Cruisin’ Franklin: The Model T

Hot Rods come in all shapes and sizes. For decades, inventive gearheads have souped up, customized, and created rolling works of art that rumble. Perhaps no car is more iconic in the hot-rod world than the Ford Model T.

Last built in 1927, the Model T ushered in a new form of transportation with just a few more units of horsepower than the buggies and carriages it replaced. Almost immediately, mechanics looked for ways to increase the performance, and by the 1950s “greasers” had converted the tiny cars into full-blown hot rods barely resembling the cars they once were.

Often referred to as a T Bucket or a Bucket T, they were small, lightweight and easy to modify. The body consisted of a small, bucket-shaped shell sitting on an exposed frame. The engine and tires were also exposed, giving the hot rod its distinctive stripped down appeal, proving popular with gear heads looking for speed and a custom appearance.

Avon native Dustin Cooper has always loved the traditional T Bucket rods. His father, John Cooper, an Indiana car show legend, introduced his son to hot rods before he could even walk. The elder Cooper and his wife, Susie, would often attend car shows with young Dustin and his sister, Amanda, in tow. One rod in particular always stood out to Dustin, a customized 1923 T Bucket. The car literally left an impression on young Dustin, as he burned his leg on the car’s header pipe when he was 8 years old – and he still has the scar to prove it!

The Bucket was originally hand built by Chuck Otter in 1971 and named Enginuity. Otter entered the car in various indoor car shows and it started collecting trophies. He would later sell the car, only to buy it back in the late 1980s. Later he would sell it to John Cooper in 1996 and Dustin would fall in love with it.

The Coopers would eventually sell the car and it disappeared from the show circuit. Dustin grew up and would open his own shop, Cooper’s Paint and Body, where he would customize cars for customers, but he couldn’t stop dreaming of Enginuity. In 2018 the car reappeared for sale on Facebook Marketplace and he jumped at the chance to buy it.

Unfortunately time and decay had set in, and the car was in complete shambles. It no longer ran, and to most eyes it wasn’t worth the time to fix. This car had too much history and sentiment for Dustin so he knew he had to resurrect it.

His plans were to get the car running and cruise it as a “survivor” rod, keeping the worn-out, dirty look in which he found it.

“The more I worked on it, and with dad’s persuasion, I decided to build the car again,” he said.

And so the rebuild began, to return it to show-car status.

The body was heavily modified and coated in House of Kolor Brandywine Candy over silver by Dustin himself, then Litl Bill laid down the gold leaf and brushwork. Every chrome piece on the car was re-chromed, so the car gleams under the lights on the indoor show-car circuit. All the gold on the car is actual 24 karat.

The 355 Chevy power plant was even customized, as Dustin ground the engine block and polished it during the rebuild. The grey crushed-velvet interior was installed by Jeff “Stitch” Dempsey in Bargersville.

Since completion, the car has been on the International Show Car Association tour, winning trophies all over the country. It finished the 2024 season winning second place in the Rod category for the entire nation. Dustin plans to put the car back on the street after a few years of show touring. It can be seen at the 2025 Indianapolis World of Wheels this month.

Enginuity is the car that he always dreamed of building. However, it is far more than a car to him. Most of the great memories he has of the car, and the new memories he has built, are of the time spent with his dad working on and showing the car.

“Always spend time with your dad, and if you can’t do that, spend time with a kid,” he said. “Take that kid to a car show or for a ride in your old car; they might get the bug. It worked for me.”

Good advice, Dustin. Until next time, keep cruising.