History Searching for 1948 Tucker photos

Here are pictures I took of that car at the show.

 

i think he means front engined, rear wheel drive (conventional drivetrain configuration) if not, i'm really confused, too. lol.

 

I don't think the '79-'85 GM E-body based Riviera is unibody.

But I bet you're right, the configuration is probably just getting mangled in the Portuguese to English translation.

 

I forgot about that one, you may be right. That was the last year of the longitudinal engine cars. Let's see, how do you say constant-velocity joint in Portuguese?
FC

 

Are the heads on the 335 made of aluminum?

FC

 

Did he let you see the Tucker? It sure would be great to get some photos of the car, mileage, engine serial number, and its data plate. You're right about his projects taking a while, it's been 24 years now and last I heard it was still in primer.

 

Yep, sorry I meant to say front engine. The car would have remained rear wheel drive but moved the engine from the rear to the front. Still not sure what it is sitting on for a frame. I should have photos shortly. Hard to say what someone might have done under the car. The Tucker frame would not support a front engine.

When Tucker #1046 was converted the front engine they just cut out the crossmembers where needed and sat the car down on an Olds frame and then later a Merc frame. This really helped in the current restoration as a lot of the original frame was still under the car.

It will be interesting to see how #1035 was done. So far it looks chopped up a bit but nothing that can't be fixed.

 

Tucker 1004 From Domino's Farms Auction in Ann Arbor Michigan as Advertised in Old Cars News And Marketplace August 29th 1991

 

Not sure if this has been posted before .....

Tucker Slide Show​

 

Rick was pretty busy when we stopped by, Tho he did say to give him a call after the first of the year and he would take us down to the basement and show us the Tucker. I guess it is after the first so we will have to give him a call when we get the time.

 

Make sure to bring a camera and take lots of photos. The engine number is located on the top of the block near where the distributor goes in. It should be a five digit number beginning with 335. The data plate in in the front in the trunk on the left side of the firewall.

 

The rarest Tucker ever!
... one that never existed.

Here's a rendering and a phantom advertisement that I did
for one of the HAMB Friday Art Shows a while back.

Great thread!

 

If anyone is still interested in knowing the mileage of the Tucker at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan I may be able to help. I've been exchanging emails with the former Curator of the Automobile collection Randy Mason. I worked with Randy when he was looking for a 1960 Corvair for display back in the mid-'80's. He has moved on to a different job still in the Detroit area and still related to the Museum business. I asked him if he could get me an answer on the odometer reading question. Soon as I hear back from him I will forward any info here on this thread. Okay?? - Pete Koehler in Slippery Rock, PA

 

A few years ago, I seen this Tucker at a car show in Prescott Arizona at the Watson lake August car show. It was very interesting seeing a Merc. motor in the front of this Tucker.Always wondered why this car was changed to front engine. Now I know. Great thread.

 

Pete you are my hero today ! Hopefully they won't charge Randy $35.00

 

After our last car club meeting I received some more information on the Tucker that got wrecked in Billings, MT, while on display. Gary Donovan who is a long time member of several old car clubs in Billings, wrote about his maternal grandfather driving a 40 Ford past the Tucker dealership in downtown Billings. The 40 Ford belonged to his son (Gary's Uncle). Just as the Ford got in front of the dealership, the Tucker Automobile exited the premises and ran into it, damaging both cars. The Tucker driver was either going too fast or wasn't paying attention. In any case he was at fault and the Tucker company sent a check to the Ford owner to pay for repairs. The Tucker company hadn't run out of money yet and the check cashed okay. Both cars were repaired in Billings. The Tucker had to be repaired before it made its next debut. In later years Gary discussed the accident with his uncle who owned the Ford. Gary was hoping the check hadn't went through, as a bounced check from the Tucker Automobile Company would have made quite a souvenir. Anyway, we've had some great Tucker discussions because of this thread. Keep up the good work.

 

Great information. Do you know what parts of the Tucker were damaged? I'd love to find out and see if there is any evidence left on the car now from its Billings visit. Maybe we can get Gary's Grandfather and Uncles name as well so we can add them to the Tucker history archives. Not many people can say they've crashed into a Tucker!

 

In 1958, Tucker #1036 was sold to a Museum that was located on Lookout Mountain near Golden Colorado. This Museum closed in the early 60s and the car was sold to buyer outside St. Louis MO.

Does anyone remember this Museum and know the name of the owners at that time or have photos of the car there?

I've done a lot of research looking for this Museum and have been told by several people there was never a Museum there, however, I've found this Museum was one of at least three that was on Lookout Mountain that had cars. There was one owned by Stan Francis in the early 70s and another in the late 70s to early 80s. I'm looking for the one that was there in 1958. I did speak with Stan Francis, great guy, but was not able to offer a suggestion on an earlier Museum. I did hear that the building may have burned down in the mid 60s after it was closed.

If anyone has any information please post it and I'll track it from there.

 

Wow! That is great work! Maybe this would be a good project for whoever bought the Tucker barn find at the recent Gooding auction. They could show it alongside the Tucker Convertible. That would surely make some heads explode!

Frank C.

 

Nick Jenin passed away on this day in 1978

Nick R. Jenin, who without a doubt was the biggest Tucker fan ever, passed away 33 years ago on this date in 1978. Jenin is said to have owned 10 Tuckers at one time. Although we have never determined exactly which cars he owned, or if there was truly ten cars, there are several Tuckers which were definately owned by Jenin including a chassis and firewall numbered #57. Jenin certainly owned more Tuckers in his life than anyone else ever has.

He was born in Baltimore, MD on Sep 2, 1905 and died Feb 13, 1978. Nikola Janjanin became Nick Jenin and began a career as a race car driver. In 1946, Nick Jenin along with his brother Pete, took over ownership of Chicago’s Raceway Park, a ¼ mile stock car track, located on 130th St. and Ashland Ave. in Chicago. Nick and Anne (b. 10/9/1914, d. 12/5/1976) Jenin purchased a home in the Lauder Del Mar subdivision of the City of Fort Lauderdale in 1948 converting it to a B&B under the banner The Pillars by the Sea Hotel and Pool, 111 N. Birch Road, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304. They have a daughter Sandra Jenin who was born in 1943.

I understand he may have owned a hotel in the Detroit area as well as other property. He also rented space under the Michigan State Fairgrounds for many years in the late 50s until the mid 60s to store his car collection. He and his family traveled to England in 1953 for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth on the USS United States. On the trip with him were Walter Cronkite and Jackie Bouvier who later that year married Jack Kennedy and went on to become First Lady.

Jenin traveled the country with his Fabulous Tuckers show in the late 50s and early 60s. His collection of cars and memorabilia was second to none. By 1964 his interest in the cars began to fade and he put the collection up for sale. He offered the collection "complete", all 10 cars for $38,000. He could not find any buyers. The famed Harrah's collection in Reno thought it was, "far too much for a bunch of cars that will never amount to anything". He finally sold the cars off one by one selling his final car, #1026, along with some other Tucker items in 1974.

For those of us who live, breathe, and sleep Tucker he will always be an amazing person to study. Without the efforts of Nick Jenin there might be a lot less Tuckers around for us to enjoy today.

If anyone has photos of the Jenin Collection or information about him please post it up.

 

The author Clive Cussler has a private collection/museum near Golden. It can be visited by invitation only. Perhaps his collection is what you are thinking of. He has had cars for quite a number of years.

 

No, it's not Clive's Collection. The timeframe for this Museum is about 5-10 years before Clive wrote his first novel and Clive's Museum is in Arvada and is open to the public from May through September. It is also not the Forney or the Gateway Museums.

The Museum I'm looking for information on was an actual business that operated on Lookout Mountain in Colorado and closed around 1962 and sold off all their cars. They are not in business anymore and were not located somewhere in the area. It was on Lookout Mountain but is not the Museum Stan Francis owned there in the 70s.

Also it was definately on Lookout Mountain in Colorado and not in Georgia or some other state that has a Lookout Mountain.

 

Nice article about Tucker #1035 today in Hemmings written by Daniel Strohl.

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2011/02/15/long-neglected-tucker-exhumed-headed-for-restoration/

 

These were posted in another thread by mrspeedyt .....

 

I recently noticed just how much these auction companies misrepresent facts. The one held at the Peterson Museum a couple of years ago listed the "Boothill Express" as being made of wood in the 1800's, but it was actually a fiberglass copy of the original.

Last August I witnessed the "Mysterion" being sold in Monterey and there was not one mention of the fact that it was a clone. It's well know that the latter was a clone, but not so much the former.

 

There are actually two Boot Hill Expresses. You are correct, the one that just sold is the fiberglass one. The other one is an actual wooden 1800's horse drawn hearse that has been modified a little bit.

 

My point exactly. The auction catalog claimed it was a wood 1800's hearse. Probably not knowingly fraud, but definitely ignorance. I would assume that the buyer knew.

 

These are exactly the kind of photos I'm searching for. They are very helpful in tracking the ownership of the Tuckers. These photos also answer the earlier question about the car below:

 

One of the best threads I have read anywhere in a long time. so much amazing knowlegde about the Tucker. Even though I don't have any pictures--I did receive some memoriabilia a few years back. When my aunt passed away, we found Tucker stock certificates, brochure on the Franklin engine(both of which I have seen elsewhere throught out the years), but what I found interesting was many of the court papers on the bankruptcy proceedings still in the original addressed envelpoes. Have all stuff kept away for future generations.
Kudos to a great thread and many great pictures

 

Here's a link to a recent article someone showed me.

--------------------
Unearthed Tucker
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Parked in a ramshackle garage for 54 years, unrestored gem sells for $800,000

By Paul Duchene, Special to Tribune newspapers

February 1 2011, 9:46 AM EST

The Tucker story has always had its share of drama, and whenever some new chapter unfolds — like Francis Ford Coppola's 1988 movie, or the discovery of a mysterious convertible in 2009 — a new generation of motorheads is enchanted.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/automotive/sc-cons-0127-autocover-20110127-48,0,5818830.story