What would it take to build the Kookie Tee ?

[Greg Myers]

What kit would be the best jumping off point?

[Draggon]

Perhaps the Tweedy Pie, the recent reissue.

[thatz4u]

try this one it comes with the short pick up box

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=29118

[Art Anderson]

Whatever year it is, Norm Grabowski's "Kookie's Kar" T-bucket started out with a touring car body, not a roadster (look closely at the pic, you can see the extended body sides at the curvature from sides to back panel (to the point where the touring car's rear doors were, there is a break just aft of that door line in the body sill below). That can be replicated by fairing in a bit of sheet styrene (I'd use .040 Evergreen sheet stock, as Model T body sides weren't much more than an inch or so thick.

I believe that Kookie's Kar used a '23 or earlier T body, given the very tight cowl and small, low firewall--Aurora made that body in their '23 T roadster kit, and I believe the Revell Parts Pack T roadster body is also of that vintage (it's a good bit different than the '25, which is the year AMT kitted).

Art

[Dr. Cranky]

By the way, in case you haven't heard, Norm passed away this morning.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Art's right. Here's an excerpt from a pretty difinitive article on building the car. Read it carefully and pay attention to all the dimensions given, and you can build a very accurate model.

"But how did all of this come about, you may wonder? Glad you asked! In 1952, after leaving the service on a medical discharge, Norm purchased a fenderless '31 A V-8 for $100. Not one to leave things alone, he then swapped the A body for the front half of a '22 T touring, with a shortened Model A pickup bed bringing up the rear--the major visual difference between T-buckets and T modifieds--a harbinger of things to come. To get stance and proportion "right" (remember, there were no actual guidelines, for this was the granddaddy of all T-buckets, and Norm was a pioneer), Norm and friends removed some 20 inches of rear framerails, starting six inches forward of the crossmember, then raised and reattached the crossmember and its attendant frame stubs with pieces of the removed rail sections, effectively kicking, or z'ing the frame. Still not completely satisfied, he then stretched the frame some five inches up front using yet more leftover rear frame sections, replacing the front crossmember with a "bulldog," or suicide spring mount, at the same time to lower it, accentuating the rake. A '37 Ford tubular axle equipped with '40 Ford hydraulic brakes was then hung on a reversed-eye spring, utilizing a homemade four-bar type setup from Ford tie-rods. A '52 Cad engine with 3-71 GMC blower was then set in place on fabricated mounts and bolted (through an adapter) to a Zephyr-cogged '39 Ford Top Loader, which fed power through a shortened '41 Ford torque tube enclosed driveshaft and 3.54:1 rearend attached to a Model A spring. At first, Norm had used a Model A rearend, but when he swapped in the stouter '41, mounting was switched from the spring being on top of the axle tubes to behind them, which shortened the car (Norm liked that), but lowered the rear as well. Not satisfied with the lower rear stance, Norm mounted the rear spring to the crossmember with a 6-inch steel spacer to set it back where it had been, to regain that "just right" stance. Steering was handled by a Ross box from a milk truck, mounting a Bell three-spoke wheel in nearly vertical position, yet another style item that sets T-buckets apart from T modifieds. Norm installed the Ross box at his home in Sunland, then discovered to his dismay that it steered backwards. What to do? For Norm, that was to drive over to Burbank and see his friends at Valley Custom for a fix, steering the reverse of normal for the entire trip.

It was over this foundation the aforementioned body was channeled some six inches. Norm then asked Neal Emory at Valley Custom to create a special raked-back and dramatically shortened windshield, which he did from channel, hammering out the unusual mounts by hand. For finishing touches they applied a black paint job, then Norm had Tony Nancy stitch up a red rolled and pleated interior. And the shift knob was (can we have the envelope please?) a large dice.

During the chassis reconfiguration process, the framerails had become so unsightly through the cut-and-try method, that Norm also called on his friends Neal Emory and Clayton Jenson at Valley Custom to have them make frame covers for it. So, those really neat, tapered front rails and neatly rolled rear kick-up sections are, in actuality, a false front, just as the old western buildings on movie sets."

Read more: http://www.streetrod...l#ixzz296mdQcyC

Edited October 12, 2012 by Ace-Garageguy

[Ace-Garageguy]

By the way, in case you haven't heard, Norm passed away this morning.

I didn't know that. Damm. All the real ones are going fast.

[mrspex]

Thanks for all the Koolness, Norm! Rest easy now.

[southpier]

he left us with a great legacy. the man helped shape the automotive hobby.

[Ramfins59]

You could also try using the T-Bucket from the AMT reissue of the Tall T double kit. The one I bought has a LOT of flash as it's a pretty old tooling, but I was thinking of combining parts from it, and the AMT 25T double kit to try to make a decent looking T-Bucket Rod. I think the Tweedy Pie kit looks like it has some cool parts too. I have a '32 Ford 6" chopped grille shell with a PE insert from MCG that I'm thinking of using, along with some Modelhaus whitewall slicks out back & chrome reversed wheels on wide whites up front. I just haven't nailed down a color scheme yet... Yellow with black interior...... Red with black interior...... Blue with white interior...... Can't make up my mind...

[Draggon]

The Tweedy Pie has a great windshield frame, correct carbs with the frogmouth scoops, the chopped 32 grille shell, and hairpins. Frame and body are easy things to modify, but I cant tell a lot from google pics. Seems like the wheelbase on the Tweedy pie is close, but body and engine would need to be pushed back several scale inches. Taking the basic shell from that kit and adding the back end from the AMT 27 Phaeton would work, as well as the really short bed in the Tweedy pie. Modelhaus t-100 tires would be perfect for the front, but I'm not sure about wheels, nor rear tires. Having both the Tweedy Pie and AMT kits, I can say that theres not much from the AMT kit that could be used, save for the front axle, but its set up to run the famous 60's wire axles so it can roll.

[Casey]

Here's the recipe:

 

[Art Anderson]

On 10/12/2012 at 1:54 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

Art's right. Here's an excerpt from a pretty difinitive article on building the car. Read it carefully and pay attention to all the dimensions given, and you can build a very accurate model.

 

 

"But how did all of this come about, you may wonder? Glad you asked! In 1952, after leaving the service on a medical discharge, Norm purchased a fenderless '31 A V-8 for $100. Not one to leave things alone, he then swapped the A body for the front half of a '22 T touring, with a shortened Model A pickup bed bringing up the rear--the major visual difference between T-buckets and T modifieds--a harbinger of things to come. To get stance and proportion "right" (remember, there were no actual guidelines, for this was the granddaddy of all T-buckets, and Norm was a pioneer), Norm and friends removed some 20 inches of rear framerails, starting six inches forward of the crossmember, then raised and reattached the crossmember and its attendant frame stubs with pieces of the removed rail sections, effectively kicking, or z'ing the frame. Still not completely satisfied, he then stretched the frame some five inches up front using yet more leftover rear frame sections, replacing the front crossmember with a "bulldog," or suicide spring mount, at the same time to lower it, accentuating the rake. A '37 Ford tubular axle equipped with '40 Ford hydraulic brakes was then hung on a reversed-eye spring, utilizing a homemade four-bar type setup from Ford tie-rods. A '52 Cad engine with 3-71 GMC blower was then set in place on fabricated mounts and bolted (through an adapter) to a Zephyr-cogged '39 Ford Top Loader, which fed power through a shortened '41 Ford torque tube enclosed driveshaft and 3.54:1 rearend attached to a Model A spring. At first, Norm had used a Model A rearend, but when he swapped in the stouter '41, mounting was switched from the spring being on top of the axle tubes to behind them, which shortened the car (Norm liked that), but lowered the rear as well. Not satisfied with the lower rear stance, Norm mounted the rear spring to the crossmember with a 6-inch steel spacer to set it back where it had been, to regain that "just right" stance. Steering was handled by a Ross box from a milk truck, mounting a Bell three-spoke wheel in nearly vertical position, yet another style item that sets T-buckets apart from T modifieds. Norm installed the Ross box at his home in Sunland, then discovered to his dismay that it steered backwards. What to do? For Norm, that was to drive over to Burbank and see his friends at Valley Custom for a fix, steering the reverse of normal for the entire trip.

 

It was over this foundation the aforementioned body was channeled some six inches. Norm then asked Neal Emory at Valley Custom to create a special raked-back and dramatically shortened windshield, which he did from channel, hammering out the unusual mounts by hand. For finishing touches they applied a black paint job, then Norm had Tony Nancy stitch up a red rolled and pleated interior. And the shift knob was (can we have the envelope please?) a large dice.

 

During the chassis reconfiguration process, the framerails had become so unsightly through the cut-and-try method, that Norm also called on his friends Neal Emory and Clayton Jenson at Valley Custom to have them make frame covers for it. So, those really neat, tapered front rails and neatly rolled rear kick-up sections are, in actuality, a false front, just as the old western buildings on movie sets."

 

Read more: http://www.streetrod...l#ixzz296mdQcyC

And that Ross steering gear was made, right here in Lafayette IN!  Ross was, for years, the largest supplier of steering gears to the auto industry (outside of Ford and GM, both of whom have/had their own proprietary units) and today is a major supplier to the heavy truck industry.

Art

[Casey]

On 10/12/2012 at 12:36 PM, Art Anderson said:

Whatever year it is, Norm Grabowski's "Kookie's Kar" T-bucket started out with a touring car body, not a roadster (look closely at the pic, you can see the extended body sides at the curvature from sides to back panel (to the point where the touring car's rear doors were, there is a break just aft of that door line in the body sill below).

https://www.tbucketplans.com/1926-27-t-a-t-bucket/