The Great Tucker Tour - 30 Tuckers in 3 weeks - For Real!

I was at the shooting of a Man and His Dream for the roll ower
the roll over car was a Studebaker fiberglass bumpers rear was widened by welding a second wheel to it and had 4 flat bar straps
you will see that the right front wheel on that car was a silver chevy Suberban wheel with a whitewall
they broke the stude wheel
i barrowed it from some one from the set to move the car they kept it on for the roll over
the race track was Petaluma Speedway
they rented my 1931 ford wrecker to use in the backround
but it was not used they used a 1946 Dodge with a 525 Holmes wrecker that was a mustard yellow orignal owner of that truck was Ross Artomotive

the fiberglass rep bodies were put on a Ford LTD chassis
the roll over Glass car was verry thin so they could pull dents into it with wire ans scratchet up with a cheese grader file
i still have Check stub for rental

 

and yes i sat in the original one
the engine has a sound od its own

 

I love this thread,thanks again.

 

Nice set of luggage in the trunk of Tucker #1024. Does anyone know the cost of these cost back in 1948? Also the seat covers and the radio? Was the luggage made of real leather?

 

Keep up the good work, I love this thread its one of the best Ive read. Ive always loved these cars but never seen one in the flesh so next time im in the states I'll be hunting one done.

 

Don't forget there is a Tucker in your part of the world now. Tucker #1045 is just 1600 miles away from you in Victoria Australia.

 

Does Copola still have his Tucker at his winery in the Napa Ca. valley? Saw it right after the Movie came out on the second floor of one of the buildings. How he got it up there I don't know.

There was another one owned by a guy in the Bay Area. I met him a couple of times when I briefly joined an old car touring club.

Not sure if it is the same one but one used to sit in a yard visible from 580 in Castro Valley Ca. in the '60s.

 

May have some updates on Tucker #1011. A guy I know up in Missoula, Montana (no, his name ain't Joe) may be able to get me some scoop.

 

Actually you have 4 different Tuckers you mention.

Mr. Coppola has two Tuckers. #1014 is at the Rubicon Estate in Rutherford CA and #1037 is at The Coppola Winery in Geyserville CA.

The car in the Bay area for many years was #1041 when it was owned by the late Bev Ferreira. He was active in many car clubs and showed his car a lot and went on many tours. It is by far the most photographed Tucker.

By your description of the last Tucker off the 580 in the 60s, I'd guess that belonged to Robert B. Arnold and was Tucker #1039. It is now in the Smithsonian Museum.

 

I see you have done your homework. Can't tell you how much I am enjoying your thread.
Funny story about Bev. Ferreira. My brotherinlaw and I were in Minnesota a few years ago at the Back to the '50s car show looking through a venders B&W 8x10s and there was Bev and his Tucker. It must have been one of the most photographed. Do you know where it is now?

 

It was sold to a private owner near LA who also owns Tucker #1002 and Tucker #1006.

 

Where is it? in a muesem or privatly owned?
Cheers Jason.

 

Tucker #1045 is in a private collection, but does preview it at special events. This car use to be in the O'quinn collection, but he died in a auto accident a few years ago and his collection was sold off. #1045 sold last year (in August I believe) at Pebble Beach and imported into Australia

 

Rolled into Vegas today. Stopped at the Imperial Palace which was the home of Tucker #1008 for many years. The car collection isn't quite as good as it used to be back when #1008 was there. It's more of a sales floor now but still some great cars to see.



Here's a photo from 1985 when the Tucker Convention was there.



(from left to right) Tucker #1048, #1019, #1041, #1046, #1008, #1017, #1032, #1021, and #1005


From here we'll be heading to California which is home to 14+ Tuckers right now. The Tucker Convention will held outside LA later this week and there is sure to be several Tucker related items there. We should have lots of Tucker photos to post over the next few days.

 

Arrived in LA today for the Tucker Convention. We should see about 15 cars over the next five or six days. The owner of Tucker #1031 has put together a group of cars that we'll see during this time and we'll visit the Petersen and Nethercutt Museums too.

We received some sad news that Tucker Club member Charles D. Barnette (CDB) passed away on June 13th. Some of you may know Charles, or Decker as he was called by many of his friends, because of his involvement in several different car clubs. He was an attorney in Texarkana. Charles "invented" the first Tucker portable radio last year. He loved Tuckers and was especially fond of Tucker #1045. He had signed up to attend the Tucker Convention this year to show off his portable Tucker Radio. We were looking forward to seeing him today at the Convention. He will be sorely missed. Condolences to his friends and the Barnette family.

 

This is an epic journey. I applaud you for your enthusiasm.

I want to hear a Tucker engine running. Does anyone know of any videos posted?

 

Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMQtfVNgkeg

There is another one from the 2010 Tucker Convention that I can't seem to find. Maybe someone can post up the link if they have it. It is on a trailer.

 

My friend passed on a new old stock Tucker radio at a swap a few years ago for $200. He's been kicking himself in the pants ever since. I sent him the picture above just to rub it in again. The story I heard was when you signed up for a car they sometimes sent you some accessories. That's why there more radios and heaters than cars. Is that true?
Gary

 

hi, this video talks about the radio.. it raised mr. tucker 2 million bucks real quick which brought fraud chargers etc..

cool old guy..
the blue prints he has is amazing..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeCgFeadUY4&feature=related

 

Arrived in LA today for the start of the Tucker Convention. On the way to the hotel we stopped off for a look at Tucker #1029 which is in a private collection here.

Tucker #1029 was Preston Tucker's personal car. He owned it until 1955 when he sold it to Gov. Rockefeller of Arkansas.

The car is in very nice condition and is driven regularly. It has one of the B&B Heaters mounted on the firewall as the Tucker's lived in Michigan where heat would have been needed. Many of the southern cars do not have heaters.

Motorola also made a heater for the Tucker which was gasoline powered and located under the front seat. Somehow having a radio company make a gasoline heater that sits under you seems a liitle scary. Sort of like sitting on a bomb.

Here are a few pictures of #1029.







Several more Tuckers in the area to see including one still under construction.

 

Will there be any cars on display in Valencia? My contacts say the Hilton Garden does not have facilities to secure these treasures.

 

This car is gorgeous,did this stop where this car was happen to be in Orange County?

 

Stopped at the Petersen Museum in Hollywood CA today to see Tucker #1030. This is an interesting car as it was heavily modified back in the 60s by a former owner. Some of those changes still remain. The changes led some to believe that this was Preston Tucker's personal car but it never was.

The car is located in the lobby of the Petersen so until it is moved you can see it as you walk in the door before you get to the admission counter.









Here is how the exact same car looked back in the 70s.

 

No, it wouldn't.......jmo

 

This is very interesting thread. I have always been interested in the Tuckers. I saw his house in Ypsilanti MI and also the movie car there as well. There is a nice Tucker display at the museums in Hickory Corners MI. Last year at Hershey the Tucker Convertible drew quite a crowd, maybe because of the controversy surrounding the car.

 

Today brings us to the Nethercutt Collection and the home of Tucker #1040. This was originally a tan car but was painted white many years ago. It has an original interior.

If you get to Sylmar CA you'll want to see the entire collection of cars on display as well as the Museum across the street. It's worth the trip.







The afternoon brings us out to the home of Tucker #1031 which is in a private collection. This was Vera Tucker's personal car and is painted in her favorite Waltz Blue.



The owners of Tucker #1003 which is just been completely restored bought their car by.



The owner of Tucker Body #1052 brought by his project which is building a complete Tucker from left over and salvaged parts from other Tuckers. The car should be about 90% genuine Tucker parts when completed.







After a nice lunch and a chance to view all the cars close up the owners of Tuckers #1003 and #1031 gave everyone a special treat and treated people to rides in a Tucker. This lucky group had big smiles as they took off.






New meets old here as Tucker #1003 whizzes by a Ferrari like it was standing still.



Here is a rare sight, two Tuckers drag racing side by side through the parking lot. Something you'll probably never see again.









A pretty exciting day in sunny southern California. Tomorrow we'll look at a few more cars before heading up the coast on the final week of Part One of The Great Tucker Tour. 6,500 miles already posted and still a few more Tuckers to see.

 

Incredible pics and info ....THANK YOU for sharing these with us.

The Tucker is one of my all time dream cars - if I ever win the Lottery and can prise one away from its owner, I know what Id be doing.

Keep em coming...

Rat

 

the man and his dream

 

Great post of the cars seen today at the TACA Convention Thanks for sharing.

Larry

 

Excellent thread! Pics and commentary are thoroughly entertaining