’23 T-Bucket “Sniper I” Built by Joe Corey
The Sniper is a car that exemplifies how important the family aspect is in hot rodding community. Joe Corey was a passionate hot rodder who grew up on a farm here on Aquidneck Island, building and racing with his young group of friends who formed the Untouchables club. One of Joe’s close friends back in the day was Ron Bulk, whose son Brian owns the car now. Brian referred to Joe as Uncle Joe as a kid, and later married Joe’s niece. Joe built “Sniper I” in the early 1960’s as a drag focused build, though there were some notable instances of Joe driving The Sniper on the Island roads too.
While many of the hot rods seen on display are based off ’32 Fords, the Model T was a popular starting point for other reasons. While the simplistic inline-four engine was not utilized by hot rodders, original steel T bodies were highly sought after, but very rare and hard to find. Reproduction fiberglass kit bodies were being built in California as early as 1955 were a great option because they were very light and looked just like the original steel bodies. The invoice survives for the body Joe mail ordered from California in 1961. This ’23 T-Bucket boasts the chassis Joe built, cradling a fuel injected 409 C.I. engine that has been bored and stroked to 433 C.I.
Joe and his club worked hard to ensure this car was victorious at the dragstrip, but Joe had some fun memories on the road as well. In fact, a few local husbands were not happy with Joe, after he gave rides to their unassuming wives and scared them beyond belief on a fast hair-raising drive.
After Joe Corey passed in 2000, family friend, hot rodder, and local speed shop owner Ray Helger Jr. purchased Sniper I from the family and raced it at the track several times, telling us it was a real handful to drive! A few years later, Helger called Brian Bulk and told Brian that he was thinking about selling the car and wanted it to return to the family, and shortly after, Brian was the owner of Uncle Joe’s car. The car came with all the receipts that Joe Corey kept related to the build.
Lent by Brian Bulk, Middletown RI
