That’s Red’s Bucket
There are cars people remember.
And then there are cars that become attached to a person so completely that decades later, nobody even needs to ask who owned it.
They just point and say:
“That’s Red’s Bucket.”
For Cori Stokes, those three words mean far more than recognising an old hot rod.
They mean his dad is still being remembered.
They mean another story is probably about to be told.
And they mean a car that has carried Red Stokes’ name through the local car scene for decades is finally back where it belongs.
On the road.
The car itself is a 1923 Ford Model T-bucket, built by Red more than 35 years ago.
But its real story has never been about the year on the body, what’s hanging out front or what somebody might offer for it.
It’s about the bloke who built it. The son who grew up beside it. And the community that still knows it simply as Red’s Bucket.
More Than Cars
To understand why this car matters, you first need to understand Glenn “Red” Stokes.
Red wasn’t simply a ‘car guy’.
“Dad wasn’t just into cars. He was into the people, friendships and community that came with them.”
For Red, the old-school NSW car scene was a way of building lifelong friendships, making memories and surrounding himself with good mates.
The cars were the common interest.
The people were what made it special.
Those friendships have now become part of the legacy Red left behind.
Even today, Cori can meet somebody who knew his dad and suddenly find himself hearing another chapter of Red’s life.
“The stories you hear — ‘Oh, remember when…’, ‘Your dad and I…’ — can never wipe the smile off my face.”
Cori remembers his dad as a genuinely down-to-earth bloke who would do just about anything to help somebody.
The sort of bloke who’d give you the shirt off his back if you needed it .
Cori reckons plenty of people reading this who knew Red will know exactly what he means, because Red didn’t just leave behind the cars…
He left behind a car community with plenty of stories.
Growing Up With Red’s Bucket
The T-bucket was part of Cori’s life long before he ever got the chance to drive it.
Growing up, he remembers Red taking the old girl out for the occasional meetup / cruise and Cori’s position back then was firmly in the passenger seat.
As the years passed, Cori’s interest and appreciation of cars grew, and eventually father and son, together, started a project to pull the car apart.
It wasn’t because Red wanted to turn it into something different.
The plan was to freshen the old girl up, polish it, tidy what needed tidying and get it show-ready again.
It should have simply been the beginning of another chapter for Red and his bucket.
But life had other plans.
Red passed away on 19 April 2022.
The car they had pulled apart together remained unfinished.
“He never got the chance to finish the job properly.”
And suddenly Cori wasn’t looking at an unfinished hot rod project.
He was looking at something he and his dad had started together.
2026 Rebirth
For years, getting it back on the road sat in the back of Cori’s mind.
Eventually, he decided it was time.
When Cori first started publicly documenting the project, he called it exactly what it was:
“LONG OVER DUE RE BIRTH.”
He described Red’s T-bucket as a build he had wanted to tackle for many years and said he wanted people to come along for the journey — not simply to see the finished result, but to witness the work happening behind the scenes on a car that meant so much to so many people.
That distinction matters.
Because from the beginning, this wasn’t just about getting a hot rod running again.
It was about letting the people who remembered Red watch Red’s Bucket come back.
Cori began documenting the process through a series of videos. Parts that had been sitting away came back out. The car was worked over piece by piece.
Mechanical jobs were tackled. Old components were inspected, cleaned and recommissioned where possible.
The engine, chassis and running gear gradually started looking less like a project frozen in time and more like the car people remembered.
And prominently, at the beginning of Cori’s original rebirth video, were the words:
“That’s Red’s Bucket”
Ask Cori whether the car is well known and the answer comes immediately.
“1000%.”
People recognise it.
More importantly, they remember who it belonged to.
“No matter where I go or who I bump into, everyone knows who owned it — That’s Red’s Bucket.”
And when it’s parked up, that recognition usually brings a story with it.
Another memory.
Another cruise.
Another unknown connection.
Another wild night out that ended in a 2 day hangover.
Another piece of Red that Cori might never have known otherwise.
“The amount of stories this car holds blows me away. The memories and bonds it’s built over the many years of its existence is genuinely amazing.”
That is a big part of why finishing the car became so important.
Cori wasn’t doing it only for himself.
“Getting Dad’s car back to its former glory was definitely a goal of mine. Not just for me, but for everyone else in the car scene who knew Dad and loved this car and him as much as I did.”
For Cori, there wasn’t really a question of whether the bucket should come back.
“It was something that just needed to be done.”
Keeping it Red’s
There would have been an easy way to approach the rebuild.
Modernise everything > Replace anything old > Make it newer, shinier and different.
Cori wanted almost the exact opposite.
His goal was to preserve as much of the car as he could.
“It was my goal to keep it as original to the way Dad had it as I could.”
Time inevitably meant some things had to change.
Components wear out.
Some old parts simply aren’t available anymore.
And a car that is going to be driven needs to work.
But Cori was conscious throughout the process that when people finally saw it again, he wanted them to recognise the same bucket they remembered Red driving.
“It’s still the same car that my dad and everyone loved to see.”
That meant improving what needed improving without polishing away the car’s identity..
It kind of became about preserving Red’s memory.
It Took a Community
There’s something fitting about the fact that Cori didn’t bring the bucket back alone.
Red loved the friendships and community surrounding cars, and decades later it was people from that same world who helped his son get Red’s car back together.
Cori credits Chris from Impact, his good mate Brad “Stoj”, and the others who offered advice, knowledge, hands and guidance during the rebirth.
“They guided and explained different ways to make this car work and easier to work on for many years to come.”
The videos Cori recorded along the way give a glimpse into that process.
Components are coming on and off.
Jobs are discussed.
Problems are worked through.
Mates appear beside the car, helping Cori
“I couldn’t have done it without them and everyone else’s help and guidance.”
A car originally surrounded by friendship and community had been brought back through friendship and community. It’s awesome stuff.
The First Drive
Then came the moment a lot of that work had been leading towards.
The first drive.
When Cori finally sat behind that wheel and took the car down the road himself, there was no chance in hell it was going to feel like an ordinary test drive.
“The first drive in the T-bucket carried a lot of emotions, if I’m gonna be honest.”
Cori had started this process beside his dad.
Now he was finishing it without him.
“Going from pulling a car apart with someone to then finishing it without them being able to see it hits a spot for me — especially it being someone as well known as my dad.”
And now, every time the bucket heads out, it creates another opportunity for somebody to recognise it, walk over and tell Cori another story about his old man.
“Being able to drive it now and get it back to its former glory, to be able to share the memories of him with everyone in the car community, definitely hits home for me.”
You Missed a Spot, Cor
Ask Cori what driving the bucket means today and there isn’t a price tag big enough to answer it.
“Driving the bucket now means the world to me.”
“Being able to bring this thing back to life is the best feeling I’ve had in a long time.”
He knows what the car meant to Red.
Now it carries a different kind of value for his son.
“It’s a feeling that no amount of money in the world could buy, that’s for sure.”
We asked Cori what he reckons his dad would say if he could see the bucket back together and cruising again.
He didn’t have to think too hard.
“I reckon he’d be over the moon to see this car back on the road.”
Cori can picture Red looking down at him and saying:
“Good job, Corboy.”
Although apparently praise alone wouldn’t quite have been Red’s style.
Cori reckons his dad would probably wait for the perfect moment before adding:
“You missed a spot, Cor.”
“Being cheeky — because that’s just the character he was.”
Keeping Red Around
Red’s Bucket isn’t going anywhere.
Cori wants the car to remain with him and, hopefully, eventually pass it on to his own kids.
Another generation.
Another chapter.
“This car means more to me than anything, knowing how much he loved it and wanted it to be back to the way it was.”
“No amount of money ever could buy the feeling I have when I look at this car.”
But perhaps the most important thing Cori wants to preserve isn’t actually made from steel.
It’s what happens around the car.
Red’s life crossed a lot of paths.
Cori hears stories about his dad’s shop on High Street in Penrith, the food vans, car shows, hot dogs at the footy, nightclubs and cruises with the boys in the bucket.
Some he knows.
Others are completely new to him.
And he wants more.
“It makes me feel so good hearing all these stories and I wanna create more.”
That might ultimately be Red’s Bucket’s most important job now.
Not winning trophies.
Not sitting perfectly polished somewhere.
Starting conversations.
Every time Cori takes it out, there’s a chance somebody will stop.
They’ll recognise the shape and colour.
They’ll look a little closer.
Then the smile will arrive.
“That’s Red’s Bucket.”
And almost inevitably, the next sentence will begin:
“I remember when…”
For Cori, that means another story.
Another memory.
Another little piece of his dad he gets to keep.
Part 2 — Coming Soon
This isn’t the end of Red’s Bucket story.
In Part 2, we’re getting properly stuck into the car itself — taking a closer look at Red’s 1923 T-bucket, the details that make it unmistakably his, what has survived from the original build and what it took to bring it back to the road.
But just as importantly, we want to hear from the people who knew Red.
We’ll be adding more memories, stories and photos from the friends, family and car community who were there — the people who can still start a sentence with:
“I remember when Red…”
Part 2 will also feature a professional photo shoot of Cori and Red’s Bucket, shot exclusively for Car Church, giving this piece of local car history the feature it deserves.
Happy Father’s Day Keith xo
