History Driving the Kookie Kar back to 1958

Wow!!!
I hadn't seen this. Totally Bit-Chin!

 

From the March 10th roybriziostreetrods Instagram feed:

Update Kookie Kar: A lot of research went into the exhaust part of the restoration. Parts are getting polished before final assembly. Very little to fabricate using as much of the original parts as possible.
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great thread , this is one of my favorite cars ,

 

This is really all I need to hear about the restoration of the car to know it's in the right hands.

 

Looks like they had a bunch of photos of Franco’s clone on the bench a few pics back.

Funny if you think about it...

I’m sure Franco poured over all the original pics of Norms car to build his clone and now they’re using the clone as reference for the original.

Crazy world we live in...

 

When the hot rod is finished is it going to a collection or mabe on tour? If this has been stated I missed it.....

 

Nope ... Those are color photos of the original ... not @Von Franco's clone.

 

Ross & Beth Myers were the winning bidders (@ $440,000) at the MECUM - Indy auction (in May of 2018).

After the restored Kookie Kar is shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance (on Sunday, August 18th 2019), it will reside in Myers' Boyertown, Pennsylvania "3DOG GARAGE" collection.

 

Maybe Franco will now build a 'Watson" version of this historic vehicle,,,,,

 

Normandin's Chrysler, San Jose, CA. 1959: Norm was there with the car, which was on tour in the showroom. My bud John Lyons and I tooled over in my channeled 'A' Coupe, parked out front. Norm was very accomodating, allowed me to slide under for a 'looksee'...Dirty underneath, esp. front of rear axle housings...rest was painted candy apple red. (looked superb from rear)
Norm said Kookie took off in 2nd, because low gear was too 'fierce'. Also had to be careful of blowing the box, which Norm had done twice before. The actor who hit the light post with the car didn't listen, and made a big jump in LOW GEAR.
I remember my '40 with the Buick 'torque monster'...even THAT was 'friendlier' taking off in second.

 

From the March 23rd Roy Brizio Street Rods Inc Facebook timeline / roybriziostreetrods Instagram feed:

Jack @jakespeed55 Stratton doing some exhausting work on the Kookie T Restoration













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Period revival...a pleasure to witness...thanks @HEMI32

 

Nice work, but apparently they can't decide which style of exhaust tips to run. One side has belly burners, and the other has straight up pipes. Both types were used on the original car....just not at the same time.

 

Man this is so cool, it brings back so many youthful memories. The 1st time I saw this hot rod was at Wayne Hearne's house in Concord NC on his tv. I was an instant fan of 77 SUNSET STRIP after that.....

 

BIG kudos to Hemi 32 for his on-the-spot camera, and accurate coverage of what's going on with the iconic 'T' that changed the tide. I have waited for years, as I did see it first hand on display. Post #191, 3rd pic in the rebuilder's hand was the 'version' I crawled under: Note the gearshift knob Norm had carved then. It's Natasha Badenoff, arch enemy of Rocky the flying squirrel!
The undercar coverage ('uncoverage'?) of the chassis/running gear is both frustrating and satisfying, opinions fly like sparks on 'how everybody did it', and some say 'All the magazine cars then were like this'...
Well, I can tell you not all were. Since age 12, I was a 'witness': Allowed to 'hang around' that young, it was a privelege (and a 'quest') to see the underpinnings of the stubby A's, '32s, and the rest of the cars that ran at our little San Jose drag strip.
Rex Barnett once told me that were he to have drawn 'errors' in his Hot Rod Magazine 'cutaway drawings', there would have been 'some'...but that was not the 'norm'.
I have the original Ray Anderegg frame, (1955 AMBR) and arc welded it is, but perfectly useable, no haggard or cracked welds. (some are pretty 'heavy', but Ray had gone over them twice, around rear cross member and spring perch.)
This remarkable coverage is priceless. I've filed the thread in my 'Kookie Kar Kolection', which started at my shop when I drew the frame for Von Franco.
I had thought the frame was 'bent' at the firewall, (the 'Mad Rake!') but thanks to Hemi 32 we can now see how Norm did it. Not that it was 'gospel'...)
Many thanks, this has bugged me for years...

 

In case it hasn't already mentioned...there is a movie on Amazon called "the car that ate my brain", all about Norm and the T bucket. Lots of kookie stuff and early pics

 

Anybody know if the spring hangers were just bolted on with the perch pins when Norm and Ivo ran them flipped around on their front axles? It's hard to tell from pictures if they were welded in place or just bolted. Seems like they'd want to pivot back and forth if they we're just bolted.

 

Norm said they were 'welded'. I asked him expressly, as mine was a '38 tube (shamelessly copied! I just didn't want to weld on my beautiful V8 60 tube! Reluctantly, I had my welding genius partner Don Serventi stitch weld it, arced with 6011)
It had to be, because no matter how tight, new shackle bushings, etc., they'd 'turn in'.
Don did his magic, you couldn't see that 3/8" long bead under there...

 

Ok. That's what I thought. Any pics of yours? Thanks for confirming that they were welded!

 

From the April 4th Roy Brizio Street Rods Inc. Facebook timeline / roybriziostreetrods Instagram feed:

Kookie T is off to paint now ... i.e., heading to Roy's brother-in-law Daryl @hollenbeck32 Hollenbeck's "Vintage COLOR Studio" in Concord, CA:

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... and from the April 4th vintagecolorstudio Instagram feed:

Kookie has arrived!:

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...Kinda sitting there naked...oozing history as you stare at it...every old Hotrod has it but you really know where this has been and it is a Looker in its many upgrades.

Looking good and an exciting revival knowing where it's going. Thanks for the continued updates @HEMI32

 

I have more pictures on my instagram if you want jakespeed60

 

Thanks Jack!

From Jack @jakespeed55 Stratton's March 1st Instagram feed:

R&D on the Kookie project and final mock-up.​

... from Jack @jakespeed55 Stratton's March 5th Instagram feed:

Current job for awhile. More research than work goes into these type of projects.​

... from Jack @jakespeed55 Stratton's March 15th Instagram feed:

Office view today!​

... and from Jack @jakespeed55 Stratton's April 7th Instagram feed:

Finished the mock-up, now torn down and sent to chrome and paint. Assembly planned to start in June.
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@jakespeed55, Jack: Having done lots of header/pipe work, I was in awe of the flow (and the intermediate connections) your pipeworks took.
Not 'simple' by any means, all the bypass stubs and the 'secondary headers' to lead into mufflers...all within the confines of a '22 T body, and not much bed. Amazing.

Say hi to Roy, please...long time no see.
'Uncle Mike', previously of San Jose.

 

Thanx Mike it has been a fun project and should be posting assembly photos soon
I will tell roy you said hi

 

A friend of mine here has a T roadster built in the early 60's its the first hot rod he had ever seen and he bought it 40 years later it has a 370 Pontiac with 3 2's and a 4 speed I have rode in it I was amazed how great it rode it has a 4 bar built out of sucker rod and so were the ladder bars If you restored this car it would be just another street rod stick welds on a shortened model A frame but its how they were built then

 

From Darryl @hollenbeck32 Hollenbeck's May 4th vintagecolorstudio Instagram feed:

Got the body and rest of parts in primer on Kookie today:

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Instead of “Kookie lend me your comb”, how about Kookie lend me your car!

 

Thanks for all the photos & updates. This may be the only Pebble Beach restoration that has been posted before the event. Really looking forward to seeing it in August. Bob

 

By the way, the original welds Norm put down didn't hurt making the car famous, and I'd never seen them close up until the above post, sure hope they leave them alone if still good. Over restoration isn't a good thing. Bob