Darryl Starbird is a name known worldwide as a creator of beautiful custom four-wheel creations, but it was in fact a rod that made him a household name and brought him into the homes of thousands of car-crazy enthusiasts. Darryl Starbird had been knocking out winners, like his Predicta and Forcasta from his Star Kustom Shop in Wichita, Kansas, when the people at Monogram approached him with an idea to work together to produce a 1/8th-scale model kit.
Darryl would come up with an idea and then be responsible for producing the vehicle in full-scale. Monogram would make the kits and use the real car to tour the country at auto shows and visit hobby stores for kit builders to get a look at the real thing before going home and gluing together the giant kits.At the time Darryl started, there was no "standard" for building a T-bucket (a style not seen Kansas), so with the inspiration from Norm Grabowski's Kookie Kar and Tommy Ivo's stunning abbreviated T Touring with a shortened bed on the back, Darryl set out to build his own vision of a Model T hot rod.
The base would be a '30 Model A frame that would see heavy massaging before a Chevy 283 mated to a '38 Buick transmission was slipped into place. Out front, a chromed tube axle originally from a V-8 60-powered '37 Ford led the way with a Halibrand-equipped '48 Ford rearend--also chrome-plated--bringing up the rear. On top of the chassis a Starbird-customized fiberglass T-bucket body with a shortened bed was sprayed a bright ruby red with red and white tuck 'n' roll covering the bucket seat-equipped interior.
The Big T kit was an immediate hit, and the fullsize car served its purpose well until it was given away as the grand prize for a model-building contest in 1965 and just disappeared. Forty years and many cars later, Darryl noticed one very important car missing from his Starbird Museum and began searching for the original Big T. When his searching brought no leads, Darryl decided the next best thing to do would be to clone the car.
Around the same time, Darryl was approached by Clear Channel radio to produce a "nostalgic" vehicle to be given away and the wheels immediately started spinning. The plan Darryl came up with was to build a vehicle reminiscent of the Big T and at the same time, build a replica for himself to display in his museum. The shop responsible for building the pair of unidentical twins would be Predator Performance in DuBois, Pennsylvania.
Roger Harney, a Monogram employee who worked with Darryl on the original Big T project, would once again join Darryl, this time as a member of the recreation team. Still at Monogram after 40-plus years, Roger has also been hard at work on the upcoming re-release of the Big T kit that will be exact in all details to the original despite the numerous changes that have been made to the kit over the years.
That's just a little background, as we proudly introduce the rebirth of the Big T and look forward to bringing you further installments in the next few issues, ultimately finishing with a full feature on the reborn Big T.
The original Big T was the...
The original Big T was the first of many collaborations between Darryl Starbird and model kit company Monogram. The full-scale car was the first to be exactly recreated in a 1/8th-scale kit, which eventually sold over a half a million copies.
Darryl is shown here proudly...
Darryl is shown here proudly posing with his freshly built creation. After extensive promotional touring, the Big T was awarded as a model contest prize in 1965 and disappeared.
The original dash in the Big...
The original dash in the Big T was a simple six-gauge setup in a flat panel that would be replicated for the new car. This picture comes from the original instructions for the model kit.
This cool cover of the October...
This cool cover of the October '62 Car Craft was a combination of fullsize people cleverly superimposed next to a photo of a built-up version of Monogram's Big T kit.
The buildup of both cars started...
The buildup of both cars started with bodies from Spirit Industries sitting side by side at Predator Performance in DuBois, PA. The one on the left would be built as a giveaway car for a Clear Channel radio promotion and the one on the right would be built as a clone of the original Big T to be displayed in the Starbird Museum.
Readers could just as easily...
Readers could just as easily find an advertisement for a model car as they could an ad for engine parts in the magazines of the early '60s. Full-page ads for the Monogram 1/8th kits were very common.
The October '62 Car Craft...
The October '62 Car Craft shot a feature of an assembled kit just as if it was a fullsize T-bucket.