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2015 Shannons Melbourne Winter Classic Auction
Lot
15

c1923 Ford T-Bucket 'Hot Rod'

$30,000

Sold

Specifications

Engine V8, 253-cid
Gearbox 3-speed automatic
Body Work Roadster
Colour Maroon
Interior Burgundy
Trim Vinyl
Wheels Steel Chrome
Brakes Disc

Description

This lot is no longer available

Ford's legendary Model T formed the basis for countless custom cars and hot rods over the decades, going right back to the 1920s, when stripped-down, hopped-up speedsters first appeared, built by young kids looking on the quest for speed. The T-bucket genre was fathered by Norm Grabowski in Southern California, who is credited with building the first hot rod to use a two-seater 'bucket' style body in the 1950s. Initially christened the Lightning Bug, Grabowski's reworked rod subsequently became famous across America through the popular TV show 77 Sunset Strip and the T-bucket craze took off, with imitators appearing across the country. Although each T-bucket rod is unique, a number of elements remain consistent, including the use of a cut-down Model T radiator, dropped tube front axle with leaf spring suspension, upright steering column and a vertical windscreen and most featured a small pick-up tray bed. The choice of powerplant varied, but most T-buckets are powered by a V8 of some sort, often with a blower and normally with side pipes, while skinny front tyres up front contrast with fatter rubber at the back. With the supply of original bodies drying up, numerous companies began supplying fibreglass copies and even custom chassis. From custom car shows to the dragstrip, the T-bucket was arguably the backbone of the rodding movements in the 1960s and early 1970s and remains one of the most recognisable traditional hot rod styles today. With the huge resurgence of interest in hot rod culture in recent years, many of the old T-buckets have been dusted off and given a new lease of life, becoming collector's items in their own right.