TWO of the wildest looking cars at the recent WA Hot Rod & Street Machine Spectacular were the T-bucket of Aaron O’Neill, and Taipan beach buggy of Mitch Dempster. They were on display in the Luau for the Lowdown, a kustom kulture mini-show featuring a tiki lounge, pinstripers and all sorts of cool stuff.

Like all crazy 60s show cars, you’ve gotta have a name for your car, and with its red and orange hues the bucket was dubbed “Tequila Sunrise”. The idea of taking a 90s-spec T-bucket, complete with grey interior and Convo Pros and turning it into the wild metalflaked 60s-styled rod it is now may well have been hatched over a few bottles of tequila. However it came about, it was a brilliant plan; good enough in fact to win the Top T-bucket award.

The blue fade panels on the beach buggy meant “Blue Lagoon” was a no-brainer when it was time to come up with a name, but there’s nothing quiet and tranquil about this short wheelbase weapon. With a turbocharged donk out of a drag racing Beetle, it’s been described as: “A little bit aggressive.” Aggressive enough to lift the wheels in the first three gears according to Travis Corich, the Deadbeat who painted both of these cars.

What’s most amazing is that both cars were completely restyled in just nine weeks! Watch the video to find out what it takes to apply a monster flake paintjob for that crazy 60s show rod look.