T-bucket roadster brought back to life by veteran hotrod builder
Veteran hotrod builder Gary Lang looks at the 1923 Model T Ford roadster hotrod he started building in 1966. “It’s a real thrill to see the car restored to look the way it did back then,” the Vancouverarea resident says. “To have a car like this survive all these years and be put back in this condition with all the detail is amazing.”
He was commenting as the car he built was being prepared for a custom car show at the Pacific National Exhibition, where he debuted the car 44 years before.
T-bucket roadsters became popular with hot rodders in the 1950s, a transformation of the two-seater bucketshaped bodies of Ford Model T roadsters into radically customized and hopped-up street racers. The craze was fed by the famous Kookie Kar driven by character Gerald “Kookie” Cookson in the popular TV show 77 Sunset Strip.
When he first got his Model T, Gary — a pattern maker by trade — hand-crafted a tubular chassis with independent front and rear torsion bar suspension and installed a 289-cubic-inch V8 engine and transmission from a nearly new Ford.
An American-built fibreglass body was modified to tilt up from the rear, revealing the highly polished and chromed mechanical parts. Gary made the patterns for the finned air cleaner and custom valve covers that were cast in solid bronze. He hand-carved the teak dashboard, highlighted by the reclining figure of a beautiful woman. The project took 2 ½ years to complete
His distinctive T-bucket, with its maple leaf-shaped convertible top rear window, was named Revolution when it made its debut at the 1969 PNE Motorama. It stole the show, recognized as one of the most remarkable and best-engineered custom cars built up to that time.
Awards included first in class, best engineering and the much coveted People’s Choice trophy. The car went on to take all the top awards at its next show in Seattle, including hot-rod sweepstakes. Then Gary drove to Lodi, Calif., for the Hotrod Nationals, where he took the best-engineered-car award over several hundred competitors.
After showing it for five years, Gary sold the internationally acclaimed hotrod to boyhood friend Don Haber to buy his first house. Don drove it for a few years until he, too, got into home ownership. As his career heated up, he left the car unused in the garage for 40 years.
In 2011, a life-changing surgery inspired Don to do something with the old hotrod. He engaged the services of hot-rod fabricator Brad Purser of Del-Brayd Speed & Style to restore it.
Over the past year, every part of the venerable hotrod has been restored and reassembled, using stainless fasteners and plumbing. The engine-compartment wiring has been cleverly hidden among improvements to make the T-bucket contemporary.
Remarkably, the original 1960s black paint and striping remain.
Don Haber’s restored hotrod was unveiled at the Vancouver Collector Car Show Sale & Auction inside the Pacific National Exhibition grounds June 22 and 23. It was déjà vu for the hotrod that was first shown at the PNE 44 years ago.