Richard Lichtfel Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 What do you think of the Tucker con. I mean convertible? This is suppose to be a factory experimental car and yet there are no records of it. It amazes me how these restoration shops come out with these when there is no one alive to verify it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 What Tucker convertible? Where? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_padavano Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Are you talking about this one? This one is an admitted fiberglass replica with a Corvair drivetrain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Rohn Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 http://www.tuckerclub.org/bbs3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=489http://www.suarezweb.com/tuckerclub/taca1052.htmhttp://usera.imagecave.com/tuckerfan/tcs.jpghttp://autoblognews.com/tucker-convertible-to-finally-see-the-light-of-day/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_a Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 There is a story about it on the online Old Cars Weekly. Whatever it is, it's being restored/completed this summer. It may be simply a "confederation" of spare parts someone amassed, or an unfinished project of the Tucker Co. if one were to imagine that's possible. It looks like the entire front clip had to be fabricated from scratch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Seems like the rear would be worse. Weren't they all four doors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 60electra225 Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I watched (again) the TUCKER movie a few months back, and in the Extras on the DVD, one of the producers was driving one (apparently both directors have one each) however one of them was right hand drive. Anyone else notice that, and why, or was there a right hand drive one produced officially ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkV Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola have one each, Coppola's is on display at his winery in NAPA CA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 60electra225 Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 But is one of them right hand drive ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ChrisSummers Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Regarding the convertible, the Tucker Club historians have interviewed every designer they could be find and just about every person involved with Tuckers when they were being built. There was never a convertible, even a prototype.I rarely say "never-ever," knowing that cars said to have been destroyed occasionally show up alive and well, but in this case I suspect that the experts are right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Orphanauto Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I had a chance to buy one for $60,000. back in 1980/81, I was a new marine at 18/19 years old, so I was broke, it was all original and the paint was cracked bad like a boiled egg. ( laquar paint ) Ofcourse it was not a convertible. I never heard of a convertible, only 50 made plus the proto type, has to be a kit, but a 2 door convertible does sound cool. even as a kit car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hupp 31 Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 listed on ebay auction number 250369129631. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Marx Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Didn't take them long to hit a pricing point!!! And all this for a questionable pedigree. maybe it is a "mutt like me". hummm, sounds familiar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BJM Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Why put it on ebay now, except as a publicity stunt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlLaFong Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 5 million and no picture?!?!?! It would look good parked next to my Model "T" Opera Car and My 1899 Brewster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Rohn Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 here is the link:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Truc...#ht_5570wt_1279 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Rohn Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 and here is the link for the previous attempt:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250369129631 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Merchant Xpress Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Looks like a scale model to me. For some reason it feels like all smoke and mirrors with a good dose of fraud mixed in.Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bchevy Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 5 Million dollar price tag, REQUIRES a $500. deposit....that's funny there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BJM Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Here's the deal. Previously evilbay wanted $40 plus to run a car auction. Now, it is about $1.00. So this is inexpensive advertising and nothing more. Evilbay probably has monitors for any high dollar auction for anything - including this car. If someone actually bid $5 million, I'll bet it would be cancelled. Someone bid $1,000,000 for a cup that Tiger Woods drank out of at last year's Masters golf tournament. Ebay cancelled the acution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest strelnik Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 My uncle, Albert Popp, was a draftsman working for Tucker and he retained copies of some of the blueprints. I remember seeing them as a child back in the 1960s. I never saw a convertible among the drawings, I can say that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Orphanauto Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 If you go to youtube there is a video of the convertible and the guy who owns it. The video is from The OriginalWheelsTv . I am not convinced it is real, but.. I am not possitive it not either. Take a look at the video and let me know what you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roncarbaugh Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Like Santa Claus,I'd love to believe the "found" Tucker Vert is a authentic hidden find. Unfortunately, I cannot.P.T. Barnum would love this story !Ron Carbaugh'49 Studebaker Truck'01 C-5 Vette Roadster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg_bigdaddy Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Hey Guys,Well here is a news flash…the Tucker Convertible will premiere at Keels & Wheels next weekend. This car has gotten a lot of attention and obviously generated controversy. For the last several months discussion groups and the Old Cars Weekly web site have been buzzing with news of the World’s only Tucker convertible. Today Bob Fuller Chairman of the Keels & Wheels Councours d’Elegance and Justin Cole, President of Benchmark Classics jointly announced the car will premiere next weekend May 2nd in Seabrook, TX.I spoke to Cole a short time ago about the unveiling. “The car is not yet complete, but due to the level of interest we thought a preview would be in order. We have a large shop, and for the last few weeks we have devoted about 70% of our labor hours to the Tucker. We chose Keels & Wheels to preview the car for several reasons; I and my partners are originally from Texas, the growing reputation of the show and its Chairman Bob Fuller, and mostly due to the wide exposure the car will garner with some of the country’s foremost collectors and the general public.” Fuller says, “We are pleased that the world’s only Tucker convertible will be seen publicly for the first time at Keels & Wheels. Justin and his crew have been working non-stop to be ready. Although the car won’t be complete you will definitely see what it will be upon completion.”During my conversation with Cold he did point out a couple of pieces of anecdotal evidence that are difficult to explain if the car was not conceived as a factory project. Whatever the truth and your personal opinion, this is the only Tucker convertible we are ever likely to see. Additional information and a video of the Tucker convertible can be found in the January Old Cars Weekly article at Old Cars Weekly Article http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/article/The_Mysterious_Tucker_convertible/The car can also be seen as a work in progress can be found http://www.tuckerconvertible.com/video Tickets and information for Keels & Wheels can be found at www.keels-wheels.com I’m also pleased to announce that I was asked to be director of Videography for the event, and will be working with a professional film crew. Quite a step up from my You Tube videos! I look forward to seeing you next weekend in Seabrook. Thanks,Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Xprefix28truck Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 The video says that it started life in a Design Studio in Chicago...Is that where all Tuckers started? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Xprefix28truck Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Does anyone else have a copy of this "news letter" from 1994 that mentions the convertible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TG57Roadmaster Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Fuller sez...<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">We are pleased that the world’s only Tucker convertible will be seen publicly for the first time... </div></div> TG sez... <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I will be pleased to see pigs fly for the first time... </div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BJM Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I think what is taking so long is the need to make sure they remove all appearances of the obvious 'customization'. They probably get togther often to compare the new ustom work to whatever documentation they say they have so they pull the ruse off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Ever notice that people almost never find a previously unknown model of an inexpensive make of car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Walling Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I almost have definite proof that John has the propeller on his Amphibcar that was supposed to be installed on the tucker. Also, Peter G. has a photo without caption, (#435) which almost clearly shows the convertible top located in Kalamazoo that was manufactured for the Tucker before the steel top was even designed! For some mysterious reason, these two do not want us to know the truth and are hiding the proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Green Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 As I understand it this rare photo is the first 54 Chevy off the assembly line and will possibly soon be hitting the show circuit. Documentation is currently being made, I mean gathered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talarico8447 Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 If the car was a true Tucker,when it was found you would think the owner would want all the experts to come and verify the authenticity of the car. At first no one could see it then no one could take pictures then a body shop owner buys it and claims he has a letter from the Tucker company. Where is this letter? If I had the car I would want everyone to come and see it to help me document the car. Then they put it on Ebay for 5,000,000.00, come on....bottom line is there trying to create hype with their hoax! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Sadly it will likely eventually go to one of the major auctions where the auctioneer will present it as authentic and someone will buy it. Even more sadly, over time it will BECOME authentic just like numerous other cobbled together cars have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg_bigdaddy Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 The Keels & Wheels Concour is not a party to any sort of hoax, or has any interest in if or how the car sells. When completed the car will appear to be a Tucker convertible. It is my understanding that the car is being completed with mostly original Tucker parts including an original modified body shell. Personally I don't believe it matters whether the car was conceived by Preston Tucker, or was conceived much later by a third party. If a Tucker was butchered by someone, it was done years (decades?) before the car was acquired by the current owner. At the very least it is an interesting "what if." In my mind a completed car is preferable to a pile of parts rusting in someones garage. Our bottom line is that the car has generated lots of interest (positive and negative) which we hope will sell tickets which supports our charities.Anyone that buys this car need only do a quick Google search to read the speculation, hype, and even a find a few facts. In addition to this car, many other highly documented and original cars will be in attendance. We hope that everyone here and thousand others will come and support our worthy charities. Greg Riley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg_bigdaddy Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 I asked the questions I thought you wanted answered. I was allowed to crawl all over and under the car. FYI, the Concour had record attendance, and the Tucker was surrounded by crowds all weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hugh32 Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Greg, I saw the video. The fenders were there, trunk lid was there, I noticed what was "not there" wasn't stated. Most likely the panel between the trunk lid and the area the top would fold into was missing. This panel was the one that obviously would not have been on the original four door sedan. The body work on the left rear quarter panel looks like mashed potatoes. By the way, anyone interested in buying an original 1934 Chrysler Imperial Custom Airflow 'Convertible Sedan' ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg_bigdaddy Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 You are correct regarding the missing panels. I was told those "mashed potato" panels were temporary for use as a template, and that the permanent panels were being fabricated from these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Plymouthy Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 if it is a zero miles original Tucker..why in the name of sam would it need a restoration and fabricated panels? is everyone living in Denmark... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Interesting case. As the owner of a car who's history has been, and still is, questioned, I can tell you that auto makers did some very interesting things behind closed doors. In fact, after my '56 Mark II was damaged by its wrapping in transit to Chicago it disappeared off of the Continental Division's books. I have a copy of a letter from Ford's Marketing Division contacting World Headquarters asking what to do with the new cars (3). I've been through every piece of paper in the Continental Division's records on file at the Benson Ford Research Library and there is no response.Where my case is different is that I found a number of people that actually turned my roof-damaged Mark II into a convertible. One of them happened to be the retired Production Manager of Hess & Eisenhardt, who revealed that there were two black Mark II made into convertibles from new cars in October of 1955. Both were roof damaged. The customer was Ford Marketing, not Ford Motor or the Continental Division. The third car mentioned was a dash fire. They probably cannibalized that car as there were no parts in the supply chain.My point is that, more often than not, one hand in an auto company doesn't always know what the other is doing. In my case, two cars were made into convertibles, mentioned once in a car magazine in very early 1956 and disappeared into some executive's private stash until reappearing in 1963.Interestingly, my discovery happened by chance. The previous owner restored the car to a very high standard. He had erroneously badged the car with "Derham" tags, touting it as a "lost" Derham car. I displayed it that way at a Ford Headquarters indoor show of cars gathered by the Michigan Region of the LCOC. A Ford VP approached me and told me that it wasn't a Derham car but made by Hess & Eisenhardt. He strongly suggested that I go down that road. I found Willard Hess' son and he led me to the production manager.My point here is that somebody has to have first hand knowledge of whether this is a cobbled car or a prototype. A letter from an accountant doesn't really cut it for me. Accountants are very far removed from the prototype labs. Short of actual documentation, I would think that I would take the word of someone that knew the project. Has anyone come forward with any knowledge of it? When the PM looked at my car he was able to state, "That's Charlie's work on the top bows." or, "That's how we fabricated that linkage". To me, at least, that goes a long ways.While that may not be enough for the LCOC or the Tucker Club, it seems good enough to draw a crowd at Concours. I was going to take my car to Keels and Wheels this year but the enormous cost of transportation kept me away. Sounds like the Tucker would have stolen my thunder, anyway.One other thing. Projects like this are not done on the fly at the factory level. I would think that there has to, at the very least, be drawings of some kind that still exist. Didn't I read an article a couple of years ago about the man that was able to salvage bales and bales of drawings from the Tucker factory? Wonder what he thinks about all this?I do have to question 1300 hours, though. (We need a roll-eyes emoticon) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlLaFong Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 The interview, to me, was odd. If this guy is a "born car nut" as he keeps saying, why doesn't he offer up something of substance. I mean, you listen to Leno on his website and you think, "There is a real car nut." This guy parrots the same info over and over. It has a Cord transmission. Big Deal!!! It has the Franklin Tucker engine. Again, big deal.The whole thing stinks in my opinion. Who completely welds in a piece of sheet metal so they can come back at a later date and weld in the "real" one. What sort of real documentation does he have to prove that this was built in Tucker's shop? Give us a name, some drawings, something. Yeah, when it's done it will be the only Tucker convertible and it will be a real Tucker as well. But did Tucker build or commission someone to build it or is it a backyard conversion? If someone from the Tucker club were to measure the thickness of the frame and verify that it is thicker than the regular production cars, that would be helpful. But that also opens up another can of worms. Wouldn't it require all new tooling to stamp out frames made of thicker steel? Huge cash outlay right there.I don't know. To me, the car looks to have been built by a somewhat competent person. I think Tucker would have had craftsmen available to him that would have built a seamless car rather than the seemingly cobbled car in the video.BTW, are those coilover shocks factory??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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