Visit the Cammack Tucker Collection

[Guest]

The Chesapeake Region visited the Cammack Tucker Collection in Alexandria, VA a couple of weeks ago. Many DFers are aware that this private museum's entire inventory of three restored Tuckers - numbers 1, 22 & 26, prototype chassis and engines, factory engineering drawings, documents, literature, correspondence, and accompanying displays linked to Tuckers has been donated to the AACA Museum.<P>For the past few years David Cammack has had an open invitation for small groups to visit his musuem, which is conveniently located just off I-95. Group visits are by appointment (703.836.4520) and David is very accomodating in scheduling groups.<P>The reason that I'm pointing out all this is that David personally conducts the tour through his displays explaining the Tucker's development process and history in great depth and detail. Our group was there for a little more than three hours learning and asking questions. David has spent about three decades assembling this treasure. Once the collection goes to the AACA Museum, access to his personal knowledge in a question and answer format won't be possible. <P>I would encourage all AACA regions within reasonable driving distance to visit this unique piece of American automotive history. It's well worth it! <P>

[John N. Packard]

Here's what I'm printing in the January Chesapeake Bulletin about our tour.<BR>Ted Schneider arranged a tour to the Cammack Tucker Collection in Alexandria the following Saturday. What a change in weather! We gathered at the Rest Stop on I-95 just below MD Route 32 in a cold drizzle. As we proceeded around DC on the inner loop of the Capital beltway the rain increased and the traffic generated a dense mist that made it difficult to pick out the lead car. For me it was Tommy Thompson's 1969 Chevrolet, followed by Al & Mildred Lawson in their modern Lincoln. The only other antique on the tour was Ray Vanderlinde's 1981 Chrysler Cordoba. We enjoyed an excellent meal at the Old Country Buffet on the Richmond Highway in Alexandria and then proceeded into Old Town to visit the Tucker collection.<BR>Dave Cammack greeted us as we arrived and gave us a three hour tour of his absolutely fascinating collection. Dave bought his first Tucker automobile in 1972 and had acquired two others by 1974. In addition he has a wealth of Tucker memorabilia and extensive knowledge of the marque and its products. I was impressed by his balanced view of Preston Tucker, the Tucker enterprise, and its products. Clearly Preston Tucker was a visionary who chose the right time in 1948 to introduce an advanced automobile design in both engineering and styling. Unfortunately, he lacked a disciplined engineering approach to bringing his dream vehicle to reality. He accelerated the engineering and design process to the point where many oversights plagued the operation and duplication of effort was common as the parallel efforts of styling and engineering conflicted with one another.<BR>In my early exposure to the Tucker automobile, I came to believe that Preston Tucker was a con man who was trying to capitalize upon the pent-up desire within the American public for a new car following the suspension of auto production during WWII. After seeing the movie about Tucker and visiting the Cammack Collection, I have now come to the conclusion that he was sincere in his efforts and truly had a vision of where the auto industry might might have advanced had design efforts continued during the war years. It became clear to me as Dave Cammack related the story of the development of the Tucker automobile that what was missing was a disciplined engineering design process that would have ensured the integrity of the design and provided quality control. Unfortunately, Preston Tucker's detractors, both within the government and the auto industry, took advantage of the situation to portray him as a shyster. This made it virtually impossible for him to acquire the financing that he desperately needed to go into production. <BR>Dave Cammack pointed out that each of the 51 Tucker automobiles built was, in a very real sense, a prototype. As engineering and design flaws were identified they were corrected in the subsequent models built. This was particularly true of the motor development from a huge 589 cubic inch displacement Lycoming engine to the highly modified and refined Franklin aircraft engine that eventually replaced it. Dave has eight of these motors on display.<BR>The Cammack Collection holds three complete Tucker automobiles: models #1001, #1022, and #1026. Some of the advanced engineering features of the Tucker were a perimeter chassis with a low center of gravity, achieved by placing the rear mounted engine between rather than on top of the frame rails; a modular engine assembly that could be changed out in two hours, opening the possibility for dealers to give loaner engines to customers while theirs were being serviced; a light weight, high displacement aircraft type engine, actually an adaptation of a helicopter engine; Kinmont aircraft type full disc brakes, which never made it into Tucker production but were available as an aftermarket adaptation, particularly for race cars; independent front and rear wheel suspension with the king pin directly over the wheel to eliminate adverse gyroscopic forces; an instant heat, gas heater designed by Motorola; and the well known safety features of a pop out windshield, crash protection compartment under the front dash, and cyclops center mounted headlight that turned with the front wheels. Most amazing of all was the suggested list price of $2,450 for the 1948 Tucker!<BR>The AACA Museum is extremely fortunate that this fabulous Cammack Collection will become a permanent display in the Cammack wing of the proposed building. What a wonderful opportunity to expose future generations to the fascinating story of this automotive visionary!<P>jnp