YblockT
Member
I realize this is a bit unconventional, but I would like to introduce to the T-Bucket Forum a friend who is legitimately a T-Bucket pioneer. Ted Brown was a young hot rodder from Minnesota who heeded the advice to "go west young man" to seek fame and fortune. Man, was he ever successful!
After arriving in Southern California, Ted had the opportunity to see Norm Grabowski's "Kookie" T-bucket at the famous Bob's Big Boy in Toluca Lake and "was totally blown away". "That car is what got me wanting to build those types of rods," Ted said recently. But first Ted went into partnership with another legendary chassis builder, Chuck Finders, and contributed to the success of many of the nationally successful A/Gas Supercharged cars of the day, including Stone Woods & Cook, K.S. Pittman, Jr. Thompson, Hamberis & Mitchell and, my personal favorite, the MGM-C & O Hydro AG/S Austin pickup.
About 10 years ago, I bought a set of the California Custom Roadsters (CCR) T-bucket chassis plans. I was particularly taken with the CCR logo image with its rakish lines and sleek top.
Not too long ago, I was looking at an old Rod & Custom from the early 70s and noticed an uncanny resemblence to the CCR image in a Ted Brown Chassis ad.
After researching my old magazines a bit more, I then made the connection. The first ads for the CCR plans, which ran in 1973, referred to "Plans & Data for building the famous Ted Brown/Bill Keifer Chassis." I then learned that Ted established CCR in 1971 with Bill Keifer as his partner; the CCR plans were Ted's unique, original design; and Ted was eventually no longer given credit for his unique frame design which was built by CCR into thousands of T-buckets and by plan set purchasers into many more thousands (estimated at 4000 T-buckets in 1977). Net result, in my opinion Ted Brown is perhaps the most influential, yet totally unrecognized, T-bucket chassis designer of all time.
Today, Ted is "retired" in Bakersfield, CA and still driving his T-bucket which has racked up over 200,000 miles and its chassis has been home to a variety of engines, including Buick nailhead as well as big block and small block Chevys.
Ted expressed that in his retirement he would be happy to share some of his years of T-Bucket building and chassis experience and was glad to learn about the T-Bucket Forum and is eager to get to know you all and become a contributor. Ted is not one to "blow his own horn" and, therefore, I felt it might be best for me to "pre-introduce" him.
I know you like pics, so I'll post a few for Ted.
Ted will be registered and online with the Forum shortly, so please welcome him and fire some of your T-bucket and chassis related questions his way by posting here. Thanks.
After arriving in Southern California, Ted had the opportunity to see Norm Grabowski's "Kookie" T-bucket at the famous Bob's Big Boy in Toluca Lake and "was totally blown away". "That car is what got me wanting to build those types of rods," Ted said recently. But first Ted went into partnership with another legendary chassis builder, Chuck Finders, and contributed to the success of many of the nationally successful A/Gas Supercharged cars of the day, including Stone Woods & Cook, K.S. Pittman, Jr. Thompson, Hamberis & Mitchell and, my personal favorite, the MGM-C & O Hydro AG/S Austin pickup.
About 10 years ago, I bought a set of the California Custom Roadsters (CCR) T-bucket chassis plans. I was particularly taken with the CCR logo image with its rakish lines and sleek top.
Not too long ago, I was looking at an old Rod & Custom from the early 70s and noticed an uncanny resemblence to the CCR image in a Ted Brown Chassis ad.
After researching my old magazines a bit more, I then made the connection. The first ads for the CCR plans, which ran in 1973, referred to "Plans & Data for building the famous Ted Brown/Bill Keifer Chassis." I then learned that Ted established CCR in 1971 with Bill Keifer as his partner; the CCR plans were Ted's unique, original design; and Ted was eventually no longer given credit for his unique frame design which was built by CCR into thousands of T-buckets and by plan set purchasers into many more thousands (estimated at 4000 T-buckets in 1977). Net result, in my opinion Ted Brown is perhaps the most influential, yet totally unrecognized, T-bucket chassis designer of all time.
Today, Ted is "retired" in Bakersfield, CA and still driving his T-bucket which has racked up over 200,000 miles and its chassis has been home to a variety of engines, including Buick nailhead as well as big block and small block Chevys.
Ted expressed that in his retirement he would be happy to share some of his years of T-Bucket building and chassis experience and was glad to learn about the T-Bucket Forum and is eager to get to know you all and become a contributor. Ted is not one to "blow his own horn" and, therefore, I felt it might be best for me to "pre-introduce" him.
I know you like pics, so I'll post a few for Ted.
Ted will be registered and online with the Forum shortly, so please welcome him and fire some of your T-bucket and chassis related questions his way by posting here. Thanks.
Lordy !
