Hot Rods and Rock n ‘Roll are two of the greatest and best inventions of the 20th century. They seem to be welded together like two sides of the same coin! I guess since they were both invented by rebellious American kids as self-expression statements, they have to be magnetically linked! But not all good music and cool cars are American. The British have given us a lot of both. In particular, I have always been attracted to the music of “Who”. Most people think of Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey when the group is mentioned. Me, I think back to the early days and the first drummer of The Who, Keith Moon. Now most people know that he was a bit of a wild man. What most people don’t know is that he was a car guy too. Not just anyone because neither! Keith Moon was driving a Ford T-bucket convertible! This is the story of Keith and his attractive anti-American hot rod.

So what is a T-cube? Well, the T-bucket roadster is a hot rod built from a Ford Model T production car (or aftermarket replicas of the Model T). That’s right, these wonderful hot rods are modified, custom, and custom versions of Henry’s series-produced car; became famous for being an affordable car for everyone that Mr. Ford made in any color you wanted, as long as that color was black!

But as I mentioned at the beginning, this article is about a specific guy and his specific car, so let me continue with the story as it was told to me. In the early days of The Who, not all of the music they recorded was original. Like most early bands, they covered other people’s material and gave it their unique touch. Well, someone thought it would be a good idea for The Who to cover a Jan and Dean song called “Bucket T.” This song has been covered by at least three bands that I know. Frankly, as far as I’m concerned, the version of Who comes in last in terms of listening ability. Which just goes to show that not all creative ideas should see the light of day. As an added touch, to really ensure the limited success of this version, Keith had to put an unusual twist on the lead vocal! Ringo Starr eat your heart!

I can only assume that Keith really took this shot in the lime light a bit seriously. He ended up deciding that he needed the car to accompany the song. In true savage fashion, Moon found a finished car (built by legendary British hot rodder Mickey Bray) and bought it to add to his existing vehicle stable. The only downside to the salve was that Keith was no longer in possession of a valid driver’s license due to bad boy antics on his part! Basically at the same time Keith was also doing his own version of Sammy Hagar singing, “I can’t drive 55!” There you have it! This is how Moon got her T-shaped cube.

So what about the car? Like I said, this was a built car. Bray, who was a heavyweight on the British hot rod scene and later also a founder of the UK’s National Street Rod Association, originally built this fiberglass-bodied T-hub out of a small Daimler Hemi V8. I’ve seen “before” photos painted red with white stripes and a white rag on top. The car was renewed at some point. Its engine was swapped out for a 273-cubic-inch Mopar grinder and then it was given a psychedelic paint job. It was in this finished state that the legendary drummer got hold of him. Oh yeah … yeah, it was right hand drive!

This story just goes to show that not all historically significant hot rods were built on American soil by good Yankee ingenuity. Truth be told, the T-cube building craze unfolded almost simultaneously in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia / New Zealand. Rockers from all sides of the “puddle” have been bitten by the mistake of owning radical walks to complement their radical lifestyles.