As far as I can recall, we never ran a full feature on Ivo's T in TRJ. It has, however, popped up in several issues. I believe there was a pretty thorough write-up on it in Ken Gross' Hot Rod Milestones or Don Prieto's Hot Rod Chronicle. I will check my collection when I'm back home. Sidenote: I just talked with Ivo about his T for the "Kookie Kar" article in issue #84. He's the real deal!
Thanks, I was looking through my RJ collection and was a bit surprised to not find it. I do have those two books, Hot Rod Milestones has the more extensive write up, with 8 pages, there is also a couple page coverage in Hot Rod and Custom Chronicle. What a cool car built by a cool guy
Hello, The T roadster was featured in the “Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow,” a 1959 teen movie. At the time, it was funny to see the same hot rods and race cars in a teen movie that we saw almost weekly at Lion’s Dragstrip. Although we did not see the T roadster race, we did see Tommy Ivo’s red injected Buick race many times. Tommy Ivo Injected Buick FED Jnaki We also saw the same style FED as Tommy Ivo’s Chassis race at Lion’s Dragsrip , but with the small 4 cylinder motor as displayed in the teen movie. It was a winning combination in the small motor class. Does anyone have an idea of who drove the white 4 cylinder FED or who owns the white FED? white 4 cylinder FED
I contacted Ivo and heres what he sent me Brrrrrrruce, Kent Baber was his name. He was a member of the Road Kings of Burbank with me and he kind of copied my single engine Buick dragster with the trapeze roll bars (that I copied and refined from Chassis Research --- old Scotty Baby). But it only had one side of a Buick engine for power. No --- it was a Crosley four banger as you know. <Ivo type grin> He ran San Fernando and several tracks around here in the late 50's as I did at the same time. He worked at Borrmann steel here in Burbank and gave me out the back door prices on the channel iron for my trailers. He was also a garage type fabricator and built his car and did a bunch of "Honey do" jobs for me with a tack this and weld that favors.
There was a stunt man named George Dockstader https://www.google.com/search?clien...be+docksteder+movie+stuntman+in+the+late+50's He had police motorcycles he would rent a drive in movies and he was the go to guy, to get your hot rod in the movies. He contacted me to start with and gave me $25 a day. BUT, and here comes that "but" again. They kept boiling over my T, idling it in between takes in making Drag Strip girl and I told them they killed my motor and got them to pay for a new one. AND I built a bored and stroked killer on their nickle. Even a blind hog finds an acorn on the ground from time to time. <evil Ivo type grin> This is where I ran into my engine mentor Max Balchowsky and he'd let me borrow his Doretti with a Buick in it and go to Bob's and then of course race it on the river road. Actually I made a couple of pretty good passes down Sunset Strip as well. Let's see you do that now without going direct to jail.
Hey D, Thank you for the valuable information on that white 4 cylinder FED. We have been trying to get the name of that FED for ages. Now, the correct label can be applied to the film I took at Lions Dragstrip back in 1959-60. I appreciate all of your help. That is very cool. Jnaki Ever since I filmed that FED, the look always reminded me of the early chassis that Tommy Ivo ran with the single Injected Buick. Now, I have that information. All is good. Thanks... 1958-59 Lions Dragstrip Kent Baber/Road Kings white Crosley 4 cylinder FED
TV Tommy talks about his T on this podcast if you want to check it out. I think they did an article about it earlier too. https://www.tbucketplans.com/tv-tommy-ivo-t-bucket-interview/
Glad to provide you the assistance Side note , the white on the nose was done later on because the body got crunched and did not want re-paint the body again and the dragster was the first car recognized for doing a wheel stand. In fact got in trouble for doing so and would be disqualified if it happened again
Hey D, Within the first second of the Kent Baber’s FED film clip, it is in a small wheelie. He is a little crossed up and then lands straight. I had never noticed that before. Good eye… Thanks, Jnaki Since the white FED is similar to Tommy Ivo's red, injected, Buick FED chassis, it follows the adventures of Tommy Ivo and the Road Kings. Nice bit of history...
The Ivo wheel stand was so pronounced that it grounded a flat in the key push bar for which on the repop, we put it in also. at the owners anual "Taco Party" while wheeling it up the angled driveway, the bottom scraped the chrome again to make it more realistic
Always liked the IVO T, had a really nice stance. Glad to see it in the NHRA Museum a few years ago. Bob
Oh man Bruce, thank you. It’s just like having Tommy on the HAMB. Tell him thanks for chiming in, straight from the source. And @jnaki Junji, your film library is always impressive and informative, thanks!
Hey B, Thank you for your kind words and thoughts. The film library is not as complete as I would want, but if those old films we took of the 1940 Willys Coupe in the pits and making runs down the Lion's Dragstrip surface, then it will be complete. Also, if I find more of the same SOUND RECORDINGS of the same Lion's racers, then that would enhance the collection, too. CRS or house clean-outs over the years does not make it any easier to find those old films. Or, even a VHS tape that I made in 1990 for my brother pops up, I can get that digitized easily. So, the search is still on and the time table is narrowing down fast. Jnaki Thanks, again for the great comments. My wife thinks those old drag racing and family films are classic of a time period that we would all like to live over and over. There was little to worry about, being spry, young teenagers and 20 somethings. Those old days make the old creaky bones feel better just thinking about those early times. Wouldn't that be nice? Thanks, @Paul for indulging a little bit of Tommy Ivo history with and without the T-roadster.
The Jalopy Journal
