Words, Photography & Video Luke Ray

This feature was originally published in Fuel Magazine issue 25.

It’s funny how things work out sometimes. I wasn’t planning on having this article in the magazine. I went to visit Australian hot rodder and gentleman Peter ‘Swifty’ Swift at his country property with the intention of shooting some video for Fuel Tank TV and then heading home. But, I became so engrossed in the car and the story behind it, I found the time to bring out the trusty Nikon and I shot some stills at the same time. Multi-tasking has never been my strong point, but this has helped me get an idea for what it’s like shooting both video and stills at the same location, and learning new skills is never a bad thing!

Swifty’s T-Bucket is a pillar of Australian hot rodding history. Swifty and Eddie Ford pretty much started hot rodding in Australia in the 1960s as young enthusiasts taking inspiration from what they were seeing trickling in from the States through some new magazines. Eddie and Swifty were quick to respond, taking their own approach to the hot rodding idea in the form of their own projects that they built simultaneously. Swifty’s project was the Ford Model T ‘bucket’ that you see here and it looks the same now as it did all those years ago. Over to you, Swifty…

“What started our interest in hot rodding was when Eddie got some Custom Rodder magazines from a pen friend that he had in the States. Eddie got fired up and said that we should get involved in this. We were always fascinated by American cars, but they were out of our league. But hot rods were something different, we felt that we could get something interesting by building hot rods. In 1962 I had finished an engineering diploma at the local tech school and I started work, giving me some money to allow me to start this build.

“Swifty’s T-Bucket is a pillar of Australian hot rodding history. Swifty and Eddie Ford pretty much started hot rodding in Australia in the 1960s.”

“Eddie decided he wanted to build a ‘32 five-window coupe. I thought for a long time and eventually, after seeing a T-Bucket on the front cover of a copy of Hot Rod magazine in 1961 built by a guy called Marty Hollmann, I decided that was what I was going to build. We both started searching for cars, Eddie for a coupe and me for T Model parts. Eddie never found a five-window coupe and eventually, we ended up picking up various parts that we found in the bush. With enough parts sourced, we trimmed and welded and ended up with the body of the T-Bucket as a result.

“We assume that it’s a 1924 T Model cowl, the doors are from a ‘27 T Model Tourer and the back is from an A Model Tourer that we cut to make it fit. So, it’s classed as a ‘24 T, but it has ‘27 and Model A parts in it. We put it all onto a Model A chassis. Originally it was set up with Flathead running gear, but Eddie spotted an ad in the Melbourne Age (which was the place to go in those days for hot rod parts) for a 318 Dodge V8. We went to Melbourne and picked it up. A friend of ours Clarey Armstrong (sp?) did some engineering to mate it up to the ‘39 gearbox that was still in the car and we went from there. The diff and front axle were also early Ford.

“We didn’t know about dropped axles in those days, nor ‘C’-ing chassis, so it’s just a straight Model A chassis. We made it a suicide-type front end to lengthen the wheelbase a little to accommodate the 318. Many of the parts such as the manifold and the valve covers were ordered from Eddie Thomas Speed Shop who brought them in from the States especially for me.

“The car was shown at the 1965 Melbourne Hot Rod Show. After that, it sat in my dad’s garage for many many years as I had some trouble with the engine. As it turned out, the engine needed a complete rebuild and the whole car ended up being dismantled and completely rebuilt before I even got it registered.

“I wouldn’t still have the car today if it wasn’t for my wife. Back in 1973, a couple of young blokes from Castlemaine wanted to buy it after the first Narrandera Nationals. They came out here to take a look and I thought it seemed fair as I wasn’t doing anything with it at the time, it was just sitting in Dad’s shed. They hadn’t even driven out of the yard and my wife said “Don’t you dare sell it, you’ll just end up regretting it. So, I didn’t go through with the deal. When I finally did get around to getting the car registered, she made me register it in her name so that I couldn’t ever sell it! That’s the only reason that I’ve still got the car today.

“Hot rodding in Australia has really come a long way. It’s amazing that there’s quite a following for traditional hot rodding and it seems to be that more and more younger people are interested in the traditional side of hot rodding, which is where my car fits in. It’s not a high-tech car, it’s very much a home-built low-tech car.

“I enjoy taking the car to smaller events such as The Boogaloo, Chopped and the smaller cruises and runs, rather than the bigger national events. My son is also into the traditional style of cars. In fact, he’s got a ‘32 Roadster and I was very thankful that back when he was 18 years of age, he chose to change his plans for the engine from a 440 Chrysler to a Flathead in an early style.

“I do get a little bit embarrassed when I take the T-Bucket to shows and I look at all the cars around that are beautifully constructed and perfectly built. I look at mine and think to myself that we could have done a much better job on that! But at the time, I wasn’t good with panel beating or fabrication. But on the other hand, it’s amazing to strike up a conversation with someone and they’ll tell me that their dad took them to the Hot Rod Show when they were only six and they remember seeing this car there.”

Bucket List | Peter Swift's Australian Ford Model T Hot Rod (With Video)