick back for some quality reading before you get to some quality building, go ahead and buy it now.

Special Offer #2:

Order in the next 15 minutes, you’ll get the story of why Chester left hot rod building, where he is now and what he’s working on for an encore … AT NO EXTRA COST!

 

It’s NOT paint by numbers!

While “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000″ contains 250+ pages of detailed construction information, it’s not merely a blueprint to duplicate one particular T-bucket.

Rather, it shows you many variations that are possible in virtually all elements of the build which will allow you to construct your very own truly custom T-Bucket hot rod.

Dear Fellow Hot Rodder,

I want to let you know that my book isn’t just for T-Bucket builders!

Of course you can use it to build any kind of T-Bucket: pickup, turtle deck, bobtail, C-cab, ‘15-T, ‘23-T, or ‘27-T.

However, you can just as easily use my practical manual to build your Austin Bantam, Fiat Topolino, Model-A Ford, or whatever hot rod or rat rod you choose, just by making some simple chassis adjustments.

You’ll be glad to find that most of the content is designed to be transferable to any budget hot rod building project you may have!

Sincerely,

Somewhere in Mexico

What purchasers have to say, Part III:

I love it when the original authors get rewarded and their readers do, too. I just ordered a copy.

This particular book is not like others … this is nothing but how to step-by-step put one together with an emphasis on not buying parts but making them yourself or, if you have to, where to and what to buy that is cheap and still safe.

Just got my eBook, well worth the price!

I’m an advanced rodder and like other advanced rodders rarely need a how to book. But in the blurb about the book it was mentioned that there was a cheap way to make a good looking windscreen frame. So I bought the book primarily for that info which I may find very helpful. For a novice/intermediate rodder it should be a very helpful book … I had another look at it this morning and I’m inclined to think it is quite a good book. There are various patterns and templates included, even patterns for the mounting brackets for disc brakes on a beam axle.

I’d like to say thank you for making the book available as an eBook as I wouldn’t have been able to get a copy otherwise.

Why follow us on Twitter?

At least 80% of our Tweets are T-Bucket related. The rest are hot rod related.

It’s easy to follow TBucketPlans on Twitter. Just click here!

We tweet regularly about T-Bucket happenings and events, people in the T-Bucket world, and a wide variety of T-Bucket project cars, parts and complete car deals. We already have well over a hundred T-Bucket-crazed followers, so just click here and enjoy our T-Bucket tweets. Of course, we’d love it if you tweeted some of our pages and blog posts to your followers. We make it easy with a Twitter link on each page.

And, as long as you’re clicking on links don’t forget to …

What purchasers have to say, Part IV:

Love the book, and would have to be pretty desperate to give it up.

Personally I am glad I bought this book years ago … not because I have an interest in T-Buckets but because it has down to earth ways to build a car … which can be adapted to any vehicle you are making. This book has a lot of info for someone who hasn’t done it before but is also not an idiot with tools … I have purchased many ‘how to’ books and each dissapointed me due to the lack of real info needed.

Good stuff and maybe it will get some of the ‘I can’t afford to build a rod’ guys thinking and doing.

I just got mine. Section alone on Radiator sizes is worth the 10 bux!!

There’s a lot of great info in it that supplements some of the material I already have, and lots of stuff that in it that I don’t have. And what can you really buy for 10 bucks these days?

It was this book that I showed to a friend that was just getting into drag racing. He had a ’73 Nova and was about to spend a fortune on it.

I showed him the book and said wouldn’t you rather have something like this than that Nova? He aleady had an engine and I gave him the cost vs. cost … weight vs. weight, etc. Well, the decision was made. He wanted a “T” … LOL. We made a few changes from the book but as I said it was the book that steered the way. He has had the car for about 6 years now and I don’t think he will ever let it go … too much fun. Come to think about it … he still has my book!

I think it’s still one of the best books out there. My family has been Drag Racing since the 60s and I know I have loaned it out dozens of times to just family alone.

The book is definitely a wealth of information for the builder who (like me) enjoys fabricating his own pieces and parts. Chester certainly covers all aspects of the project.

This is almost your last chance to …

Your Gift from Chester

Chester Greenhalgh knows you’ll be so blown away by the money-saving, helpful information in this Free Chapter that you’ll have to have the other 230+ pages!

$500 for a radiator? That’ll blow your T-Bucket budget pretty quick unless you know about the $50 junkyard treasures or the parts store inexpensive OEM replacements that will do the job. Chester covers it all in one 17-page chapter that also includes a unique alternative to the model T radiator shell, mounting the shell to the radiator, and much more. It’s easier to download it than for us to tell you more — so, do it now!

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Associated Press – January 21, 2009 6:25 AM ET
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A Lincoln-based manufacturer and retailer of racing products has announced that it’s buying the street rod-related assets of Wallingford, Conn.-based Total Performance, Inc.
Speedway Motors said Tuesday that Total Performance has a line of more than 3,500 products and is best known for making fiberglass T-bucket bodies, frames and kits. A T-bucket is a hot rod based on a Ford Model T design.
Total Performance’s operations will be consolidated into Speedway Motors’ facilities in Lincoln.
Terms of the deal were not announced.

If you’re new to T-Buckets, Total Performance was founded in 1971 by hot rodder Mickey Lauria and focused quite heavily on T-bucket components, kits and complete cars. A few years ago, Total claimed to have produced over 2000 T-Bucket chassis and many more were built using Total suspension and body components or using their very detailed T-bucket assembly manual as a guide. Total offered what was probably the most complete T-Bucket “kit” available.

Total Performance T-Bucket Chassis

Speedway Motors T-Bucket Chassis

No doubt about it, probably the single most enduring package of information relating to T-buckets and their ongoing popularity would be the T-bucket plans sold by California Custom Roadsters.

In a 1987 LA Times interview, Bill Kiefer summed things up nicely, “It’s roadster weather out here all the time, right? We’re the trend setters. In New York, they go for fancy apartments and people; in New York, it’s who you know. In Southern California, it’s what you drive. This area is probably the car capital of the world.”

But today’s middle-aged rodders have mellowed, he said.

“They’ve been trying to change the image of the old hot rodder,” said Kiefer, 41. “They call themselves street rodders now. They don’t go around burning the tires anymore and hot rodding around town. The cars today are cruisers, not really hot rods. You’re out there to say, ‘Hey, look at me,’ not to burn up the street.”

Somewhere along the line, the company name was pluralized and today, California Custom Roadsters is located in Chino, CA. Sadly, Bill Kiefer passed away in 2004 but the Kiefer family continues the tradition building some of the highest quality T-Bucket bodies, chassis’ based on the original plans, T-Bucket kits, accessories and complete high-end T-Bucket roadsters.

No. Such a book doesn’t exist, but I love the popular “for Dummies” series of “how to” books for the same reasons that tens of millions of other people do: everybody wants easy to read information that clearly explains how to do the things they want to do and presents it in an innovative, entertaining fashion. So, when the opportunity presented itself to create this book cover I couldn’t resist.

But, come to think of it, Chester Greenhalgh was really a man ahead of his time when he decided 25 years ago to meticulously detail every element of building a T-Bucket roadster so that “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000” demystified the process and presented it so clearly that thousands of hot rodders were able to say, “Hey, I can do that — and on a budget, too!”

At the time, there were no established book publishers catering to the hot rod field with such specific information. Most of the books on hot rod construction up until that time were filled with generalities, broad suggestions and lots of filler material. While Ray Sisemore’s pioneering “How to Build a Hot Rod” series that began in Car Craft magazine in 1964 was incredibly detailed for its time, it depended on a lot of components that were much more readily available and inexpensive back then (i.e., $75 Larry Watson paint job) than they were 20 years later, to say nothing of today. And one can’t forget that Ray had the huge advantage at the time of being in beautiful Southern California, where virtually all of those parts could be picked up across a counter at the scores of shops in the Los Angeles area catering to the hot rod market.

Enduring family apprehension and scorn that “nobody in their right mind would ever buy such a book”, Chester Greenhalgh persevered and when his manuscript was finished he used more of the same stubborn initiative that had taken him to that point and he set out to self-publish the now legendary “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000″. This was in the 1980s before the term “word processing” was even used. Chester had to use such “old school” tools as a Smith-Corona typewriter, “white out” and the editing miracle of the day — correction tape. This was also two decades before anything like Kinko’s had even been conceived.

To say nothing of his personal investment of time and sweat, Chester had to make what was a significant capital investment for an everyday working man to get those first copies printed, bound and ready to take to the local post office to ship to somebody. Oops, we almost forgot. How does a one-man-band hot rod fabricator/painter/author/publisher go about selling his first and only book? Once again, Chester showed his chops as a marketer as well. He designed, orchestrated and photographed an eye-catching cover photo. Then, he designed a print ad that in the only small space available with his tight budget, told a complete, compelling story with a necessary economy of words that motivated prospective T-Bucket builders around the country to write out a letter to Chester saying they wanted to buy his book and including their name, address and payment, then putting it in an envelope with a stamp and putting it in the mailbox. (Man, how things have become so much easier with computers and the Internet).

Fortunately for Chester (and all of us reading this), his intuition was flawless. There really were lots of guys out there who had always thought about having a hot rod, didn’t have the money to buy one somebody else had built, so were left to build something on their own, with limited dollars, limited tools, and limited access to scarce early Ford parts which had made things so much easier in the 50s and 60s. The most objective evidence of the value of Chester’s pioneering work is that two decades after he published and sold his first book for $19.95, people around the world were ready, willing, able, and happy to pay more than $200 for a copy, knowing it was still a bargain in terms of how much time, frustration and money Chester’s innovative and offbeat techniques would save them.

If you already own a copy of Chester’s original book or our new eBook version, you know what I mean. If you don’t already own a copy, as others have said “it’s the biggest no brainer in the history of mankind”.

Chester's New eBook: Hot Rod or Rat Rod, How to Mount an Antique Pickup Truck Body on a Late Model Pickup Truck Frame for (Way) Under $3000

You really didn’t think that after authoring the legendary “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000” in the 1980s that Chester Greenhalgh would rest on his laurels? No way! After putting 25 more years of budget hot rod building experience under his belt, Chester is ready to unleash his new eBook, “Hot Rod” or “Rat Rod”, How to Mount an Antique Pickup Body on a Late Model Pickup Frame … for Less Than $3000.

This new 107 page eBook is for the hot rodder who doesn’t want to take on scratch building something like a T-Bucket and who wants to build a fun, cool rod with a classic look and modern performance using the least expensive most readily available parts and construction techniques.

It’s packed with over 200 full color photos and illustrations that take you through the build in the step-by-step meticulous detail that made Chester’s original T-Bucket book a legend. What’s really exciting about this new eBook is that it’s written by the same guy, but now Chester has a quarter center more of clever, money-saving hot rod building experience and techniques to share!

For today’s hot rodder on a budget, the classic look pickups of the 40s and 50s can still be had cheaply, particularly if the mechanicals are trashed. What’s cool is that you can even more easily and cheaply find a newer model pickup with V8 power and modern suspension that has body damage. Just like Dr. Frankenstein, Chester shows you how to put the old together with the new in the easiest and least expensive way possible, but with a critical eye on producing a hot rod truck that has the right look. (Chester would never think about just plopping a classic truck body on a wider late model chassis and driving something that looks like a shoebox on wheels).

If you need any more convincing that it’s easy to do, just remember that Chester’s now 66 years old and built the Jeep on a Chevy chassis hot rod truck illustrated in the eBook in just over 2 months.

We’ve set up a new website that tells you everything you want to know about Chester’s new eBook. Just click here to visit www.HotRodPlans.com for the complete Table of Contents and to be able to order your own personal copy for less than ten bucks. Just one of Chester’s clever building tricks and tips will save you hundreds, if not thousands!