Ot what can I say but its a Tucker!http://www.laubly.com/1948tucker.htm

[JIPJOBXX]

Probably most innovative car built in the United States for it time. Enjoy I did.

http://www.laubly.com/1948tucker.htm

[HalfdollarMayflower]

Wow..neat pics, but horrile information;

There's still the question if the cars were any good or not. For starters, its doubtful than any car maker besides Tucker can say that 60 years after they were first built, the bulk of their cars are still around.

Could that have anything to do with the fact that the company shut down before it really ever got started, thus creating a specialized niche market for said vehicle? That's like saying a vette was more dependable than a volkswagen because more of them have survived.

From a performance standpoint, Tucker's are hard to beat when placed against from their era. In 1954, Bill Hamlin pitted his Tucker against a new Oldsmobile 88. The Olds had a V-8, the Tucker a flat six. At the time, Hamlin's Tucker had 110,000 on the clock, the Olds topped out at 78.8 MPH, while Hamlin's Tucker topped out at 82 MPH. Hamlin had a slight disadvantage, in that he had to start his car in second (Tucker's had a 4-speed, tranny, BTW), since the torque from the engine most likely would have shredded the Cord tranny if he'd started in first.

So this 'good car' would shred the tranny if started in 1st?!?!?! Plus, what does starting in 2nd have to do with top speed? I could understand if we were talking about drag racing, but top speed is a function of power, RPM, and final drive ratio.

But this one takes the cake;

Hamlin's unmodified Tucker was rated at 103 HP at 2,000 RPM, while a 1954 Cadillac was only 87 HP at 2,000 RPM in dyno testing.

Yeah, he forgets to mention that the '54 Caddy V8 was capable of producing more power (somewhere in the neighborhood of 210) at higher RPM...

Cool car though.

Edited August 6, 2009 by HalfdollarMayflower

[HalfdollarMayflower]

The helicopter engine, which powered the Tucker could run for 1,500 hours without a rebuild, and exceeded every military specification required of it. At least one Tucker had 200,000 miles on the clock without needing a major repair.

Someone should tell him that 1500 hours at an average speed of 40 equals 60,000 miles...not as impressive as it sounds.

[randroid]

JIPJOBXX,

Magnificent post! Thank you!

-Randy

[Captain Neon]

I'm a big fan of Tuckers, but the authour of the webpage does sound more like a used car salesman than an unbiased reporter.

[randroid]

Ben,

I disagree with you in part for no reason other than what you said about an unbiased reporter. If there are many good points and few bad ones, would it be unbiased to not mention some of the good ones to make sure the 'bad ones' got their turn? I believe that Tucker, like Studebaker and the Hudson, were so far ahead of their time that they were doomed from the start, but that doesn't mean they didn't have neat stuff about them and an unbiased reporter should discuss hat stuff while describing the car.

That's all.

-Randy

PS-You ever get that custom upholstery done? I was just able to put together a few leads when you split town, and I met some really good people doing it so it was time well spent.

[HalfdollarMayflower]

Ben,

I disagree with you in part for no reason other than what you said about an unbiased reporter. If there are many good points and few bad ones, would it be unbiased to not mention some of the good ones to make sure the 'bad ones' got their turn? I believe that Tucker, like Studebaker and the Hudson, were so far ahead of their time that they were doomed from the start, but that doesn't mean they didn't have neat stuff about them and an unbiased reporter should discuss hat stuff while describing the car.

That's all.

-Randy

PS-You ever get that custom upholstery done? I was just able to put together a few leads when you split town, and I met some really good people doing it so it was time well spent.

Very true...never noticed the way the door openings extend to the roof...very swoopy design. I love the instrument cluster...very neat, uncluttered design (I even like the funky speedometer that reads more like a clock than a conventional speedo). And talk about leg room...take a look at the cavernous passenger compartment! Wow!

[Captain Neon]

Ben,

I disagree with you in part for no reason other than what you said about an unbiased reporter. If there are many good points and few bad ones, would it be unbiased to not mention some of the good ones to make sure the 'bad ones' got their turn? I believe that Tucker, like Studebaker and the Hudson, were so far ahead of their time that they were doomed from the start, but that doesn't mean they didn't have neat stuff about them and an unbiased reporter should discuss hat stuff while describing the car.

That's all.

-Randy

PS-You ever get that custom upholstery done? I was just able to put together a few leads when you split town, and I met some really good people doing it so it was time well spent.

Wife convinced me that tax refund money would be better spent on paying off a credit card. It was hard to argue with her, esp. after making her move cross country again in less than one year. Maybe next year. She's now actively involved in making suggestions such as instead of wool seats using nylon. She's allergic to wool so she has a bedsheet on the passenger side when she rides in the car. I've also got her convinced that $5000 isn't too much to spend to get everything we want done. I thank Pawn Stars on the History Channel for that. They completely redid the upholstery on a '64 Continental for $15K in Las Vegas. All leather, replaced carpet and wood dash. Beautiful immaculate job. I'm just trimming in leather, there's only carpet in the back, and the cost of labour is lower in northern rural Missouri than Las Vegas.

[Ryan Robbins]

Very cool car indeed. In regards to the door opening into the roof, I believe I read somewhere (and I could be wrong too) that this was another safety feature. It was supposed to reduce the chance of someone hitting their head on the roof as they entered and exited the vehicle. I guess this was a big problem back then.

[desoto1939]

BAck in the 90s the NAtional Desoto Club hosted their Convention at Whitepost Va. During one of our runs we stopped at a resto shop in Front royal. The owner of this shop was a previous worker for Billy Thompson at White Post and they were inthe process of restoring the 1st production Tucker. We were able get up close the entire car. It was a very interesting session to see the car and to hear all about the innovations that were in the car.

Glad to see that this gentleman was driving his car, Just proves that they need to be driven and enjoyed and not become trailer queens.

Very nice pictures of the car, Thanks for being there to help the person and assist them. This is what the hobby is all about helping the other drivers when they have a breakdown.

rich Hartung

desoto1939@aol.com

[Don Coatney]

Must be lots of Tuckers in northern Virginia. Rodney found this one in Alexandria. Neat cars.

http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=4367&highlight=tucker

[Dennis Hemingway]

I wished that I would of known that he was there as that is about 20 miles away from my house.

We went to the Tucker Convention a few years ago when it was in Las Vegas. we were wearing t-shirts with photos of our 48 Plymouth on them, and the people at the convention treated us like we were part of their family. We got to meet Preston's cousin and a guy who worked with Preston, they took us inside the roped off area and showed us the cars up close and even let Kathy set in one.

Dennis:cool:

Here is one that was at the Fun Run at Big Bear Lake a few years ago.

[BobT-47P15]

Dennis, that gold one is not quite stock, according to the Tucker web site.

It is on a 1964 Mercury Monterrey chassis with a 390 front engine.

Sold on ebay 8/07 for $202,700.

It had been converted to an Olds drivetrain back in the 1950s.

Interesting stuff.

[Troganin]

I remember watching a movie on Tucker some 15 years or so ago. After a littile imdb search "Tucker: The Man and His Dream" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096316/

Its worth a watch if you are intrested. I remember a part about the turning headlight acting as a rudder on one of the test cars. Maybe I'll dust off the old VHS and watch it again.

[Plymouthy Adams]

just looks like another old Studebaker with a big light emitting zit on its forehead...

[Dennis Hemingway]

That's the one, They said that they had the original frame & running gear stored in a garage in Arizona.

The wife of the guy who owned the car in 2004 was raised here in Barstow and went to school with the president of our car club.

Dennis:cool:

[Young Ed]

I remember watching a movie on Tucker some 15 years or so ago. After a littile imdb search "Tucker: The Man and His Dream" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096316/

Its worth a watch if you are intrested. I remember a part about the turning headlight acting as a rudder on one of the test cars. Maybe I'll dust off the old VHS and watch it again.

Very good movie. Suggest you upgrade to a DVD copy. I have it so I know its out there.

[B-Watson]

The Tucker and Cord used a pre-selector system of gear change. You shifted into the gear you wanted, pushed the clutch pedal to the floor and then let the clutch pedal up. 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears could be engaged while the car was moving but 1st and reverse had to be engaged when the car was standing still. The pre-selector system as also available on late-1930's Hudsons, although with only a 3-speed transmission.

Supposedly 51 cars were built, plus the prototype "Tin Goose". The "production" Tuckers used an air-cooled 335-cid pancake six built by Aircooled Motors (ex-Franklin) of Syracuse, New York and was a modified helicopter engine. The Tucker version had a 7.0:1 compression ratio, was converted to water cooling (thus the radiator cap in the engine compartment photo) and put out 166 bhp and 372 lb-ft of torque.

The prototype "Tin Goose" had a pancake six, hemispherical combustion chambers, fuel injection and valves actuated by oil pressure instead of a camshaft. With a bore and stroke of 5" the engine was 589-cid. Power was transmitted to the rear wheel by two torque converters. Nice in theory but in practise the fuel injection, the valve lifters and the torque converters did not work properly. Plus the size of the pistons necessitated a 24-volt system for a starter large enough to crank it over.

The pull-to exterior door handles, interior push button units and window crank handles were also used by Kaiser, Frazer and Willys. The Tucker sat on a 128" wheelbase, was 219" long and 60" high. The body was separate from the chassis frame which had front and rear stub-frames.

The Tucker factory was a government-funded and owned factory in Chicago built by Chrysler and used by Dodge Division during WW II to build tanks.

[Plymouthy Adams]

nice summary Bill...I went reading also and though "ahead of his time" aspects may apply in thought and such..the reliability was not up to par..as most real life articles (unbiased) mention...he was destined to fail in the long run..the car was not unlike other non-big three companies that actually had to "borrow" parts and such to built this coaches..of course that is what most "rodder/customizer" do also..

of interest to many..when he stumbled upon the use of the FRANKLIN motor...he bought the company to ensure engine availability....so when did it go from Franklin to Aircooled..and was the Tucker name ever associated with the engine as an available "aftermarket item"