*whew!!!* *pant*pant*pant*

[ocnblu]

Still not Tuckered out yet... what a beauty!

[Turbojett]

don't have phones at the moment, so no audio, but is that just a one-off/custom chop job/concept, etc.?

it is wicked awesome though.

Edited July 7, 2012 by Turbojett

[ocnblu]

According to the video, it was the real thing, never finished by the factory. The top mechanism was factory, but there was apparently rust to contend with and some fabrication had to be done for some of the body panels.

[balthazar]

Yeah; no. Been a Tucker fan for 20 years + now, check in regularly with the TACA board, have my treasured letter from Alex Tremulis safely filed.....

the convert is NOT club recognized, it's NOT documented, and it's been completely debunked by Tremulis himself. It's a clone.

I've seen the pics; the 'panel rust repairs' were coincidentally located primarily where a roof was cut off, and rear doors were replaced by quarter panel. Yeah.

Edited July 7, 2012 by balthazar

[ocnblu]

Thanks fer showin' up and puttin' this issue to bed. I am officially Tuckered out now. Thought something was odd when he said he had to modify some of the body panels.

[Turbojett]

did a helluva job though. fraud or not, it's a beaut.

[balthazar]

Agreed- it turned out very well.

However, I don't think turning one into a convertible added a single thing to the car. It's worse from a design standpoint, IMO.

The Tucker works aesthetically at it's zenith as a 4-dr 'torpedo-backed' sedan.

[loki]

very cool. and the transmission tech. interesting.

[Drew Dowdell]

So it used a Cord Semi-Automatic transmission?

[balthazar]

Initially, yes. Tucker was working on it's trans, the R1, which had far fewer moving parts than contemporaries. I believe only maybe 2 or 3 (may be only 1) got that trans tho. There was also a full manual in a few cars.

[Drew Dowdell]

Initially, yes. Tucker was working on it's trans, the R1, which had far fewer moving parts than contemporaries. I believe only maybe 2 or 3 (may be only 1) got that trans tho. There was also a full manual in a few cars.

So does the engine/transmission sit entirely behind the rear wheels then? Or is there some 180 degree bend in the power flow going on? I seem to remember some eastern block, rear engined thing having a set up with the powertrain completely behind the rear wheels and reading that it has dangerous handling tendencies due to weight imbalance.

[Turbojett]

Not sure how the gearbox in situated on the old VW platform (If the Porsches are any idication, I'm thinking the gearbox is over/ahead of the axle) but I seem to remember seeing old prewar Renaults or maybe Citroens (or some French car) with gearboxes laterally mounted behind even the engine (How in the world it gets to the axle is another story). NSU's might be situated the same way. Not sure though.

Edited July 9, 2012 by Turbojett

[Turbojett]

if I google rear-engine cars though, all I get are Porsches and Volkswagens

[balthazar]

Tucker engine is located entirely behind the axle centerline.

I don't have a weight distribution number handy (not sure it was ever measured), but the flat 6 was AL.

Handling was remarkably good for the period from the majority opinion I've read.

BTW- every published weight you see online is wrong- they all regurgitate the weight of the prototype.

The non-prototype cars were right about 3850 lbs (most accounts say 4235).

I have a cut-away drawing I can upload if you guys need to see it.

Edited July 9, 2012 by balthazar

[Drew Dowdell]

I would enjoy seeing it. Where is the transmission located?

[balthazar]

[G. David Felt]

Might not be a true tucker but a beaut none the less and I love the Trans! This guy was ahead of his time and scared idiots destroyed him.

[A Horse With No Name]

still a neat looking car...

[Robert Hall]

I've seen a couple of them during Scottsdale auction week in the last couple years...a blue restored one at Barrett-Jackson this year and a pale blue unrestored barn find one at Gooding & Company last year...interesting cars.

[Drew Dowdell]

I thought all Tuckers were accounted for so there really can't be any "barn finds"

[Robert Hall]

I thought all Tuckers were accounted for so there really can't be any "barn finds"

This one was found in a garage in Washington in '10.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-01-27/classified/sc-cons-0127-autocover-20110127_1_tucker-automobile-club-alex-tremulis-pilot-cars

Edited July 9, 2012 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[balthazar]

^ RIght Olds. #1010 was termed 'barn find' because it had been sitting in a barn/garage since 1956, but it's location was well known to the inner circle guys.

There are zero unknown Tuckers left to find.

[Robert Hall]

How many still exist? Wasn't the production count 51 or so..

[ocnblu]

So there must be documentation somewhere showing the sedan that was converted into a goodlooking convertible. Which build number was the donor car? Was it mentioned in the video I posted? Why would a sane person "destroy" a precious Tucker when it could be verified a fake? Not saying it's not fake, I just think it would have been worth so much more restored to original condition. I mean they had to pay more for it than it is worth now.

Edited July 9, 2012 by ocnblu

[Robert Hall]

A goog turned up this list..

http://www.tuckerclu...ee_a_tucker.php

So there must be documentation somewhere showing the sedan that was converted into a goodlooking convertible. Which build number was the donor car? Was it mentioned in the video I posted? Why would a sane person "destroy" a precious Tucker when it could be verified a fake? Not saying it's not fake, I just think it would have been worth so much more restored to original condition. I mean they had to pay more for it than it is worth now.

#57 according to tuckerconvertible.com. But hasn't that story been debunked as fake?

http://tuckerconvertible.com/story.php

Edited July 9, 2012 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[ocnblu]

Cool.

[A Horse With No Name]

so 1042 is the only Tucker that is "missing?"

[balthazar]

#1042 is the unknown 'missing' Tucker in that it's demise has not been verified. It is rumored to have been scrapped in the '50s. The frame & transmission from it survive, the only known pieces ever found.

#1018 was scrapped after an accident in '53, some parts have survived.

#1023 was destroyed by fire and the remains were crushed.

#1027 is in serious disrepair / pieced together with bits from others cars/surplus. Needs total restoration but the major bits are there.

This is the car that rolled @ 100 MPH @ Indy during factory testing.

1 prototype, 51 pre-production cars = 52 built - 4 gone (I don't consider #1027 gone, but it's a husk and the club does (unless I am missing another 'goner)).

Club tallies do not include the prototype and quote "51" built. 51- 4 = 47 existing (except it's 48- prototype is alive & well).

The last recognized car, #1051, was assembled after the factory was closed/gone. It's accepted as real, tho (with an asterisk). But Tucker Designer Tremulis stated emphatically that no convert was in the works, and he would be the first to know.

There were a number of body shells after #1051, at least thru #1058, but these were left outside after the 1950 auction, and by the 1970s, were unsalvageable rusty scrap:

Great thread here, don't kno if the link will work tho :

http://www.jalopyjou...ighlight=tucker

Or go to jalopyjournal.com, link to the HAMB, search for 'Tucker' in titles, and check thru 45 pages of different pics.

If you go to Post #809 in the above thread (pg 41), it details the full story behind body #1057 (the current convertible), plus has the LIFE pic of this same body in the factory in 1950. It had been pulled from the line and altered with a wrap-rear window opening, planning for the 1949 changes.

Edited July 10, 2012 by balthazar

[G. David Felt]

WOW, Loved the Movie Tucker, and this thread just totally rocks!

[A Horse With No Name]

Thanks Balthazar, for the link to the Hamb...I think I just blew my evening into midnight....

[GMTruckGuy74]

While the 1948 Tucker is absolutely, hands down, my favorite automobile of all time, I am not as knowledgable as balthazar is on them (though I know my facts). In addition to seeing the controversial Tucker convertible in person (2010 AACA show in Hershey, PA), I've also seen four others:

*1024/Waltz Blue - at the Gast Motor Car Collection in Lancaster, PA, various times throughout 1989-1997

*1013/Light Blue - owned by the Swigart Museum - seen at the Philadelphia Auto Show in February, 2006 and at the America on Wheels musuem this past March

*Unidentified #/Silver - 1991 AACA Show in Hershey, PA; October, 1991 (I think it might have been #1022, part of the Cammack collection)

*1030/Black (Preston's personal car) - Petersen Museum, Los Angeles, CA; June, 1997

- I tried to see #1051/Maroon back in 2007 or 2008 but could not connect with the owner (this is the car that resides in NJ and was built from leftover Tucker pieces; the owner passed away this January and the fate of the car has not been determined).

- I also saw Rob Ida Concepts 1948 Tucker "Lower 48" at the 2011 NYIAS; while not an official Tucker, it's close enough for me.

- I think I may have seen #1039/Silver, the one owned by the Smithsonian Museum back in November of '92 on a school trip, but can't remember. I was at the museum in 2009 but it was not on display. I'm hoping it comes back out soon though - I won't let that Tucker pass me by

Care to see a Tucker for yourself? Click this link and see if there's one nearby you

Edited July 11, 2012 by GMTruckGuy74

[G. David Felt]

http://www.hubgarage.com/mygarage/HOTRODTUCKER/vehicles/6842

Awesome images of the Tucker 48!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Y75YQPgEA5w

Additional love of the Tucker Videos

http://wn.com/Tucker_48

Enjoy!

Edited July 11, 2012 by dfelt

[Drew Dowdell]

Wasn't there someone building Northstar powered Tucker reproductions a few years ago? I can't find it.

[ocnblu]

I sawr the one at Gast in Strasburg, PA before they went out of business (the building now houses an Amish furniture store). Imposing, retro-futuristic machine that it is.

Edited July 11, 2012 by ocnblu

[balthazar]

Roger- I was wondering when you were going to pop in here.

I've seen #1024 at Gast, plus the convert @ Hershey, plus the first car Ida built (dark blue) when it was @ Lead East. Officially that's only 1 Tucker, I guess.

Olds, check > Rob Ida Concepts < on FB.

[A Horse With No Name]

It would be cool to build real good replicas of a lot of old cars.

I'd take an Alfa 8C as well as a Tucker....

Roger- I was wondering when you were going to pop in here.

I've seen #1024 at Gast, plus the convert @ Hershey, plus the first car Ida built (dark blue) when it was @ Lead East. Officially that's only 1 Tucker, I guess.

Olds, check > Rob Ida Concepts < on FB.

I'll check it out also, thanks!

[balthazar]

On the net too, of course : http://www.robidaconcepts.com/

[G. David Felt]

On the net too, of course : http://www.robidaconcepts.com/

Sweet Site

[balthazar]

I need to amend my post above. I believe it's #1051 that's not officially tallied in with the others (not the prototype), and that's where the "51/47" numbers come from. Club site shows 1051 as a courtesy, but not the convert or any of the repros.

I believe I read Ida has built either 2 or 3 Tuckers to date, plus has been working on a full-scale version of one of the pre-prototype designs, this one :

[ocnblu]

pretty wild, balthazar

[G. David Felt]

I need to amend my post above. I believe it's #1051 that's not officially tallied in with the others (not the prototype), and that's where the "51/47" numbers come from. Club site shows 1051 as a courtesy, but not the convert or any of the repros.

I believe I read Ida has built either 2 or 3 Tuckers to date, plus has been working on a full-scale version of one of the pre-prototype designs, this one :

That is some freakin sweet Design language.

[balthazar]

That one & the below are obviously close in the gestation period.

I tell you straight up as a car enthusiast, the below is about as perfectly wonderful a design as I can think of. Long, low, wide... streamlined & fully-radiused, with money unlimited I would have this built before anything else :

[ocnblu]

With the front wheels tucked inside snug fitting, skirted fenders, I wonder how the steering was envisioned to work.

Check out those gullwing doors!

Spectacular design though... WOW.

Edited July 13, 2012 by ocnblu

[balthazar]

Drawing does 'romanticize' things a bit, but obviously the fenders turn. I believe 'productionalized', there would be larger gaps inboard of the fenders. If I could build it looking 'tight' like above, I'd settle for a 80' turning circle.

[ocnblu]

Well, before 1959, a car's track was considerably narrower than its body, so without romance, maybe there was enough space to actually turn the wheels.

[balthazar]

I get what you mean; maybe they would work as shown.

Note the production Tuckers had incredible track : 64/65, or more than Pontiac ever did (63/64)

Edited July 13, 2012 by balthazar

[Drew Dowdell]

I don't think so. Either you'd hit the inner fender when you turned or you're rolling on bicycle tires.

[balthazar]

See, my belief is it wouldn't work as shown - but it IS just a drawing.

Here- the inboard 'cut' seems to go right thru any sort of typical steering linkage...

[A Horse With No Name]

That is a sweet design....

[Robert Hall]

Maybe it's a rear wheel steering design. Speaking of, has there ever been a 4 wheeled production car with steerable rear wheels (and fixed front wheels) ?