Television and film actor Tommy Ivo was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1936, and at the age of 16 he built his first car. A year or so later, after seeing Norm Grabowski's Ford T-bucket Roadster, he decided to build his own version, powered by a Buick 'nailhead' engine mated to a 1937 LaSalle gearbox. The dashboard featured an inset panel fitted with a full set of black-faced Stewart-Warner instruments. At the same time as he was building this car, Tommy Ivo appeared in the James Dean movie Rebel Without a Cause, which was released in 1955, and he went on to appear in more than 100 other films. Tommy finished this car, which he based on Grabowski's original 'Kookie Kar,' in 1956 - and it became very popular when competing on Southern California drag strips. It gained nationwide recognition when it was featured on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine in August 1957.