T-Buckets of the 2000’s

Jim Unruh T-Bucket – Is it old, new or both?

Jim Unruh 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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I’ve been in love with the Jim Unruh T-Bucket for two decades. You may not believe it, but that’s only how old it is — despite looking like a T-Bucket treasure from the 1950s or 60s. My eyes locked on the Jim Unruh T-Bucket when I first saw it at the 2004 National T-Bucket Alliance … Read more

Tribute to Tom Hintz and his T-Bucket Track Roadster

Tom Hintz T-Bucket Track Roadster
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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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I first met Tom Hintz at the 2015 T-Bucket Nationals. Sadly, on June 25, 2022 his niece posted, “My dear Uncle Tom passed away yesterday. He fought a hard fight with cancer and he now is no longer suffering. We loved him so much and know he is in heaven and smiling down on us!” … Read more

New Zealand T-Bucket Finds Way Home via Canada

New-Zealand-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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Here’s Steve Roy’s New Zealand T-Bucket Story In my late teens I built a T-Bucket in my parents’ Auckland, New Zealand garage.  I started with a $600 un-finished project.   It had a 272 Y-Block, F100 3 speed (short tail shaft meant a longer driveshaft), early Ford I beam front suspension with split wishbones and 8” ford … Read more

Clayton’s Hot Rods Tipsy-T: Déjà Vu All Over Again

Claytons Hot Rods Tipsy-T
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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 admiring the Clayton’s Hot Rods Tipsy-T in the Suede Palace at the 2022 Grand National Roadster Show I got that strange feeling again. It was the same feeling I had when viewing Eric Geisert’s 1926 T the same day. This 1915 T roadster was a real stunner, with the unmistakable look of a true … Read more

Potvin Supercharger Meets High Tech T-Bucket

Potvin Supercharger T-Bucket Kerry Smith
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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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I’m happy to repost this story from three years ago about Kerry Smith’s unique T-Bucket because we recently introduced a fascinating interview with him on our Hooked on T-Bucket Hot Rods Podcast. It’s Episode 6 and you can listen to it here>. I really like Kerry Smith and his approach to T-Buckets. Kerry marches to … Read more

4 Cylinder T-Bucket Hot Rod, the ‘S**t T’ by Brad Masterson is Anything But!

4 cylinder T-bucket Masterson Kustom Automobiles
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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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Having a dream hot rod is one thing, but having a fun, practical hot rod you built yourself for almost nothing and drive the snot out of is another thing altogether. Brad Masterson accomplished that when he wanted to reduce the cost of his daily commute and make it less boring. Brad’s solution took an unconventional … Read more

2017 T-Bucket Nationals Preview: CCR T-Bucket of Greg Vaughan

CCR T-Bucket Greg Vaughan California Custom Roadsters
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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)

The 2017 T-Bucket Nationals June 22-24 in Carson City, Nevada will undoubtedly have T-Buckets on display that will inspire anyone, regardless of their taste in particular T-Bucket styles. Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing Greg Vaughan‘s beautiful T-Bucket again that I first had the pleasure of seeing at last year’s T-Bucket Nationals in Indianapolis. Here’s … Read more