T-Bucket Blog Archive

Gary Meadors Beer T

Gary Meadors Beer T

It’s been five years since we lost Goodguys Rod & Custom Association founder Gary Meadors. Gary was inspired by his lifelong love of rods...
Kookie Kar Gary Defer

Kookie Kar Kopy of Gary DeFer

“Yes, I copied the Kookie Kar and Ivo’s T,” said Gary DeFer when I met him at the 2017 T-Bucket Nationals in Carson City, Nevada. I...
Alexander Brothers Ridler T-Bucket Ridler Award Winner

Alexander Brothers Ridler Award Winning &#8220

I first published this story about the Alexander Brothers Ridler Award winning T-Bucket 44 years after it won that very prestigious award. I had just...

Just a few T-Buckets built using our plans

TBucketPlans.com started out as a one-page website back in 2009 offering the digital version of Chester Greenhalgh’s much-in-demand, yet...
first rail dragster Dick Kraft Bug

First Rail Dragster: “The Bug”, Dick

Bet you didn’t know that the first rail dragster was actually a stripped down Model T roadster. While Big Daddy Don Garlits’ first...

The Gadberry “Low Bucket”

This is a major update of my original post about David Gadberry’s “Low Bucket” T-Bucket from 2010. You’ll find oodles more...
Bob Johnston Tweedy Pie T-Bucket

Bob Johnston’s T-Bucket, Later to Become

Beyond Norm Grabowski’s “Kookie Kar”, one of my other significant influences was a short wheelbase T-bucket built by Californian Bob...
Buzz Pitzen T-Bucket

The World’s First Fiberglass T-Bucket Hot

It’s time to update my original two-part story done over ten years ago about Buzz Pitzen building “the world’s first fiberglass...
Buzz Pitzen T-Bucket

The World’s First Fiberglass T-Bucket Hot

As noted in Part I, Buzz Pitzen’s T-Bucket was the world’s first using a fiberglass body. It paved the way for tens of thousands to follow...
Marty Hollmann T-Bucket roadster

T-Bucket History: Marty Hollmann’s Hugely

Martin Hollmann is without a doubt the most underrated T-bucket builder of the 50’s and 60’s. I first wrote about Marty’s T-Bucket...
T-Bucket Erv Campbell

Erv Campbell T-Bucket Then and Now

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...
T-Bucket Norm Letendre

Norman Letendre Traditional T-Bucket Roadster is

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...
T-Bucket Bill Strickland

Bill Strickland T-Bucket Roadster

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...
Ted A Brown

Ted Brown: T-Bucket Chassis Designer

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...

The George Gould East Coast T-Bucket

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...
Don Brusseau T-Bucket Rod and Custom cover

Don Brusseau T-Bucket: 1949 to Today

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...
Hot Rod Santa Butch Reeves T-Bucket

Hot Rod Santa and His T-Bucket Sleigh

On Christmas eve we’re happy to repost this popular T-Bucket Hot Rod Santa story from several years back. Hot Rod Santa faced global population...

Drag-U-La and the Coffin Car Fascination

In 1966, I was fascinated by way-out show cars like Steve Scott’s “Uncertain-T”, so when the “Hot Rod Herman” episode of...
Munsters car dragula drag strip

Munsters Car, Dragula, and Casket Cars Galore

It’s that time of year when interest peaks in the legendary Munsters car, Dragula. It’s also the time when hot rod builders start thinking...
Pumpkin T-Bucket For Sale

Halloween Hot Rod, The Bumpkin Pumpkin T-Bucket,

If you've always wanted to be the star of the Halloween Parade, scare small children, incite chasing dogs and draw gape-mouthed stares at every car...