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{{Short description|Hot rod, based on a Ford Model T}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2014}}
[[File:TBUCKET.jpg|alt=1923 T Bucket |thumb|1923 early 60s style T Bucket |left]]
[[File:T Bucket 001.JPG|thumb|A 1923 Ford T Bucket in the traditional style. It features lake headers, dog dish hubcaps, dropped "I" beam axle, narrow rubber, and single 4-barrel, but non-traditional disc brakes.]]
[[File:Ford T-Hot de 1923, Helsinki, Finlandia, 2012-08-14, DD 03.JPG|thumb|Detail view of the air inlet]]
A '''T-bucket''' (or '''Bucket T''') is a [[hot rod]], based on a [[Ford Model T]]<ref name="Breitenstein">{{cite book|author=Jeff Breitenstein|title=Ultimate Hot Rod Dictionary: A-Bombs to Zoomies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OtKWmLLiuTgC&pg=PA212|publisher=MotorBooks International|isbn=978-1-61059-235-2|pages=212–}}</ref> built from 1915 to 1927, but extensively modified. T-buckets were favorites for [[Greaser (subculture)|greasers]].{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}

==History==
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2025}}
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 (engine cooling)|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 engine|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.

==Replicas==
[[File:T-bucket.jpg|thumb|left|Convertible T-bucket in a hybrid style: traditional [[sidepipe]]s and dropped [[tube axle]], transverse front [[leaf spring]], and non-traditional front [[disc brake]]s 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<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tbucketplans.com/the-real-history-of-the-fiberglass-t-bucket-body/ |title= Fiberglass T Bucket Body: Real History of the Fiberglass T Bucket Body|website=www.tbucketplans.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110415013332/http://www.tbucketplans.com/the-real-history-of-the-fiberglass-t-bucket-body/ |archive-date=April 15, 2011}}</ref> (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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tbucketplans.com/the-worlds-first-fiberglass-t-bucket-hot-rod-buzz-pitzens-glass-image/ |title=The World's First Fiberglass T-Bucket Hot Rod: Buzz Pitzen's "Glass Image" |date=May 14, 2010 |website=www.tbucketplans.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214151043/http://www.tbucketplans.com/the-worlds-first-fiberglass-t-bucket-hot-rod-buzz-pitzens-glass-image/ |archive-date=February 14, 2011}}</ref>

==Show cars==
[[File:T-Bucket.jpg|thumb|right|T-bucket with [[Chrysler FirePower engine|early Chrysler 'hemi' engine]]. The aluminum radiator (rather than brass), rectangular headlights, and five-spokes (rather than motorcycle wheels) mark this as a later incarnation.]]
[[File:T Bucket Engine.jpg|left|thumb|T Bucket engine, open chassis, [[Carburetor#Two-barrel_and_four-barrel_designs|dual 4 barrel carbs]] and extensive chrome plating. ]]
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 use.  Although the body shell is original in appearance, engines of a wide variety of makes are commonly used.  The [[Chevrolet small-block engine|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 also common, especially if the car is used regularly. Some install [[superchargers]] on their engines, and some use modern fuel-injected engines.

==In popular culture==
A song celebrating the car, "Bucket 'T'," was written by Don Altfeld, [[Jan Berry]], [[Roger Christian (songwriter)|Roger Christian]] and [[Dean Torrence]] and first recorded by [[Jan & Dean]] in 1964.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Song: Bucket "T" written by Dean Torrence, Jan Berry, Don Altfeld, Roger Christian {{!}} SecondHandSongs |url=https://secondhandsongs.com/work/137966/all |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=secondhandsongs.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUPPz1he3sQ |title=Jan & Dean - Bucket T |date=2009-06-21 |last=JanAndDeanMusic |access-date=2024-11-19 |via=YouTube}}</ref> Subsequent covers of the song were released by [[Ronny and the Daytonas]] in November 1964<ref>{{Cite web |title=- YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpY06Tn6e8g |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=www.youtube.com}}</ref> and by [[The Who]] on November 11, 1966, as part of their EP ''[[Ready Steady Who]]''.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PZSpmAKxVY |title=The Who - Bucket T |date=2013-03-12 |last=Back To The Egg |access-date=2024-11-19 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

[[File:23 T Bucket.jpg|alt=23 T Bucket|thumb|23 T Bucket with early [[Chevrolet small-block engine]], dual 4 barrel carburetors, pie pan [[Racing_slick#Cheater_slicks|cheater slicks]] and wide [[Whitewall tire|white wall tires]].|left]]

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==References==
{{commons category|T-bucket}}
{{reflist}}
{{Kustom Kulture}}
{{Automobile configuration}}

[[Category:Modified vehicles]]
[[Category:Kustom Kulture]]
[[Category:Visual arts media]]