T-Bucket John
My grandparents subscribed to Life Magazine and I would look through each new weekly issue when I visited them. In the Spring of 1957, my 8 year old eyes were transfixed on a full page photo of Southern California rod builder Norm Grabowski chowing down on a car hop-delivered cheeseburger while seated with a buddy in the coolest car I had ever seen! The flames were awesome and the Cadillac engine hanging out there for all to see was mind-boggling.
Contrary to popular misconception, the photo of Norm in what would shortly become known as the “Kookie Kar” was not on the cover. Rather, it was part of a Photographic Essay titled, “The drag racing rage: hot rodders grow in numbers but the road to respectability is a rough one.” Wow! A radically cool looking car that’s also part of an outlaw movement — I was hooked.
About a year later, I was able to feed my appetite for more of this fascinating rod that started what would later become known as the T-bucket movement. Warner Brothers introduced the detective TV drama, 77 Sunset Strip, which ran for six seasons and featured car valet Edd “Kookie” Byrnes whose personal car in the show was Norm’s hot rod that had been rented out to the producers for $50 per day. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in every episode, but I became an avid fan always hoping to catch a glimpse.
The T-Bucket fire still burns strong.
Chester Greenhalgh: T-Bucket Genius!?!
The following is a personal blog post from New Year’s Day, 2009. It was a great start to my New Year because it brought me into contact with the long incommunicado Chester Greenhalgh and through our friendship has brought us to where we are today with TBucketPlans.com. A lot of disparaging remarks have been made [...]
Ted McMullen and the U.S. Speed Sport “Instant T”
Hot rodder Ted McMullen made a pioneering imprint on the T-Bucket world in a short time span. Prior to 1963, T-Buckets were individually designed and constructed. Starting with Grabowski and Ivo …
Bob Johnston’s T-Bucket, Later to Become Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s Tweedy Pie: Part 1
Tweedy Pie was a short wheelbase, flathead powered T-bucket built by Californian Bob Johnston in the 50s. It was cool enough to be a magazine cover car, but really rocketed to stardom after being purchased and updated by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth.
TV Tommy Ivo’s T-Bucket
Shortly after becoming aware of Norm’s Kookie Kar around 1959, I was also struck by another T-bucket that had the “look” and received Hot Rod magazine coverage: “TV Tommy” Ivo’s Buick nailhead powered T-bucket. On a recent visit to the NHRA Wally Parks Museum in Pomona, CA, I had a chance to snap a few [...]
Norm Grabowski and the Kookie Kar T-Bucket
In the Spring of 1957, my 8 year old eyes were transfixed on a full page Life magazine photo of Southern California rod builder Norm Grabowski …
The Real History of the Fiberglass T-Bucket Body
We take the fiberglass T-Bucket body for granted. It seems like they’ve always been around, in abundance and economically priced: the ideal starting point for an exciting, budget hot rod.
Where Did the Term “Fad T” Come From?
fad-T (also fad car) n. Any T-bucket roadster constructed entirely from new, prefabricated components, including a reproduction fiberglass body.
The “Youngster” FREE T-Bucket Frame Plans
Ron Young is a Minnesota hot rodder who’s been building T-Buckets since the mid-60′s. Along the way, he was the beneficiary of a lot of knowledge (much of it passed along as constructive criticism) by older hot rod builders who wanted to help someone with not quite as much experience as they had at that [...]
Marty Hollmann’s Hugely Influential T-Bucket
I first saw Marty’s T-bucket on the cover of January 1961 Car Craft and was fascinated. I didn’t understand the beauty of symmetry, but I loved this T-bucket.
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