Randy Endicott
Adna, Washington
1923 Ford T-Bucket
We've been telling you T roadsters are going to be the next big movement in hot rodding. Now we have one more piece of evidence on our side. Randy's '23 T-bucket, recently finished and back on the road, is a contemporary take on a traditional Fad T. Randy, now retired, was 16 years old when he started the Chariots Car Club in Chehalis, Washington. Life went on, and the Chariots disbanded, but Randy continued to build hot rods. One of his later cars was a full-fendered turtle-deck T, long-since sold. This is his chance to relive that earlier version. This time it's a 'glass-bodied '23, fenderless with two functional doors and a bed. The top and diamond-tuck upholstery were recently finished. The suspension features front and rear hairpins with a dropped tube axle up front and a Ford 9-inch with Posi in the rear. The 350 small-block is crowned with a Gates-driven BDS blower with dual Edelbrock carbs-plenty of power for a rod that weighs next to nothing. Center Line Warriors with front skinnies and monstrous Mickey Thompsons complete the look. By the way, the Chariots are back in business.
Wayne Sentz
Hanover, Pennsylvania
1955 Chevy Bel Air
Wayne sent us this photo of his father's '55. When Wayne Sr. paid $650 for the car, everybody thought he paid way too much. Keep in mind that this was when these cars were being scooped up cheap to run in late-model classes on dirt ovals across America. The following year, he bought a 360-horse 327 short-block from GM, and until 1968, the Bel Air served as Wayne's family transportation. For the following eight years, it was a workhorse for his mason construction business. After that, it sat in a garage, until 2005 when the car was redone, inside and out. Instead of going "Happy Days" nostalgic, Wayne went with a more refined look. The paint and 'striping, smoked dash, and wheels are new, but Wayne's '55 still runs the 327. It retains all the original sheetmetal, including floors, trunk, and everything, and all the factory stainless steel trim. Not a bad $650 investment after all, we'd say.
James "Peewee" Lee
Worcester, Vermont
1954 Chevy Sedan
We couldn't agree more completely with James' description of his '54 Chevy sedan. He writes that his faithful 210 four-door "isn't a hot rod, but it is a nice, clean, great-running eye-catcher." James bought the Chevy a couple of years ago in Tennessee and hauled it back home to New England. Today, it's still powered by an original Chevy 235 inline-six-cylinder engine backed up by a column-shifted three-speed transmission. In keeping with the showroom-fresh appearance, James added a set of whitewalls from Coker Tire, rolling on steel wheels with caps 'n' rings. He told us, "As much as I love hot rods, I also enjoy the old originals, too. As the license plate reads, she's a 'SWEET 54.'"
Glenn & Kevin Bakunas
Neshanic Station, New Jersey
'41 Stude & '36 Ford Five-Window
Glenn and Kevin comprise a father-and-son hot-rod-building team that has been saving old tin and getting it back on the street. Son Kevin's ride is a 350-powered Rust-Oleum black '41 Studebaker sedan that gets driven to all of the local shows. Glenn's suede '36 Ford coupe is an old barn find, pulled out of storage and put together by the Bakunas about five years ago. It now rides on a Fatman Fabrications frontend and is powered by a Chevy 350 with a Turbo 350 automatic. The failed inspection sticker from 1976 that was on the coupe when they found it was kept on the car. Nice to know that the project somebody else gave up on got another chance, thanks to these guys.
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