This inevitable restoration should pay tribute to Norm and the icon he created. Duplicate the the paint, trim & chrome as close as possible. Any questionable welding or fab done 60 years ago should be cleaned and repainted, afterall it has heldup for 60 years and Norm and the TV, movie crews drove the heck out of it. Safety will not be a concern for a car that will most likely only see museum duty.
Just because a homebuilt part doesn't look like it popped out of a CNC machine 10 minutes ago, doesn't mean it can't reliably perform its job. I would restore the car...but change only parts that couldn't be tied to the original. If Mr Street had something changed I would put it back to what Norm had there without hesitation. "Improvements" however...are a slippery slope.
So far, no one has addressed the issue of uniqueness. I too would tune into "77 Sunset Strip" in the hope of getting a glance at Kookie's T. I felt cheated if Grabowski's machine didn't get enough screen time. I know now it wasn't the first hotrod bucket T, but - roaring onto the small screen every week - it was the first I had ever seen. The epitome of what a hot rod should be: in your face, loud, absolutely and unmistakably unique. Only problem is today is 2018 and most everyone has seen hundreds of bucket Ts, most of which bear a striking resemblance to Grabowski's. Because you can't go home to 1957, and unsee what you have seen countless times, Kookie's T no longer has the relevance it enjoyed back in the day. Apparently Mr. Street's modifications pleased the crowds sufficiently to pay entrance fees to see it. The new owner can certainly do whatever he pleases, but, from the standpoint of its being a sound financial investment, I'm not convinced. Period rods and customs are mostly a nostalgia trip, and millennials can't relate to a car they never knew existed. BTW, really liked the title of one in-depth article posted previously in this thread - "Kookie, Kookie, lend me your clone." Now THAT is nostalgic and clever.
rodders journal just released this: Last weekend the hot rod world watched as the “Kookie Kar” T-bucket and the “Golden Sahara II” crossed the block at Mecum’s Indy auction. Today we can tell you that well-known Pennsylvania hot rodder and car collector Ross Meyers is the proud new owner of the Kookie Kar, and it’s slated for restoration. We’ll have the exclusive scoop on this historic hot rod in the near future.
Ross Meyers is the guy that owns the Ricky Nelson roadster, right..... I think he spells his name Myers.....
Looks to me like he has a pretty good collection that this would fit right into. Just because he builds hi-tech stuff for himself doesn't mean he doesn't understand the historical significance of old hot rods and customs. .
I believe this is in good hands it will be interesting to see which version of this hotrods many faces he chooses to target... The Shop below...he obviously has great respect for the past... http://www.3dog.org/ Some restorations... http://www.3dog.org/hotrods.htm
I was underneath Norm's T at Normandin's Chrysler in 1958, the car was 'on tour' to promote '77 Sunset Strip'. John Lyons and I tooled up in my channeled '30 Coupe, Norm was surprised to see a hot rod in San Jose! (he was kidding) Outside, the car was flawless. Underneath? The mount for the Ross 'milk truck' box was quick-fabbed from 1/4" plates, welded at 90s to make a shallow box. (not 'pretty') Brake pedal was welded from 2, at the main arm, to retain the arc thru the floorboard. Master cyl was not seated securely on the bottom of the cross member, but placed in line with the relocated pedals. Transmission seemed to be the central focal point, it was bolted to a Ford mount on what looked like the center of a '34 cross member...too many years past, but I couldn't stop thinking about the unique 'hairpins': they were 4 Ford tie rods, ("four bar") like early Indy cars. Bugged me, as the spring was behind...I kept thinking there were conflicting 'forces', spring behind wanting to 'roll' axle backward, so were the bars in parallel too close together? Obviously not, but it had me thinking... The car was built hastily by a teenager and his friends. Car showed up at Neil Emory's shop only after steering turned the opposite way, then after some mishaps...then for the big change. The fabulous Grabowski 'T' was not perfection as some are engineered today, but was an absolute to me...My roadster at the time was a little more 'detailed', as I had older 'mentors' coming by and advising against MY steering bracket...(I changed it then) My '39 pedals and M'Cyl. were mounted in my '32 crossmember thru holes that encompassed the 'member between forged '39 pedal mount and '48 master cyl. flange. '32 frame saved me from lots of otherwise 'embarrassing engineering prototypes' that would have certainly occurred. My front end (tube axle, reversed spring mounts, tapered '37 spring) copied Norm's to a 'T'. (mine was a 'A'!) He led the way...
Some of these cars in Mr. Meyers' collection look suspiciously like the restorations by Don Orasco! Or is Mr. Meyers a customer?
Mike your stories are true and fantastically written...I wish you took pictures too ...quick n' dirty happened thanks for the ground up details...some see beyond the outer skin and its awesome you remembering it like it was yesterday...Thank you
Here you can see the trans mount that has been cut out in the previous photos, and also the nice brake lines.
You are correct Myers, Ross & Beth. I mostly know of them as the owners of the Troy built Ridler winner '36 Ford coup. I was unaware of his collection.. see it here, http://www.3dog.org/hotrods.htm
I don't think many T's come even close to the mystique the Sunset T exudes...Ross has a tough decision which direction to take as all three have historical value...It certainly left the biggest mark in the Sunset days and it is that car...Any direction you take will reflect a period. Value...it is that car for ever and ever. If restored by applicable standards it will be worth even more...and regardless of choice a restoration is welcome.
I wonder why Don went into great detail about how he painted both cars in 1964, also how he made the dual slick adapters for the T among other things. He told a pretty big group of us stories of working on the cars for about an hour. So you guys are saying it was all lies?
I'll take it...$220's a deal! I have a certain connection with your Lightning Bug clone, since I nearly froze to death in the damn thing.
Sounds to me like the car is in good hands and will most likely get restored to it's TV version. If the paint job that's on the car now is only a respray over a Watson job (and also apparently in terrible condition) I think this is the best possible outcome. I'd still like to see the wild bits of the current build get saved, maybe just as a wall display, or mocked up on a cheapie T kit to sit next to the restored car, or whatever. Sure, most of us here are not fans of the dual supercharger and duallie wheels, but it's still a bit of history that belongs to the car and it'd be neat to know it got preserved, even if just as wall art to accompany the restored version in the garage.
I know it will most likely be restored to the Kookie version as it should due its historic importance but I really dislike the stance compared to the 'Lightning Bug'. The Kookie T stance with its arse in the air I could describe it a couple ways but that's probably a little too crude. I'm glad the Meyers got the car, they have an amazing collection. They have a race shop that handles repairs & restoration of their race cars, wouldn't be surprised if the restoration is done in house.