Words: John Gunnell
Red Lewis is the founder of PDQ Carwash. He entered the car care industry in 1967 as a carwash operator. In 1984, Lewis teamed with touch-free pioneer Forrest Burton and invented the Burton Follower® Arch – the first robotic arch to closely follow the contours and shape of a vehicle. By 1985, Lewis had developed a complete line of touch-free car wash equipment under the name Carefree™ Vehicle Wash Equipment. Shortly thereafter, he expanded and changed his company to PDQ.
Allen Jones of Pacific Car Wash Co. in New Zealand moved to Chicago, Ill., where he met Lewis at a trade show. In 1989, PDQ merged with Pacific Car Wash Co. and began production of the LaserWash 4000, which became the workhorse of the industry. In 1998, PDQ Manufacturing was sold to Dover Corp., which buys niche manufacturing companies.
Lewis built up a car collection featuring over 60 vehicles. In 2015, he purchased a former Cadillac dealership in Green Bay and converted it into The Automobile Gallery (www.theautomobilegallery.com). He donated cars from his personal collection to get the project going. The Gallery reflects his passion for the automobile and automotive history.
Lewis also has a passion for historical hot rods like the Ford T bucket. Until the VW Beetle took the title in the ‘70s, the Model T was the car that had the largest production run in automotive history.
Model Ts were hot-rodded and customized from the 1920s on, but the T-bucket was specifically created and named by Norm Grabowski in the 1950s. Grabowski’s car Lightning Bug became best known as the Kookie Kar. After being redesigned by Grabowski, it was used in the TV show 77 Sunset Strip, driven by character Gerald “Kookie” Kookson. The exposure it gained led to numerous copies being built.
A genuine T-bucket has the two-seater body of a Model T turtle deck roadster or roadster pickup truck (with or without the turtle deck or small pickup box). The bucket-shaped body shell gives the cars their name. A Model T-style radiator is usually fitted. Windshields, if used, are vertical glass like the original Model T.
T-buckets remain very popular today, which attracted Red Lewis’ interest. They generally feature an enormous engine (usually a V-8) for the size and weight of the car, along with tough drivetrains to handle the power and large rear tires to apply power to the road. The front wheels are usually very narrow and motorcycle wheels are often used.
Since the last Model Ts were built in 1927, most modern T-buckets use replica fiberglass bodies. By the 1950s, original steel Model T bodies that had not been completely worn out were becoming increasingly rare and the first fiberglass bodies were built around 1957. They were introduced by the short-lived Diablo Speed Shop in Northern California. Of the two or three Diablo bodies built, one purchased by Southern California hot rod builder Buzz Pitzen became the world’s first fiberglass T-bucket.
Most T-buckets are built purely for street or show use. The big engines are more for show than need. Although the body shell is original in appearance, engines of a wide variety are commonly used. The small-block Chevy V-8, as used in this car, is a common choice since it is relatively small, light, easy to obtain and to improve and performs well.
Like many T-buckets, Red Lewis’ Candy Apple Red bucket was given a modern serial number, and in his case the car is registered as a 1986 model, indicating the year it was first titled. It is a fiberglass bodied car and has a matching clamshell style trailer.
The engine is a 350-cid small-block Chevy with overhead valves, a cast-iron block and cast-iron cylinder heads. It has a 4.00 x 3.48 in. bore and stroke, an 8.2:1 compression ratio and about 175 nhp at 4000 rpm. It makes 275 lbs.-ft. of torque at at 2400 rpm. It has hydraulic valve lifters and a Rochester 4ME four-barrel carburetor.
In addition to a Chevy automatic transmission, the T has an Edelbrock intake, Mickey Thompson valve covers, headers, a chrome air cleaner, traction bars, a footprint gas pedal, a black vinyl top, fiberglass clamshell fenders, a black vinyl pickup box cover, chrome headlights, chrome styled wheels and a steering wheel with drilled billet spokes. Naturally, Red Lewis keeps it washed up all of the time and says it’s “Pretty Darn Quick.”
