Tommy Ivo's 1925 Ford

A photo of the Tommy Ivo T taken in 1956. The trophies in front of the car are trophies that Tommy had won with the car racing and showing it off. Photo courtesy of Tommy Ivo.

Tommy began building the Model T after seeing Norm Grabowski's 1922 Ford Model T Bucket. He asked Norm if he would let him take some measurements off his car. Norm told him to fuck off, so Ivo took action on his own, and snuck into Grabowski’s garage so he could take all the critical measurements necessary to build his own version. Photo by Bob D'Olivio, courtesy of Getty Images.

Photo courtesy of Diecast X Magazine.

Photo courtesy of Newstalgia Motors.

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Tommy's T gained national recognition when it was featured on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine August 1957.

Tommy racing Norm Grabowski in his 1922 Ford T-Bucket at a National Hot Rod Association's Drag Racing Meet in Santa Ana, California. Photo courtesy of Life Magazine.

Another photo from Santa Ana. Photo courtesy of Life Magazine.

Bill Rolland with the roadster after he had bought it and given it a Cobalt Blue paint job.

The restored iteration of Tommy's T. Photo courtesy of Hot-Rod Bunny.

In August of 2019 The Ivo T was shown in the "Historic Hot Rod Cover Cars Class" at the 2019 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, a class consisting of a handful of historic hot rods that made history being featured on the covers of well known hot rod and custom car magazines. Photo courtesy of Howard Miereanu.

Photo courtesy of Howard Miereanu.

1925 Ford Model T Roadster owned by Road Kings of Burbank member Tommy Ivo of Burbank, California. Known as "TV Tommy", Ivo was a young Hollywood actor, racer, and builder when he built the car.

Inspired by Norm Grabowski's Lightning Bug

Tommy began building the T-Bucket after seeing Norm Grabowski's 1922 Ford Model T Bucket. He asked Norm if he would let him take some measurements off his car. Norm told him to fuck off, so Ivo took action on his own, and snuck into Grabowski’s garage so he could take all the critical measurements necessary to build his own version. Tommy's T was powered by a Buick Nailhead engine. The engine was hooked to a 1937 LaSalle gearbox. The dashboard featured a deeply tunneled panel fit with a full set of black-faced Stewart-Warner instruments. The build was completed in 1956. Once completed, Ivo’s take on Grabowski’s trendsetting t-bucket, became almost as popular as the original, and it gained national recognition when it was featured on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine August 1957.

Sold to Bill Rolland

Ivo sold the car to Bill Rolland who painted it Cobalt Blue himself. Bill's version of the car appeared in the movie The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow, where also Bill had a little part.

Magazine Features and Appearances

Hot Rod Magazine August 1957