Last updated on February 7, 2025
Today’s car is a 1925 Ford T-Bucket owned by Lonny Paul. I photographed this car at Trancas Country Market, Malibu, CA on one of our Bacon Runs. It is finished in a pale Corvette yellow with a black interior and top. It is built in a single door Runabout configuration. The grill is a modified 1932 Ford shell with a custom chrome grill, a very nice touch. It is powered by a 350 cu in, Chevy V8, with a Edlebrock 4 bbl carburetor mated to a 3-speed GM TH350 automatic transmission usually mated to 3.08 rear axle for highway drivability or 3:42 for better acceleration. Slowing this beauty down are disc up from and drums brakes in the rear. The front suspension is a chromed dropped solid axle with a transverse semi-elliptical leaf spring. The rear suspension is a Ford 9″ live axle with coilovers.
The Ford Model T’s were built from 1908 until 1927, a 19 year span. The total production of 15 million units were produced. On May 26th, 1927 Henry Ford watch the final Model T roll off the assembly line in Highland Park, MI. Henry and his son Edsel then drove the car to the Dearborn Engineering Laboratory to be stored. The car now resides in Dearborn, MI at the Henry Ford Museum. In 1925 the total production was 1,911,705 units, of which 298,642 were Runabouts. The MSRP was $260.00 plus $65.00 for an electric start motor and $20.00 for demountable rims for a total of $345.00 if so equipped. The top speed is stated to hover around 45 mph, which was more than adequate for the roads of the time. Acceleration from 0-60 mph was a concept not even considered at the time.
This is a beautiful example of a customized T-Bucket runabout. What a great car to take to custom car shows, Cars & Coffee events, or just going out for a Sunday morning drive and breakfast with a like minded friends. Thank you for riding along. Frank
