Norm Grabowski started building his famous Ford Model T hot rod in 1952 and completed it three years later. First named the 'Lightnin' Bug,' this car arguably started the T-bucket-style hot rod craze. The car was built on a 1931 Ford Model A V8 Roadster chassis bought for $100. The front half of the body was taken from a 1922 Ford Model T and the rear was adapted from a Ford Model A pickup truck. The car first appeared on the cover of the October 1955 issue of Hot Rod Magazine, and in 1956 it was featured on TV in Mr. Kagle and the Babysitter. Later that year Norm had the car painted in the flamed style it exhibits today, and afterward it appeared on the cover of the April 1957 issue of Car Craft Magazine. In 1957 the car was featured in an article in Life Magazine, photographed under the lights at a Bob's Big Boy restaurant in Burbank, California. The car's fame heightened, and it was nicknamed the 'Kookie Kar' when it starred on the TV show 77 Sunset Strip, driven by a character named Gerald 'Kookie' Kookson III.
