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.
T-Bucket “Shop Stop”: Wintec Fabrication
Our earlier post on the Wintec Roadster, the T-Bucket for family and big guys, drew a lot of interest. So, we decided to make a “shop stop” at Wintech in Wallingford, CT to see what else we could learn.
T-Bucket “Hot Rod in a Box” at 2011 Detroit Autorama
Yes, that’s the famous TV Monkeemobile in the background of this photo taken before the Detroit Autorama doors opened. Once the crowds entered though, you’ll see that the T-Bucket interest was strong …
This T-Bucket Electric Golf Cart is the Real Deal
Finally, somebody has succeeded in achieving “the look” on a small scale. And I’m not just talking about the profile (which looks eerily like a blue version of our logo), but this little hot rod has all the details.
Hey T-Bucket Fans, Come Join Us on Facebook
With more than 70% of the U.S. online population visiting Facebook every day, we felt that the time was right to get our T-Bucket feet wet. We recognize that it’s quite efficient for people who are regular Facebook users to get their new information and updates while on Facebook, so we’re working to make that convenient for you. We invite you to connect with us by clicking here>
Here’s Your T-Bucket Building FREE Chapter!
Everybody loves a freebie!
We’re happy to give you this complete 17-page FREE Chapter from “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000″.
To get yours …
The “Youngster” FREE T-Bucket Frame Plans
Ron Young is a Minnesota hot rodder who’s put together a set of free T-Bucket frame plans based on the way he’s been building them for the last 15+ years. They’re free plans because Ron wants to share his knowledge …
NEHR Speedcraft’s T-Bucket “Hot Rod in a Box” Kit, Part 2
As noted in Part 1, NEHR’s “Hot Rod in a Box” T-Bucket kit is designed to be a well-engineered package that offers ease of assembly for the home garage builder without any welding or drilling and which includes all the …
Thank You, Loyal T-Bucket Hot Rod Fans for Visiting TBucketPlans.com!
This website is devoted exclusively to T-Bucket hot rods and takes many hours of work to make it fresh and informative in order to keep T-Bucket builders coming back. We are exceptionally happy to see just how well …
NEHR Speedcraft’s T-Bucket “Hot Rod in a Box” Kit, Part 1
Ever get the feeling that the vast majority of T-Bucket hot rods are the result of seat-of-the-pants, trial and error, “good enough” so-called engineering by shadetree mechanics? Wonder what might happen when …
Happy Hot Rod Valentine’s Day
Chocolates or chrome? Dinner or a driveshaft? Flowers or a flathead?
Decisions are tough this time of year, so Chester and John send …
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