History Tucker Stock Car

[Ryan]

The fellas over at Hemmings recently uncovered the fascinating photo above. Your eyes aren’t deceiving - that’s an honest-to-goodness Tucker Torpedo all dressed up to go racing. They seem to think the photo was taken in 1950 at Canfield Speedway...

To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.

[oddrodgarage]

From the things I have read about Preston Tucker it probably was a publicity stunt...now lets ferret out a picture of one as a gasser...1950 throws a wrench into the publicity stunt deal though as Tucker went under before that...

[OLIVER BROS GARAGE]

That cool to see such a rare car all done up like that. Hopefully someone has some more information on it.

[48fordnut]

publicity stunt or not, through his efforts we know what a Tucker is.

[Busted Knuckles]

Im on the stunt side as well, Hubcaps on a race car? I want that front bumper!

[ridin dirty]

Tucker . A man with the American Dream . The Tucker car was inovative for its time and Preston Tucker was Stripped of that dream if you ask me . The Big three made sure that he would not be a American Auto Factory . Its funny how all three of the big companies got together back then to get rid of him because he was a threat and his car has many options of the cars we see today and was ahead of time . My uncle Ed from Ypsilanti Michigan was friends with Preston's son . The stories from my uncle Ed and my father made the Movie more interesting and true . My uncle was a close friend of Preston's son that when they were kids my uncle slept over at the Tuckers house in Ypsilanti . Also after WW2 my uncle had a service station and was asked to change the engine in the Tucker just to see how a everyday mechanic would do . Thats all I remember from when I was younger now that my uncle passed some time ago .

[hotrod1940]

Somewhere I read that Tucker was interested in racing before he made cars and had some dealing with Miller of Indy fame. Can't remember any details.

[1950ChevySuburban]

You make only 52 or so cars total, and take one racing. Thats balls, that is! One more thing about Preston Tucker that I didn't know.

I'm about overdue for my "barn-find", and I'd like it to be a Tucker! Always been one of my dream cars

[retro54]

Some more links garnered from the Hemmings site and conversations there...

http://www.tuckerclub.org/bbs3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=740

apparently folks seem to believe that the tucker in question was number 1023.. which was lost in a fire in the 1970's when the mattress factory it was stored in went up in flames...

Someone on the tucker board says that it didn't race due to having a broken right rear axle... apparently there may be a photo out there somewhere with the car on a wrecker...

[novadude]

Wow! Mt Oliver is a Pittsburgh neighborhood about 7-8 miles from where I grew up. Wonder how many Tuckers ended up in the 'burgh?

[sololobo]

Whats chances of seeing a Tucker is full race regalia, love the "three" headlights taped up. Thanx for another rare glimpse into hot rod history!~Sololobo~

[Tony]

Cool post whether is was raced or not. I'm always amazed at the documentation on these thing's. For the most part it seem's as though everything had been documented from day one.
I've read how part's from this certain number car have been placed on another etc...
Maybe with such a low number made it was easier, i don't know. But it does draw my attention every time i read or see info on them..
very cool...

Tony

[Dan Hay]

I like the stance. Looks lowered in the front.

BTW, after the Tucker movie was made, I saw a couple of wrecked replicas for sale in Hemmings that were used in the movie. I think they were fiberglass.

[Road Runner]

Originally Posted by retro54

apparently folks seem to believe that the tucker in question was number 1023.. which was lost in a fire in the 1970's when the mattress factory it was stored in went up in flames...

Before and after pics....

http://www.tuckerclub.org/html/displ...ar_number=1023

[oddrodgarage]

Those before and after pix of 1023 are depressing

[Weaverville Studios]

I hope I'm not spamming here, but...

For anyone interested in learning about the creation of the Tucker Torpedo from one of the people involved would be well advised to pick up a copy of " Design and Destiny: the making of the Tucker Automobile" by Philip S. Egan. Mr Egan was an Industrial Designer working for J. Gordon Lippincott Design out of New York and he was an instrumental part of the Tucker design team. I highly recommend the book as it will give you great incite into the design, engineering, decisions, egos and even business issues that was albeit for a brief shining moment, the Tucker Automobile. I've attached a few pix from the book...

• The first pix of a young man leaning over an 1/8 scale clay model of a proposed Two-Door Tucker Talisman is the author himself, Philip Egan.
• The second pix shows four men around a full-size clay. The last man on the far side working on the B-post area is Egan as well. They are working on final touches to the Lippincott model just before a review with Preston Tucker.
• The third pix shows the Tremulis and Lippincott models side by side in a design competition. The final design is a mix of both.
• The fourth pix is a 1946 Tucker Torpedo ad from Science Illustrated. Buck Rogers would have been proud to drive that!!
• The last pix is the cover of the book, just in case you decide to look for it.

Again, if you have even a passing interest in the Tucker and want to get past the Hollywood dramatization and read the real story from someone who helped create the car then I highly suggest you seek out this book. If you check the usual outlets, you can still find copies. Happy reading!

[Road Runner]

Great pics!
Here is another Tucker concept drawing....

[Road Runner]

Originally Posted by Weaverville Studios

Again, if you have even a passing interest in the Tucker and want to get past the Hollywood dramatization ...

Best scenes of the movie are when all the cars are shown in the warehouse and later driving before the courthouse.
I always wondered how many real Tuckers were used in the movie.

And what about the crashing and rolling over car on the track?
Still hurts to see those dramatic few seconds, imagining a real Tucker, even if you know it's a fake.

Glad they made this movie. Brings the story to a lot of people and has some very nice pictures of the cars.



Lot's of great pics of the Tucker auto plant from the Life Magazine archives....

http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...1&sa=N&ndsp=21

[Rand Man]

Seems like I remember those cars used in the movie were fiberglass. I'm pretty sure you can still buy a body if you were so inclined. Who was it, Gibbon?

[Plowboy]

My buddy owns 1048. He says that while they had some great features, they weren't really all that great of cars.