One day, during the early 1960’s, a young Chuck Vranas’ eyes were glued to one particular page of a rather old Life magazine, across which he had stumbled. It was the April 29, 1957 issue. A multi-page feature on the underground drag racing movement and subculture featured Southern California hot rod builder Norm Grabowski and his Kookie T-bucket. The wild flames and style caught Chuck’s attention, and this T-bucket hot rod became his obsession.

The image still stays with him today, all these years later.

This car “looked like nothing else,” explains Chuck.

As a youngster, Chuck lived out his dreams of owning a hot rod through going to car shows on his father’s shoulders and building model cars. He says that he wanted to get as close to the scene as he could. By the time he was in his teens, he was able to catch the “real deal” on the streets, where he started to bond with hot-rodders and truly begin to follow his heart’s desire.

Then, there was his first car: the 1969 Dodge Super Bee.

Chuck was in his high school and college days, in the late ‘70s, when he drove around in his Dodge muscle car. He says he loved the car, but he still had all the hopes and dreams of owning his own hot rod. When we say his mind was possessed as a youngster, his mind was possessed. He was working towards his dream.

In the meantime, Chuck owned other cool rides including a Camaro and an Olds Cutlass; he calls them his “stepping stone” vehicles. Big things were yet to come.

By the 1990’s, Lady Luck II , a 1923 Ford T-bucket, became reality. “Dressed with a traditional look,” this beautiful hot rod is now considered by many to be one of the top T-buckets in hot rodding. Chuck’s dreams were now his reality.

In 1994, Chuck and his wife Kim worked along with Total Performance, out of Wallingford, Conn., to build his vision. This shop was considered the premier builder of T-buckets in the country. The car was completed within one year, with many one-off parts. The color, a dramatic shade of Light Lavender pearl, was one of its many signature features, which also included a 460ci big-block Chevy V-8. With the final touches made, it was ready to hit the scene. This was Chuck’s dream car. With some patience and a lot of hard work, he finally got everything for which he had hoped.

Since then, Lady Luck II has appeared in over 18 publications, with full features included in Street Rodder, Custom Car UK, Rolls & Pleats France, Magneto and Rod Action magazines.

In 1998, Lady Luck II received a coveted Street Rodder Magazine Top Ten Award. And, it appears in the tabletop book “Hot Rod 500,” as well as the newly released hardcover books “Great American Hot Rods” and “Custom Cars.”

The car has also had the honor of being created by Johnny Lightning as a 1:64th scale die-cast with a matching trading card of the real car.

This cool hot rod has had the opportunity of being shown at numerous prestigious events across the country including the 35th L.A. Roadster Show, the 50th Grand National Roadster Show and the 50th Detroit Autorama—Chuck’s ride is the only car in history to be judged at both of those 50th-year events.

Lady Luck II was featured in the Bruce Meyer Gallery, at The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, for well over a year. She was also exhibited in the main gallery at The Institute of Contemporary Art, in Boston, as part of the "Customized" exhibition of Kustom Kulture art. (Chuck’s car was the only hot rod in the exhibition.)

This car already has quite a history.

And, today, so does Chuck. Not only is he heavily involved in the hobby, but he has also made a career out of this passion as a hot rod and custom photo-journalist.

He draws inspiration from a lifetime fascination with traditional hot rods and customs every time he picks up one of his cameras. Well known for his dramatic images and East Coast writing style, he has put down thousands of miles over the years, crisscrossing the country and even hopping the pond to England, to pursue some of the coolest stories and hop-up’s on the scene.

Today, his milestones, features, shop tours, tech articles, and event coverage can be read on a regular basis in Street Rodder, Classic Truck, Camaro Performers, Chevelle, Custom Car UK, Classic American UK, Rolls & Pleats and Mag-Neto.

He has also used his photography to collaborate with authors on two book ventures, so far: “Great American Hot Rods: A Full Throttle Chronicle of Custom Cars from the Street, Show and Strip” and “Custom Cars (Motor Mania),” which is geared for kids.

With his good fortune of having the ability to intertwine his passions for hot rods, writing and photo-journalism into his career, it seems that Chuck could not be happier. But, it gets better.

Chuck also calls himself “the luckiest guy in the world” to have met and married his wife, Kim. Not only is she a “perfect partner,” but as the second woman in history to have been invited to enter a vehicle in the Grand National Roadster Show’s “America’s Most Beautiful Roadster” competition, you know that she shares her husband’s passion for hot rods. Her 1927 Ford Touring, known as the Voodoo Doll, was an eight-year project and debuted at the 60th Grand National Show, this past January.

The couple’s next project will be a 1932 Ford Roadster that will be designed in a late-40’s era post-war style, complete with a ’58 Cadillac V-8 and quick change rear.

Chuck says that he still thinks back to that photo in Life that sparked his initial interest in hot rods; he can still see the image that grabbed his attention. And, the coolest part of it all is that Kookie’s owner, Norm Grabowski, is now one of Chuck’s great friends. How neat is that?

Chuck contacted Grundy when he learned about our ad contest. Want to learn how you can enter Grundy Worldwide’s contest that lets our customers show off their cars in our advertisements? Click here!

Story by: Becky McLaughlin