1987: Lee Sklar’s Twin Turbo T-Bucket

While street rods and big power are usually synonymous, Lee Sklar’s 1923 roadster pickup takes that definition to the extreme. Lee’s ’23 T-bucket is more engine than car. Boasting a performance-built twin-turbocharged 350 small block that puts down a barely controllable 900 horsepower to the pavement and hitting the scales at 1,700 pounds total vehicle weight, there’s nothing to hold this beast back. The engine’s compression ratio is only 7.5:1, so at 15 psi of boost the 350 cubic-inch performance engine acts more like a 700 cubic-inch engine.

If this power potential isn’t frightening enough those numbers can jump to the next level because the engine can be bottle-fed with a nitrous oxide injected blast. Power is channeled through a Turbo 400 automatic transmission and a Jaguar rear end with 4.10 Dana gears. Disc brakes from 1986 do the best that they can slow down the lightweight monster. There are no front brakes.

This vehicle is not only a masterpiece of brute force power, but is also a work of art from its bevy of polished aluminum and brass one-off parts, to the front mounted transmission cooler that is painted to resemble the actual California license plate.