I know this is likely not the type of car that is often talked about or even revered here. Just the same the Tucker was truly an innovation in it's time. I took this photo of one of only 51 existing tuckers about 4 years ago at the San Diego Automotive Museum. There is tons of discussion about this car below the following photo (link). Feel free to join in on the discussion but please keep it clean and civil. This car has been viewed over 14,000 times on my site so there must be some interest in it. Link to the Tucker photo and comments: http://www.pbase.com/image/17158573 Tucker photo here: Ken
If ever I become rich as hell and can afford to blow money I will own a Tucker some day. I just like the car.
I have seen two, the one in San Diego and In Tucker GA, Mr. Chip Cofer owns one. It was his Dad's and he got it when he died.
When Francis Ford Copola was filming the Tucker movie with Jeff Bridges, they had an open casting call for extras up here in the SF Bay area. My dad heard about it and took the whole family down to try out. They hired my whole family to be extras in the scenes where they unveil the car to the public for the first time. My dad got to be one of the mechanic guys behind the stage trying to get the car working before it rolled out. It was a real kick to be a part of it and they had about five or six cars on the set during the filming which took about five days. The shoot took place in big old industrial warehouse/manufacturing plant that had been abandoned. It was somewhere in the east bay I think, but I don't remember exactly where. I was about 17 at the time. I remember having to get there really early and that the coffee on the set was super duper strong.
i have a magazine with an article about a dude in sweden(?) or some part of europe that customized a tucker ill have to dig it up and put the details down, i dont have a scanner sorry
I saw that car, it came up for sale awhile back, someone put the body on a newer frame and dropped a v-8 in the front.....WTF????
The Tucker is most definitely revered here. The only reason it's not often mentioned is purely and simply because no-one has one of them. We like Bugattis too, but same scenario. We're poor destitute hotrodders, not wealthy antique collectors.
When the factory ceased production, there was an unfinished convertible on the line. It may surface for sale one of these years, I know that sales materials were produced. (Maybe it sold already?) The elderly man who owns it has had the car for a very long time and has many of the parts needed to finish it. I would like to go see this car some day. A friend of mine knows the owner of the car and got to go see it. I'm jealous!
I also worked a day as an extra. This was the scene where Tucker has a bunch of the cars drive to the hearings. They shot it at the SF Opera house and were driving them into the scene over and over. In addition several real ones used there were 4 or five of the fakes with fiberglas bodies. They worked fine for the movie but were crudely done so you didn't have to get close to know they weren't right. But it was neat to see them driving around and imagining this as a bunch of real Tuckers.
Had a look at the one in the Henry Ford Museum. Interesting car, but I reckon a bigger thrill would be to get behind the throttle of that huge steam engine there.
Several years ago I was in Atlantic City for a car show and saw a tucker from across the room. It had been slammed, shaved, tinted, etc. Turned out to be a re-creation from IDA Automotive in NJ. 'Glass car on a custom chassis with a Northstar v-8 in the rear. Cool car, amazing rims. Could not find the lugnuts or a cover for them at all - turns out the wheel studs were on the INSIDE of the rim, not the outside. Cool enough for a showcar I guess... not at all practical, but something I had never seen before. I'm not usually one for shiney paint and polished billet, but this thing looked killer. I like Tuckers. Wish I had the money to have one. The cool ending to this story is that a little over a year ago I bought a split-wishbone drop axle frontend from a guy on e-bay. One of those "buy-it-now" prices that looks like a mistake. I got to northern NJ to pick it up and looked in amazment at this guy's shop. I humbly asked him how he got away with so many toys... AND a wife. He said "I build custom cars for a living". Rob Ida! I got to see a couple of his cars and we spoke of the "new" Tuckers. His grandfather had signed on to be a dealer and his family always loved them. As I understand it, they did the 'glass cars for the movie.
I love these cars...but as stated before, its a rarety that most cannot achieve. It has always puzzled me why someone would not build a kit for one. I know the tooling would be a big expense.. Tim MBL
This one? http://www.robidaconcepts.com/albums/album_image/3917464/1425367.htm "1948 Tucker # 46 (original) Tucker #46. It was the only one that did not ever have the Franklin engine installed. It first had a 1950 Oldsmobile chassis and in 1964 a new Mercury chassis was installed. It has been this way ever since. They installed the 390 in the front and turned the back into a trunk. The interior is original except for the Mercury dash. It is an original all steel body on top of a Mercury Montclair chassis. Email for more photos. $350,000."<STYLE> a.link:link {font:bold 11px Arial;color:330033; text-decoration:none;} a.link:visited {font:bold 11px Arial;color:330033; text-decoration:none;} a.link:hover {font:bold 11px Arial;color:330033; text-decoration:none;} td.link {padding:2px 10px 2px 10px; cursor:hand;} font.divider {font:11px Arial; color:990000} div.body {font:14px arial; color:ff6600;} body {font:13px arial; color:ff6600;} td {font:13px arial; color:ff6600;} a:link {color:cc66ff;} a:visited {color:6666ff;} a:hover {color:00ccff} </STYLE>
This Tucker looks like new because it is new, a 2001 Tucker 48 built by Ida Automotive of Morganville, NJ. Ida is producing brand new cars patterned after the legendary 1948 Tucker Torpedo. The custom car company, owned by Rob and Bob Ida, equips the new Tuckers with Cadillac NorthStar V-8 engines. A production run of 51 vehicles is planned. The cars are priced at $150,000. I will try to post the picture.
there was never a convertible on the line. there is one in wisconsin. owned by a guy that claims he worked for tucker. no one that worked for tucker remembers him. the car is assembled from tucker left over parts that are customized into a convertible. it was never a factory built car. when the plant shut down there where lots of parts left over that never got assembled. you'll see radios pop up from time to time because when you ordered one they sent you the radio in advance so you had some thing to hold in your hand. nos fenders and doors still pop up from time to time.
I remember that article, It was in one of the early ck deluxe issues....issue #10 or earlier I believe, if I remeber right he found it in his grandpas barn. He welded the back doors shut and slammed it..... My Grandfather has mentioned a few times that his dad was on the waiting list for a Tucker.......ahhh, what might of been.
I think the story is fascinating and like most of yall if i ever strike it rich I will own a tucker. It would have to be my only bone stock car but i would still drive the shit out of it
I remember seeing a few tuckers at the harrahs museum auction in '84. there was a "driver" in the parking lot when we went into the auction. It had a non original interior. Our friend bought one at the auction , and as far as I know It is still in his shop awaiting restoration.
That would be the one, but it's not in Milwaukee any more. So the owner's claim that it is an unfinished unit from the assembly line is a hose job?
I saw a picture on here of a fiberglass one that someone has on the back burner for a project It' s blue and the glass is kinda hanging all over anyone know who that is?
I've seen three different ones at various museums and one here at the RockN Rods show. Definately a very cool car and way ahead of it's time. It's a shame they never made it into full production. Of course you wonder what really happened to the company...I don't put a lot of stock into the movie version.
I know of a Original Tucker about 1 mile from my house ..It was used in the movie and making of IDA mold .... http://www.tuckerclub.org/ Pics from IDA open house 2007
It could have been an unfinished car from the assembly line, but it was being built as a sedan if that's the case. At this point there's no way to be sure if it's just made of leftover parts someone gathered up and built themselves around actual Tucker underbody parts or some other underframe, or if in fact there was a 52nd car at some beginning stage of construction to serve as the basis to hang modified body parts on.
Hehe, funny story actually! On high school I started photochopping cars, and I created my all time favourite project... a Tucker 47 2 door coupe! I wrote a wild story about it that I sent to Aaron Lasky in CKDeluxe about finding it in a barn, and they loved the story! I told them it was fake, but they still loved it and made the story Two years later I found one of the movie replicas on E-bay, and I just knew I had to get it... and this is this one : (look at the quote below) Hehe, and yeah, it'll be like the one in the story I wrote before I bought it Nobody remember seing a convertible at the plant, people have checked with people like Alex Tremulis, and other people working on the plant. This is the pictures of the convertible, and it looks like somebody has used left over parts from the factory to create this build. I have heard that it is supposed to be auctioned away at the Barret Jackson in 2008.
The Jalopy Journal
