Here at Rod Authority we recently stumbled across a great story of a man and his first hot rod. Jim Wright, a man from Indiana built a C-Cab T-Bucket way back in the early 1970s. This was his very first hot rod and he built it from scratch in his garage with help from his Dad. He regrettably traded it in 1972 for a ’69 Camaro Z28 and he wouldn’t see the T-bucket again for another 40 years.

He had often wondered where his old hot rod was and wondered what happened to it over the years. He day dreamed about some changes it might have seen overt the years. After decades of contemplating its location and current state of completion, Jim finally broke down and began the hunt to relocate his old T-bucket. With the help of a friend, Jim was able to track down his car and see what the old girl looked like.

Jim and his Dad working on the Olds Motor.

They had located the car in Key West, Florida and it is owned by former Monster Truck and tractor pull announcer “Army” Armstrong. For those who are unfamiliar with Army Armstrong, he was an announcer for Diamond P Sport’s American Sports Cavalcade that aired on TNN from 1983 to 1995. He would cover everything from monster trucks, to tractor pulls to drag racing and more. 

Originally the T-Bucket was powered by an Olds 425 that came out of a wrecked 1965 Delta 88. Jim and his Dad had modified the motor with a Crower cam, solid lifters, a pair of Holley carbs and a stall converter on the transmission. For the suspension Jim took an IRS from a Corvette and altered it to use four coilovers.

On his very first drive the hub broke and his rear tire went into the body. He then beefed up the hub but still worried about it breaking in the back of his mind. He took the ulimate test drive by driving the car from Indiana to Tulsa to attend the 1972 Street Rod Nationals and the whole ride he had images of the hub breaking but happily, it didn’t.

Although it has seen its fair share of owners, the T-bucket remains intact with a few changes over the years. The first was a change to the roof height. The owner of the ’69 Z28 who made the original trade was 6 foot 4 and weighed 250 pounds, and didn’t fit in the cab very well so he added 6 inches to the cabs height.

Another change that has been made more recently is the white paintjob with red flames has now been replaced with a solid color and a Redman Chew logo. It also appears that the Olds 425 has been replaced by a big-block Chevy engine to boot. Well Jim, it looks like your old girl has been well taken care of over the years and it’s currently in great hands. We have good a feeling that Army Armstrong will take great care of her!