Up Close & Personal With Tommy - 'TV' Tommy Ivo

Many have wondered how famous racers, be they drag racers or any others, got into cars in the first place. So, we put the question to "TV" Tommy Ivo: "How did it all start for you?" He said, "I was always mechanically inclined. My bicycle was apart more than it was together, and my earliest motive power memory was attaching playing cards to the fender struts of my bicycle to flap against the spokes and make that power sound.

"I believe I was about 15 at the time, working steady as a movie actor, and coincidently making quite a bit of money. As I approached my 16th birthday, and the chance to get a driver's license neared, I started thinking about buying a car. My then-girlfriend, Nancy Davidson, who lived across the street, and I got on our bicycles and toured the Burbank new-car dealers and picked up brochures. We took them back to my house and spread them out on the floor. After looking over all that was available, we (I) decided the Buick was the best looking of the lot."

Soon 16-year-old Ivo, with driver's license in hand, headed to the local Buick dealer, along with his friend, and began asking questions about the new '52 models. Apparently, the salesman (named Mr. Pansy), virtually ignored the two youths, until Ivo produced a fat roll of $100 bills, and asked, "How much for that red Super over there?"

The wad of hundreds apparently got Mr. Pansy's attention, and Ivo and his friend took home the new hardtop. He would have liked to have purchased the Roadmaster model "with four portholes," but it was out of range for the money he had.

Soon after his purchase, Ivo took the Super to the Saugus drags and turned 66.66 mph (there were no elapsed times at early drag races). He made two more runs and achieved the exact speed and got beat by the first car he raced. He promptly lost interest in the drags.

He turned to customizing to make his car different, and shaved the hood, the deck, and hooded the headlights. While the car was still in primer, he painted assorted sixes of polka dots all over it. He also painted big pink feet walking up the trunk lid. It was just for a lark, but it did turn some heads when he drove by.

Some three years later, it was time for a new car and he went out and bought a brand-new '55 Century. He removed as many engine parts as he could and had them chrome-plated. He was styling. A friend by the name of Tom Jandt, a member of the much-admired Road Kings car club, came by and encouraged Ivo to go with him to the drags. Jandt had a '32 Ford with an Olds engine in it, and he planned to race. Ivo agreed to go, and upon arrival at the Saugus drags decided to enter his '55 Century. He reports that he blew off the entire field and set a record at 84 mph. When it was time to get his trophy, Lou Baney, then strip operator, saw all of the chrome and declared the car illegal. Baney figured the car couldn't have been stock. Ivo popped off to Lou while pointing at the power steering pump, saying that it was a supercharger in disguise, and Baney told him to "not let the door hit him in the ass on the way out."

The next week, Ivo took the Buick to the Pomona drags and again won and set the track record. This time, he got the two trophies (he called them Oscars). He won again at Colton, San Fernando, Lions, and so on-lots of trophies and the hook was set.

As did most SoCal teens of the period, Ivo cruised and hung out at Bob's Big Boy in Toluca Lake, California. He got his share of attention from the locals and the girls with his new Buick; that is until Norm Grabowski came upon the scene with his freshly built T roadster, with its gleaming chrome and polished aluminum multi-carbed Cadillac engine sticking out in the breeze.

The local guys and gals dropped everything and gathered to ooh and ahh over the sharp little hot rod, with its bug-eyed driver who made his trademark funny faces. It wasn't long before TV engaged Norm in conversation about building a similar machine.