T-Bucket History

Erv Campbell T-Bucket Then and Now

T-Bucket Erv Campbell
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John Morehead
Founder at TBucketPlans.com
T-Bucket fanatic since 1957 when my 8 year old eyes became glued to a full page LIFE magazine photo of Norm Grabowski in the wildest hot rod I had ever seen! I later discovered the fascinating T-Buckets of TV Tommy Ivo, Marty Hollmann, Bob Johnston and Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s T-Bucket inspired Outlaw. I was hooked for life on T-Bucket hot rods!

TBucketPlans.com originated in 2005 as a personal blog extolling the virtues of T-Buckets. In 2009 I blogged about Chester Greenhalgh, the "how to" genius who wrote the legendary, out-of-print “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000”. That led to a friendship with Chester and our partnership in marketing the updated eBook version of his T-Bucket building bible. The T-Bucket fire burns stronger and stronger.
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While checking out all the cool T-Buckets at the 2017 T-Bucket Nationals in Carson City, Nevada I did a double take when I came upon this yellow Pontiac-powered T. Taking in that rare for a T-Bucket engine, the steel ex-touring body and the unique pickup bed treatment, my degenerating brain cells thought, “wow, this looks … Read more

Norman Letendre Traditional T-Bucket Roadster is Timeless

T-Bucket Norm Letendre
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John Morehead
Founder at TBucketPlans.com
T-Bucket fanatic since 1957 when my 8 year old eyes became glued to a full page LIFE magazine photo of Norm Grabowski in the wildest hot rod I had ever seen! I later discovered the fascinating T-Buckets of TV Tommy Ivo, Marty Hollmann, Bob Johnston and Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s T-Bucket inspired Outlaw. I was hooked for life on T-Bucket hot rods!

TBucketPlans.com originated in 2005 as a personal blog extolling the virtues of T-Buckets. In 2009 I blogged about Chester Greenhalgh, the "how to" genius who wrote the legendary, out-of-print “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000”. That led to a friendship with Chester and our partnership in marketing the updated eBook version of his T-Bucket building bible. The T-Bucket fire burns stronger and stronger.
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You could say that the Norman Letendre traditional T-Bucket and the Bill Strickland T-Bucket roadster are birds of a feather. They both evidence a strong Tommy Ivo T-Bucket influence, were built around the same time and are both New England T-Buckets. Norman Letendre of Ludlow, MA took inspiration from TV Tommy Ivo’s T-Bucket roadster when … Read more

Bill Strickland T-Bucket Roadster

T-Bucket Bill Strickland
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John Morehead
Founder at TBucketPlans.com
T-Bucket fanatic since 1957 when my 8 year old eyes became glued to a full page LIFE magazine photo of Norm Grabowski in the wildest hot rod I had ever seen! I later discovered the fascinating T-Buckets of TV Tommy Ivo, Marty Hollmann, Bob Johnston and Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s T-Bucket inspired Outlaw. I was hooked for life on T-Bucket hot rods!

TBucketPlans.com originated in 2005 as a personal blog extolling the virtues of T-Buckets. In 2009 I blogged about Chester Greenhalgh, the "how to" genius who wrote the legendary, out-of-print “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000”. That led to a friendship with Chester and our partnership in marketing the updated eBook version of his T-Bucket building bible. The T-Bucket fire burns stronger and stronger.
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In the mid-1950s Tommy Ivo built one of hot rod history’s two most influential T-Bucket roadsters. At the time, he had the geographic convenience of being able to literally crawl under the other most influential T-Bucket, Norm Grabowski’s, to understand the layout, get dimensions and the inspiration that would lead to his own unique T-Bucket … Read more

Ted Brown: T-Bucket Chassis Designer Extraordinaire

Ted A Brown
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John Morehead
Founder at TBucketPlans.com
T-Bucket fanatic since 1957 when my 8 year old eyes became glued to a full page LIFE magazine photo of Norm Grabowski in the wildest hot rod I had ever seen! I later discovered the fascinating T-Buckets of TV Tommy Ivo, Marty Hollmann, Bob Johnston and Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s T-Bucket inspired Outlaw. I was hooked for life on T-Bucket hot rods!

TBucketPlans.com originated in 2005 as a personal blog extolling the virtues of T-Buckets. In 2009 I blogged about Chester Greenhalgh, the "how to" genius who wrote the legendary, out-of-print “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000”. That led to a friendship with Chester and our partnership in marketing the updated eBook version of his T-Bucket building bible. The T-Bucket fire burns stronger and stronger.
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It was five years ago today that we lost a man who was one of the most influential contributors to the everlasting popularity of T-Bucket hot rods. Ted Brown‘s sense of style has influenced hundreds, if not thousands, of T-Buckets. In May, 1968 Rod & Custom magazine referred to Ted Brown as “the original street … Read more

The George Gould East Coast T-Bucket

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John Morehead
Founder at TBucketPlans.com
T-Bucket fanatic since 1957 when my 8 year old eyes became glued to a full page LIFE magazine photo of Norm Grabowski in the wildest hot rod I had ever seen! I later discovered the fascinating T-Buckets of TV Tommy Ivo, Marty Hollmann, Bob Johnston and Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s T-Bucket inspired Outlaw. I was hooked for life on T-Bucket hot rods!

TBucketPlans.com originated in 2005 as a personal blog extolling the virtues of T-Buckets. In 2009 I blogged about Chester Greenhalgh, the "how to" genius who wrote the legendary, out-of-print “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000”. That led to a friendship with Chester and our partnership in marketing the updated eBook version of his T-Bucket building bible. The T-Bucket fire burns stronger and stronger.
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Up until 1962, pretty much every T-Bucket that had appeared in the Big 3 car magazines (Hot Rod, Rod & Custom, Car Craft) had been from the West Coast — California, more specifically. So, it was quite a shock to see a really dramatically unique T-Bucket appear in both Hot Rod and Car Craft that … Read more

Don Brusseau T-Bucket: 1949 to Today

Don Brusseau T-Bucket Rod and Custom cover
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John Morehead
Founder at TBucketPlans.com
T-Bucket fanatic since 1957 when my 8 year old eyes became glued to a full page LIFE magazine photo of Norm Grabowski in the wildest hot rod I had ever seen! I later discovered the fascinating T-Buckets of TV Tommy Ivo, Marty Hollmann, Bob Johnston and Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s T-Bucket inspired Outlaw. I was hooked for life on T-Bucket hot rods!

TBucketPlans.com originated in 2005 as a personal blog extolling the virtues of T-Buckets. In 2009 I blogged about Chester Greenhalgh, the "how to" genius who wrote the legendary, out-of-print “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000”. That led to a friendship with Chester and our partnership in marketing the updated eBook version of his T-Bucket building bible. The T-Bucket fire burns stronger and stronger.
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In 1967, I was fascinated by the incredible detail of the Don Brusseau T-Bucket that appeared in two of the major magazines that year. I originally did this post in 2015 and the following year learned that this legendary T-Bucket was for sale after residing for a number of years in the Bill Rolland collection. … Read more

Fred Steele Roadster on “Ventures in Space” Album Cover

John Morehead in Fred Steele T-Bucket
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John Morehead
Founder at TBucketPlans.com
T-Bucket fanatic since 1957 when my 8 year old eyes became glued to a full page LIFE magazine photo of Norm Grabowski in the wildest hot rod I had ever seen! I later discovered the fascinating T-Buckets of TV Tommy Ivo, Marty Hollmann, Bob Johnston and Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s T-Bucket inspired Outlaw. I was hooked for life on T-Bucket hot rods!

TBucketPlans.com originated in 2005 as a personal blog extolling the virtues of T-Buckets. In 2009 I blogged about Chester Greenhalgh, the "how to" genius who wrote the legendary, out-of-print “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000”. That led to a friendship with Chester and our partnership in marketing the updated eBook version of his T-Bucket building bible. The T-Bucket fire burns stronger and stronger.
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Latest posts by John Morehead (see all)

My original Fred Steele roadster post was done back in 2010. When I first wrote it I had no idea that I would be lucky enough to come in contact with the owner of the Fred Steele roadster, Bob Collins. Fortunately, in 2015 I did and I took that opportunity to update and expand upon … Read more