T-bucket

Model Ts were hot-rodded and customized from the 1920s on, but the T-bucket was specifically created and named by Norm Grabowski in the 1950s. This car was named Lightning Bug, better known as the Kookie Kar, after being redesigned by Grabowski and appearing in the TV show 77 Sunset Strip, driven by character Gerald "Kookie" Kookson. The exposure it gained led to numerous copies being built.

A genuine T-bucket has the two-seater body of a Model T roadster (with or without the turtle deck or small pickup box), this "bucket"-shaped body shell giving the cars their name. A Model T-style radiator is usually fitted, and even these can sometimes be barely up to the task of cooling the large engines fitted. Windshields, when fitted, are vertical glass like the original Model T.

Today, T-buckets remain common. They generally feature an enormous engine for the size and weight of the car, generally a V8, along with tough drivetrains to handle the power and large rear tires to apply that power to the road. The front wheels are often much narrower than the rear wheels, and are often motorcycle wheels.

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Norm Grabowski

Norm Grabowski

Norman Grabowski was an American hot rod builder and actor. The heavy-set crew cut-wearing Grabowski appeared in minor roles in many films produced by Albert Zugsmith and Walt Disney. He was Polish-American.

77 Sunset Strip

77 Sunset Strip

77 Sunset Strip is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long and Edd Byrnes. Each episode was one hour long when aired with commercials. The show ran from 1958 to 1964. The character of detective Stuart Bailey was first used by writer Huggins in his 1946 novel The Double Take, later adapted into the 1948 film I Love Trouble.

Radiator (engine cooling)

Radiator (engine cooling)

Radiators are heat exchangers used for cooling internal combustion engines, mainly in automobiles but also in piston-engined aircraft, railway locomotives, motorcycles, stationary generating plant or any similar use of such an engine.

V8 engine

V8 engine

A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.

Motorcycle

Motorcycle

A motorcycle is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat.

Convertible T-bucket in a hybrid style: traditional sidepipes and dropped tube axle, transverse front leaf spring, and non-traditional front disc brakes and five-spokes.

Since the last Model Ts were built in 1927, most modern T-buckets use replica fiberglass bodies. By the 1950s, original steel Model T bodies that had not been completely worn out were becoming increasingly hard to find and in 1957 the first fiberglass T-Bucket body^[2] (based on the 1923 version) was introduced by the short-lived Diablo Speed Shop in Northern California. Of the only two or three bodies built by Diablo, one was purchased by Southern California hot rod builder Buzz Pitzen and became the world's first fiberglass T-bucket.^[3]

T-bucket with early hemi. The aluminum radiator (rather than brass), rectangular headlights, and five-spokes (rather than motorcycle wheels) mark this as a later incarnation.

Most are built purely for street or show use, and the big engines are more for show than for need — many are more powerful than the vehicles can actually make use of. Although the body shell is original in appearance, engines of a wide variety of makes are commonly used. The small-block Chevrolet is a common choice, since it is relatively small, light, easy to obtain and to improve, and performs well. Four-cylinder engines are common also, especially if the car is used regularly. Many install blowers (superchargers) on their engines, and people use modern fuel-injected engines.

A song celebrating the car, "Bucket 'T'," was written by Don Altfeld, Jan Berry, Roger Christian and Dean Torrence and first recorded by Jan & Dean in 1964.^[4][5] Subsequent covers of the song were released by Ronny and the Daytonas in November 1964^[6] and by The Who on November 11, 1966, as part of their EP Ready Steady Who.^[7]

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Roger Christian (songwriter)

Roger Christian (songwriter)

Roger Christian was an American radio personality and songwriter from Buffalo, New York. After moving to California in 1959, he became a lyricist for the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. From the early to mid-1960s, they wrote many songs together, mostly about cars, including the singles "Little Deuce Coupe" (1963), "Shut Down" (1963), and "Don’t Worry Baby" (1964).

The Who

The Who

The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their core lineup consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century, and have sold over 100 million records worldwide. Their contributions to rock music include the development of the Marshall Stack, large PA systems, the use of the synthesizer, Entwistle and Moon's influential playing styles, Townshend's feedback and power chord guitar technique, and the development of the rock opera. They are cited as an influence by many hard rock, punk, power pop and mod bands, and their songs are still regularly played. The Who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

Ready Steady Who

Ready Steady Who

Ready Steady Who is the first 7" EP by The Who, released on 11 November 1966, about a month prior to their album A Quick One. The title refers to a Ready Steady Go! TV special the band had recently appeared in, but the EP contains different recordings from those performed on the TV show.