Norm Grabowski

Who was Norm Grabowski?

Norm Grabowski was an American hot rod builder and actor. The heavy set crew cut-wearing Grabowski appeared in minor roles in many films produced by Albert Zugsmith and Walt Disney. He was Polish-American.

In 1952, after leaving military service, Grabowski built a hot rod based on a shortened 1922 Ford Model T touring car mated to a similarly extremely shortened Model A pickup truck bed. With a powerful Cadillac overhead valve engine that came from his parents' sedan, the vehicle that resulted had a unique appearance and stance which inspired many hot rods created afterward. The car was first featured on the cover of the October, 1955 issue of Hot Rod Magazine and then underwent further modifications, including a greater rake, tilted windshield and blue paint with flames when it famously appeared in color on the cover of the April, 1957 issue of Car Craft magazine as well as in the April 29, 1957 issue of Life Magazine.

Grabowski's hugely influential T-bucket hot rod, which became known as the Kookie Kar, was used in the television show 77 Sunset Strip. The car was owned and driven in the show by the character Kookie who was played by Edd Byrnes.