From an early age, Tom Doyle has always been into cars. Over the years, he has built or rebuilt several notable classics from a 1969 Mustang to a 1970 Mustang, to a 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass.

That Cutlass was a ground-up restoration that featured a 455 engine that delivered 500 horsepower. While he had the Cutlass for around 15 years, one day he decided it was time to sell it and start the search for the car he had been thinking about for years—a Ford T-Bucket.

Doyle started his T-Bucket search online at different websites, when he came upon one that really caught his attention. It was located in Hobart, Ind., so he figured that he would just pop over the border and check it out. The price was right, but he knew there were a few issues with it. Tom became just the third owner of the 1923 Ford.

When he got it home on a car trailer, just barely wide enough for the tires, he started to prep for his new project. One of the first things that got changed was to have the transmission repaired, replace the reverse valve body with a standard valve body, and update the shifter.

Doyle says he added a Lokar shifter from Summit Racing, which was just what it needed. He didn’t like the idea of having to manually shift an automatic transmission. Bill, at Frankfort Family Auto, was instrumental in some of the initial repairs.

The powerplant in this T-bucket is a 340-cubic-inch Dodge. Doyle swapped out the old carburetor and put on an Edelbrock 4-barrel. A new electric fuel pump was installed; it’s in the 12-gallon tank that sits where the trunk would have been. Open headers that flow through straight pipes let the engine breathe. The brass radiator and a mechanical cooling fan keep the temperature down.

According to Doyle, the suspension is all chrome, from the Corvette independent rear end to the transverse front leaf springs. The brakes have been redone, with all new brake lines and 4-wheel disc brakes. The rear tires are 16 inches wide. He says he always has to be aware of the tire size when he is parking his car.

The interior has been beautifully redone in Button and tucked black vinyl. The gauges are new, but have that ‘antique’ look to them. The car came with a removable hard top, but Doyle likes the feel of driving a convertible and usually keeps it off. He also pointed out that there wasn’t a radio in the car, but then again, who would be able to hear it?

The fiberglass body is painted in a blue ‘flip flop,’ which changes color depending on how you look at it. That type of paintwork was very common in the seventies and eighties. One of the things Doyle says is essential is the metal milk crate he uses to get in and out, since the T-Bucket doesn’t have doors. He steps up and over the side, then pulls the crate in next to him. He said that he likes to go to car shows and cruise nights, not for the trophies, but for the camaraderie.

If you have a car you would like to see featured in Classic Wheels, contact Rudy Host, Jr. at Classic.Wheels.Rudy@gmail.com.