You can tell Preston’s racing background in the chassis - boxer-type flat engine mounted low in the chassis for low center of gravity, external dry-sump lubrication to prevent any part of the engine getting starved of oil in tight, fast turns, 4 wheel disc brakes, torsion style suspension…… that was all racing-only components and was unheard of for a production, civilian family sedan then. Even now….. you hear dry sump oil system you think Corvette Z06! He was a true enthusiast!
That test chassis is a piece of art. That whole museum looks like a fun place to take a walk through. Thanks for showing us around and I can't wait to see more!
@@Cat-fy5lw via the torque converter, basically to go foward you apply the hydrolic oil pressure in one direction and fo reverse you basically reverse the flow direction of the hydrolic oil. (oversimplified, but thats the gereral idea)
I was lucky enough to find the movie "Tucker" on Tubi yesterday. I haven't seen it in about 30 years. Enjoyed watching it again. It's really cool that you guys can find all of this history and I'm happy that you share it with us. Thank you and have a great day! Bob in Idaho
I am still amazed at Preston Tuckers vision back in 1948 that he would come up with all of the innovative ideas that the big three at that time refused to put in cars. I am amazed that a collector could actually have owned three of the cars and all of those engines and parts. Thanks for sharing.
Let see... Preston Tucker's engineers were ahead of Koenigsegg by about 60 years with both the use of torque converts (direct drive) and freevalve (no camshafts) on the test mule. Impressive stuff for sure.
@@Cat-fy5lw well, considering all of the unconventional ideas in the engineering, like, rubber suspension instead of coil springs, My guess would be , reverse the engine rotation, and then the car . JK
Thank you for preserving this important chapter in Automotive History. It's amazing just how far ahead of their time Tucker designs were. No wonder the "Big 3" had to get in his way.
We keep finding new things as well as we dig through all the company documents and blueprints. Simply amazing what they were able to accomplish in such a short period of time with 70 year old technology. Thanks for watching!
I only found out about David's collection after he had passed - I live just minutes from where his shop was. I'm glad to hear that his collection was preserved!
I thought I knew a lot about Tucker, but I didn't know about any of this and my Uncle Jack took me to the Hershey car show as a kid, which sparked my interest in all cars. First time I saw a Cadillac V12, heard a Ferrari rip, or sat in a BMW Isetta, and with "Family Matters" on the TV I knew what Steve Urkle's car was. For those that have questions about the torque converter direct drive or the "camless valves"? Check out Christian von Koenigsegg over in Sweden doing EXACTLY what Preston was trying just after WW2. "It would take a long time to develop".... Only 70+ years. I am so happy I found this channel and wish you all the best. -From a poor kid that figured out how to rebuild his own transmissions on a 1987 W02 Buick that I could barely afford. Wasn't the first torque converter auto the "Dynaflow" in a 1948 Buick? This genius was like, "We have to be time travelers". Where would we be now?
Loved these cars since I saw My first (#16) at the Henry Ford Museum back in 1978. At that time the cars were displayed in no particular order with no barriers to keep people out. It was closing time and the place was empty. I was able to look over the entire car and as a 17 year old gear head I was amazed. I go back every 2 to 3 years and visit the old car. In 2013 at Pebble Beach Mecum I saw a gold Tucker (it was not part of any sale) sitting in the parking lot. The owner offered me a ride and I was blown away. One of my best days ever. I wish I had ask his name and which car it was. Love this channel thanks for sharing it.
Very good guys! What I'm always most favorably impressed by is the way you diligently are able to keep the Tucker automobile in the public eye. Briefly touching on that is my consideration in looking back at the history. And your family deserved so much more than the way things turned out. Tucker Corporation deserved to keep going. And Tucker brand cars deserved to be on the roadways since 1948. You guys basically have little to work with due to the brief history of the Tucker automobile, but you keep going and somehow find new and old things to bring us, and you make all this goodness happen. I can't tell you how much I admire that! God bless you guys, and all the Tucker family involved, as well as non-family in that all of you are able to make things keep happening. Keep going guys and don't let up until there's nothing left. I want to visit your museum someday and I hope you guys are around for me to have the honor of personally meeting you. Yes, tubeless tires were the new big thing then. I own a 1948 Chrysler, and in their brochures etcetera they tout the new "Safety Seal" wheel rim design. So, your great grandfather was very timely bringing that onto his cars.
A fanatic on the 48 Tucker. Went to this museum. I was a kid in a candy shop. Must of spent a good 4 hours looking at every piece of equipment that was available to see. So grateful I had the opportunity to see such a collection.
This is so wonderful that you grandsons picked up the torch. People need to understand the giant importance of the Tucker story. It is truly a tragedy of the American Freedom denied. I hope to meet you guys some day.
Nice presentation Mike & Sean! I have loved these cars since the first time I was made aware of them. (Probably in the early 1980’s) I have seen one in real life. Your great grandfather was way ahead of his time with these features.
Awesome video, Definitely gonna take my son to check out the Museum when the weather gets warmer. We'll cruise up in our 63 Ford...Yeah I know, it's not a Tucker...LOL
When you see the emphasis on innovation and improvement at so many levels. From prototype to pre production, it's obvious Preston Tucker put so much heart and soul into what would be a competative,, if not leading edge automobile. Enter, being accused of manipulation via mail fraud and still found innocent. The Detroit big three spilled enough crude oil to down a rising Star. Great review and museum, gentleman. In a very special way, you provide a glimpse of the viision and the dream. Remarkable donations to those contributors as well. Thank you!.
Greetings from Thailand, Mike and Sean! WOW what a fantastic museum. I know of no other car that was as innovative as the '48 Tucker. After watching this video I think it would be great if someone completed development of that test chassis design and also that amazing engine. Stay well, fellas! 😁
love this place went as a teen in the 2000s went this past october and it was nice. we used to stay at the hotel next door when we would visit the area but only went into that museum once, glad i got to go back again
@@prestontuckersspeedshop1948 what's funny is this just showed up on my feed I didn't even look for it. Yeah I drove all the way from Massachusetts to go to a haunted house local to you guys and I was like if I'm going all that way I need to go to that car museum again
About 35 years ago I had the pleasure and privilege of becoming acquainted with a man named John Carol, who was a steel buyer for the Tucker Corp. He said that they had just acquired a set of kirksite dies for the body panels, and were in the process of getting everything ready to start cranking out cars. He estimated that if the SEC had held off about 4-6 weeks, they would have been in production. Damn shame things turned out as they did.
Yes, we have always heard it was a matter of days or weeks given that the financials were on the edge of not making it the entire time. What could have been!
Amazing. Just amazing. I sure would love to see what kind of advancements Preston would have made in the auto industry if he hadn't been driven out of business.
Man you always wonder! What could have been if Tucker had succeeded in achieving his dream! Can you imagine how ahead of everyone else he would be with his cars! If his cars would have still alive today I definitely would by one in a heartbeat! The man was a genius! Thanks for sharing this video!👌😎👍I definitely will be keeping my eyes for more great content!
Thank you for sharing another great video you guys your grandfather was one amazing guy and he must had amazing team working with him to develop the tucker cars .
That chassis is so cool! The technology demonstrated in that chassis and motor is really something! I was totally unaware of the hydraulically actuated valve train. And it was totally done totally electromechanical! The spastic 4 wheel independent suspension, the torque converter drive. (Does it work like a CVT in function?) the prototype radiators in the front bumper wings. Now I know why the front bumper was styled the way it is. The interesting looking exhaust system. Probably pretty choked down from the looks of it. This place is just so great!
Been a long time fan of Tucker since the movie when I was a kid. I just saw this video today and smiled! Glad to see they are still as amazing as they were when Preston built them. SO,............ Any plans to build new cars?
Hi Mike & Sean, My father worked for New Jersey Machine when Preston needed machinery to display a working assembly line and show the bankers that he was ready to start production. as the story goes he could not afford the machinery but needed to appear that it worked, a deal was struck to take rejected stuff from the yard and place it in the assembly line to get funding. then he had them make working machines to replace the mock ones on the line. Rich
Hello from Australia - fascinating! I've been a Tucker fan for many years after buying a copy of 'Design and Destiny: the making of the Tucker Automobile' by Philip Egan in 1989 when I lived in UK. I've seen the film of course many years ago and collected several models and followed the surviving cars on various UA-cam channels from the US. A number of years back when still in the UK I went to the famous Festival of Speed at Goodwood (a fantastic weekend of classic car racing and road going vehicles etc.) and surprise surprise there amongst the crowd was a light metallic blue Tucker, I couldn't believe it - finally I was seeing one in the flesh, recently imported into the UK back then. I was with two friends and they knew little about the car, so I commenced telling them all about the car and its origins, something made me look behind whilst telling them and there was a crowd of people listening in! They were most appreciative as they too knew little about the Tucker - the best bit was when the owner turned up in an Hawaiian shirt, hopped in and started it - what a sound through those six pipes. I understand a Tucker was imported into Australia a few years back after a sale in the US, again in light metallic blue? I'll have to buy some merchandise from your store.
I jumped in my seat when it was pointed out that the collection had # 1 Tucker " up the back " Soo want to see more of this legendary Car and the one on the previous video . Especially want to hear the rumble of the engines .
@@prestontuckersspeedshop1948 definitely want to see a detailed video on the movie cars, especially the drivetrain and if the molds still exist. A Tucker replica made by a descendant of Preston Tucker would be very nice to see.
Just imagine how Preston would have came up with in years later if he would've been able to continue building automobiles, I believe with his innovations he very well would've turned the automotive industry on its head
Had a chance to see Bob Barhe’s in Maine. It was a beautiful deep red color. And we got another in a museum/collection here in southern Maine too. Prob only 2 in one state since there’s only 48 them! Such a cool car! Thanks for sharing. Cheers from Maine
Very interesting engine design. Would be interesting to see continued research and development on it just to understand what potential the camless engine had.
That is truly incredible. By today's standards a lot of those features are common place but to be that far ahead of the curve, in the 1940's. Tucker sure didn't let convention dictate any design element in his car. It would have set the bar so far above the other manufacturers had it not been killed by them instead we might actually have flying cars today!!!
It upsets me every time I think about how close Tuker was to succeeding. He was soooo ahead of his time. We're still leagues behind where we would be had Tucker succeeded.
Its somewhat educational watching the Hollywood tucker movie. But this better details just how innovative the car really was, which doesn't come across as well in the movie. Well done and thank you.
Ha! "This video is now over, cause some strange dude walked into our space" Seriously folks, thanks for sharing all this truly interesting information. Like others have mentioned, it's apparent, he was a race car builder at heart. Although as a mechanic, that powertrain may have been a nightmare to service. JT: Orlando, FLA
That right! My beater back in the day ran 9's in the quarter and lifted the front wheels half track but that was cuz I added the roots blower off a GreyHound onto the aircooled helicopter motor in my old Tucker in the 90's... it was a screamer!
Back in the late 60s, I was in the waiting room of a dentist office and I picked up a copy of Mechanic's Illustrated to kill time. I flipped through the pages and got to the Tom McCahill section where letters from readers were posted. I noticed a letter about the Tucker car. I knew my father worked for Tucker so I read it with interest. To my surprise, when I got to the letter that provided details about the car and also what happened behind the curtain at it's unveiling, I saw that my father had written the letter. My father didn't talk much so it was a real surprise. I only knew that he worked for Tucker because my mother told me. I wish I had that magazine now. I don't remember much about what he wrote but he went into some details. I do remember that he said the battery was very large and, if I remember correctly, I think he said it's weight caused a problem. I may be wrong about that. I also remember being told that my father helped build what was then the world's largest truck to transport military equipment over the Rocky mountains during WWII. But again, I was told that by my morher, not my father.
Cool. I was just under a 1948 Packard Super 8. It had double wishbone IFS, and leaf springs and a panhard rod in the rear, pretty advanced in 1948 (for a production car). It has a 6.3 Litre I8 making 145 / 150 hp.
I'm really interested on how the torque converters work as a transmission you guys should do a segment on that test show us how it works and explain it. Keep up the great work and God Bless you guys and your families. 💯👍👍🙏🙏
Great video guys. That museum looks amazing. P.S. The I heard you got some new audio equipment and it shows as your audio has improved dramatically because of it. Keep these videos coming.
Used to fix cars for a guy with a tucker, only his every day cars , but never went to his open house day were you could see it . Was interested in suspension being alignment teck to. You would know , Paris Hill Maine
My dad was at the debut of Tucker with my grandfather in Chicago. He has pics with the ticker and sitting in it my dad says he can remember it like yesterday he was 4-5. I’m pretty sure my grandpa George Kulzer knew Preston my grandfather was a machinist for electrive motors and then he and art deline owned a repair shop in Chicago and were the only people who could work on and manufacture and machine rare parts like for cords and Dusenburg‘s and early Ferrari’s
I grew up in Detroit as a boy and my dad was an engineer for GM. I knew every car and model then and I always thought the Tucker looked just like a larger Studebaker.
These cars were so innovative!!! That special engine in the test car is AMAZING!!! No camshaft!!! A hydraulic pump and actuators that operated the valves... Wow... I wonder if any other R&D was done with those methods, by other firms/companies, after that design was introduced? This car was in many ways, 50 years ahead of the other companies making cars in the U.S.& abroad... It is a shame that the 3 major U.S. car companies back in the late 40's, made large efforts and untrue propaganda campaigns , to squash this superior design , because they were not prepared to compete with it...
@@melvinhunt6976 nope that wasn't the helicopter engine the helicopter engine replaced the 589 in my opinion the Tucker engineers got a little ( okay a lot )carried away with the design of this engine could you imagine how unreliable that valve train would've been
Only a dreamer and engineer like Tucker would put so many future features into a startup company product and so many unknowns and complicated systems. This story is also the poster child of startup failures...millions of them...that came and died after Tucker. That said, the test chassis was interesting in testing what ideas where feasible and possible and abandoning the rest for the production run.
Camless engines are used in F-1 powerplants and allow rpms in the 17k range. They use a compressed air system instead of hydraulic which I assume is to reduce weight.
Tucker pioneered many mechanical engineering features that have shown up on later cars. Flat 6. Torque converters on each wheel. etc. etc. etc. Subscribing. :)
Around 2018 I had a guy that bought vegetables from me on a regular basis. He drove a 67 Mustang and was always trying to buy my 65. During the conversations he said he had the one convertible Tucker, even though none were supposedly made. He said he had bought it in Nevada 10 or so years ago. He said it was stored in a climate controlled building with real time security system per the insurance company, it was insured for 2 million dollars. While he said he would show it to me I never saw .
You can tell Preston’s racing background in the chassis - boxer-type flat engine mounted low in the chassis for low center of gravity, external dry-sump lubrication to prevent any part of the engine getting starved of oil in tight, fast turns, 4 wheel disc brakes, torsion style suspension…… that was all racing-only components and was unheard of for a production, civilian family sedan then. Even now….. you hear dry sump oil system you think Corvette Z06! He was a true enthusiast!
Agreed, thanks for watching!
or Toyota Previa dry sump!!!!!!!!
The first rear-engine F1 car wouldn't even exist for another 10 years when Tucker was putting this into production.
I knew the Preston tucker the third I worked with him at Motorola in about 1974
There's a reason we still don't see dry sump oiling on the average car: It doesn't benefit the average car enough to warrant the cost and complexity.
That test chassis is a piece of art. That whole museum looks like a fun place to take a walk through. Thanks for showing us around and I can't wait to see more!
Thanks for watching, we will keep them coming!
If this test chassis didn't have a transmission, how the heck did you back the car up?
@@Cat-fy5lw Check out at around 5:24 in the video. ua-cam.com/video/WF9yAc2CDFk/v-deo.html
@@PorscheRacer14 Still doesn't explain how the hell the reverse gear works.
@@Cat-fy5lw via the torque converter, basically to go foward you apply the hydrolic oil pressure in one direction and fo reverse you basically reverse the flow direction of the hydrolic oil. (oversimplified, but thats the gereral idea)
Bless that man for saving and sharing all of this history. Definitely on my bucket list now that I know about it.
Thank you for watching, we will keeping working on it!
I was lucky enough to find the movie "Tucker" on Tubi yesterday. I haven't seen it in about 30 years. Enjoyed watching it again. It's really cool that you guys can find all of this history and I'm happy that you share it with us. Thank you and have a great day! Bob in Idaho
Thanks Bob, we will keep the videos coming!
I bet you had "Hold that tiger" stuck in your head for awhile after watching the movie. 🙂
I watched it recently again also after seeing a few Tucker videos on UA-cam...but it's not exactly historically correct.
@@richardbaumgart2454 Hollywood can't have it be correct...they need to JAZZ it up. Jerks! Oh well, still it's a good story.
@@JoeR203 Hold that tiger...hold that tiger...haha
I am still amazed at Preston Tuckers vision back in 1948 that he would come up with all of the innovative ideas that the big three at that time refused to put in cars. I am amazed that a collector could actually have owned three of the cars and all of those engines and parts. Thanks for sharing.
Dave was pretty amazing, how he gathered this stuff in the pre-internet age is impressive. Thanks for watching!
The ideas were rubbish, no wonder the big three didn't want a bar of it.
@@user-kc2ru5xo4k What are you talking about?
Let see... Preston Tucker's engineers were ahead of Koenigsegg by about 60 years with both the use of torque converts (direct drive) and freevalve (no camshafts) on the test mule. Impressive stuff for sure.
Pretty crazy, thanks for watching!
I was just telling a friend of mine that exact same thing
@@prestontuckersspeedshop1948 I'd love to know how you were supposed to put the car in reverse if it didn't have a transmission.
Just tell the bitch to get out off the car and push 😎
@@Cat-fy5lw well, considering all of the unconventional ideas in the engineering, like, rubber suspension instead of coil springs,
My guess would be , reverse the engine rotation, and then the car . JK
Thank you for preserving this important chapter in Automotive History.
It's amazing just how far ahead of their time Tucker designs were.
No wonder the "Big 3" had to get in his way.
We keep finding new things as well as we dig through all the company documents and blueprints. Simply amazing what they were able to accomplish in such a short period of time with 70 year old technology. Thanks for watching!
@@prestontuckersspeedshop1948 Looking forward to more
I only found out about David's collection after he had passed - I live just minutes from where his shop was. I'm glad to hear that his collection was preserved!
Oh man, it was so close! You'll have to visit it in Hershey at the AACA. Thanks for watching!
GOD Bless ! Preston Tucker and his Family!
Long LIVE his Dream !
Thank you for watching!
Had this video and channel pop up in the YT recommendations, so cool to see a side of the Tuckers I've never seen before
Thank you for watching!
I thought I knew a lot about Tucker, but I didn't know about any of this and my Uncle Jack took me to the Hershey car show as a kid, which sparked my interest in all cars. First time I saw a Cadillac V12, heard a Ferrari rip, or sat in a BMW Isetta, and with "Family Matters" on the TV I knew what Steve Urkle's car was. For those that have questions about the torque converter direct drive or the "camless valves"? Check out Christian von Koenigsegg over in Sweden doing EXACTLY what Preston was trying just after WW2. "It would take a long time to develop".... Only 70+ years. I am so happy I found this channel and wish you all the best. -From a poor kid that figured out how to rebuild his own transmissions on a 1987 W02 Buick that I could barely afford. Wasn't the first torque converter auto the "Dynaflow" in a 1948 Buick? This genius was like, "We have to be time travelers". Where would we be now?
What could have been! Thanks for watching
Thank you for saving and sharing P. T.'s work!
I'm sure he would be very happy and flattered it still exists to show.
We hope so, thanks for watching!
Loved these cars since I saw My first (#16) at the Henry Ford Museum back in 1978. At that time the cars were displayed in no particular order with no barriers to keep people out. It was closing time and the place was empty. I was able to look over the entire car and as a 17 year old gear head I was amazed. I go back every 2 to 3 years and visit the old car. In 2013 at Pebble Beach Mecum I saw a gold Tucker (it was not part of any sale) sitting in the parking lot. The owner offered me a ride and I was blown away. One of my best days ever. I wish I had ask his name and which car it was. Love this channel thanks for sharing it.
Hi Dave, that was most likely #1002, owned by a good friend of ours in California. It has since been restored back to its original Waltz blue.
@@prestontuckersspeedshop1948 thank you so much for the reply.
Just saw this the day this video posted. Great museum great display, I encourage everyone to visit!
We do too, thanks for watching!
Awesome 👍🏽👍🏻 the colours that he did back in the day was amazing for it's time, great colour's 👍🏽👍🏻awesome engineering on the chassis 😀👍🏻
Quite amazing what they were able to accomplish. Thanks for watching!
I am definitely coming over to take a look at this museum
I absolutely would, thanks for watching!
Very good guys! What I'm always most favorably impressed by is the way you diligently are able to keep the Tucker automobile in the public eye. Briefly touching on that is my consideration in looking back at the history. And your family deserved so much more than the way things turned out. Tucker Corporation deserved to keep going. And Tucker brand cars deserved to be on the roadways since 1948. You guys basically have little to work with due to the brief history of the Tucker automobile, but you keep going and somehow find new and old things to bring us, and you make all this goodness happen. I can't tell you how much I admire that!
God bless you guys, and all the Tucker family involved, as well as non-family in that all of you are able to make things keep happening. Keep going guys and don't let up until there's nothing left. I want to visit your museum someday and I hope you guys are around for me to have the honor of personally meeting you.
Yes, tubeless tires were the new big thing then. I own a 1948 Chrysler, and in their brochures etcetera they tout the new "Safety Seal" wheel rim design. So, your great grandfather was very timely bringing that onto his cars.
We will keep it going, we love this stuff! Thank you for watching.
@@prestontuckersspeedshop1948 Great!!!
A fanatic on the 48 Tucker. Went to this museum. I was a kid in a candy shop. Must of spent a good 4 hours looking at every piece of equipment that was available to see.
So grateful I had the opportunity to see such a collection.
Too cool.I studied the Tucker because I am addicted to Ford.Incredible ingenuity.
Agreed! Thanks for watching!
love watching the more in depth videos of the engineering that went into these cars
Thank you for watching, we will keep them coming!
a splendid piece of automotive engineering
Agreed, thanks for watching!
This is so wonderful that you grandsons picked up the torch. People need to understand the giant importance of the Tucker story. It is truly a tragedy of the American Freedom denied. I hope to meet you guys some day.
MAN, I have got to get to that museum this year! They may have to push me out the door, gentlemen! Keep up the great work!
Yes you do Gus, thanks for watching!
Nice presentation Mike & Sean! I have loved these cars since the first time I was made aware of them. (Probably in the early 1980’s) I have seen one in real life. Your great grandfather was way ahead of his time with these features.
Thank you for watching!
Another worthy production, well done, keep them coming.
Thanks for watching!
@@prestontuckersspeedshop1948
Collection?? I always read there was only ever one vehicle made.
Great video. The sound is so much better guys despite being a difficult space.
Thank you! We are starting to figure this stuff out.
I always thought my ‘65 Corvair flat 6 was designed with lessons learned from Tucker…
Awesome video, Definitely gonna take my son to check out the Museum when the weather gets warmer. We'll cruise up in our 63 Ford...Yeah I know, it's not a Tucker...LOL
Definitely worth the trip, thanks for watching!
I’m the biggest tucker fan ,Preston tucker it’s still living in my heart the biggest man story I ever experienced
We are big fans as well!
KEEP. THESE. VIDEOS. COMING.
Dry sump in 1948?!? - I'm not direct family but Preston is one of my idols.
Crazy right!
Well done lads for keeping your GG Pa's dream alive.
Thank you for watching!
When you see the emphasis on innovation and improvement at so many levels. From prototype to pre production, it's obvious Preston Tucker put so much heart and soul into what would be a competative,, if not leading edge automobile. Enter, being accused of manipulation via mail fraud and still found innocent. The Detroit big three spilled enough crude oil to down a rising Star.
Great review and museum, gentleman. In a very special way, you provide a glimpse of the viision and the dream. Remarkable donations to those contributors as well. Thank you!.
Greetings from Thailand, Mike and Sean! WOW what a fantastic museum. I know of no other car that was as innovative as the '48 Tucker. After watching this video I think it would be great if someone completed development of that test chassis design and also that amazing engine. Stay well, fellas! 😁
Thanks you Jimbo!
That was a really great video on the test chassis. I'm looking forward to more videos from the museum
We will keep them coming, thanks for watching!
I should have watched this sooner. Tucker was somewhat of an idol for me over the last 25-30 years after seeing the Jeff Bridges movie. Thanks.
Thanks for watching!
love this place went as a teen in the 2000s went this past october and it was nice. we used to stay at the hotel next door when we would visit the area but only went into that museum once, glad i got to go back again
Glad you got to see it, thanks for watching!
@@prestontuckersspeedshop1948 what's funny is this just showed up on my feed I didn't even look for it. Yeah I drove all the way from Massachusetts to go to a haunted house local to you guys and I was like if I'm going all that way I need to go to that car museum again
Thanks for all ths great information, cant wait to go to the Hershey museum to see it in person.
You are welcome, yes please visit the AACA Museum!
About 35 years ago I had the pleasure and privilege of becoming acquainted with a man named John Carol, who was a steel buyer for the Tucker Corp. He said that they had just acquired a set of kirksite dies for the body panels, and were in the process of getting everything ready to start cranking out cars. He estimated that if the SEC had held off about 4-6 weeks, they would have been in production. Damn shame things turned out as they did.
Yes, we have always heard it was a matter of days or weeks given that the financials were on the edge of not making it the entire time. What could have been!
Thank goodness for "The Big Three" they got Tucker stopped in the nick of time! Tucker would have made them innovate to compete or go bankrupt.
Amazing. Just amazing. I sure would love to see what kind of advancements Preston would have made in the auto industry if he hadn't been driven out of business.
So would we! Thanks for watching
Thanks and best wishes from Columbus Ohio USA
Likewise, thanks for watching!
Man you always wonder! What could have been if Tucker had succeeded in achieving his dream! Can you imagine how ahead of everyone else he would be with his cars! If his cars would have still alive today I definitely would by one in a heartbeat! The man was a genius! Thanks for sharing this video!👌😎👍I definitely will be keeping my eyes for more great content!
We agree, thanks for watching!
I'm totally infatuated with this stuff... Glad I found this channel. Good job!
Thank you for watching, we will keep them coming!
Thank you for sharing another great video you guys your grandfather was one amazing guy and he must had amazing team working with him to develop the tucker cars .
Agreed, thanks for watching!
That chassis is so cool! The technology demonstrated in that chassis and motor is really something! I was totally unaware of the hydraulically actuated valve train. And it was totally done totally electromechanical! The spastic 4 wheel independent suspension, the torque converter drive. (Does it work like a CVT in function?) the prototype radiators in the front bumper wings. Now I know why the front bumper was styled the way it is. The interesting looking exhaust system. Probably pretty choked down from the looks of it.
This place is just so great!
Yes, certainly more engineering to do but the ideas were there. Thanks for watching!
Been a long time fan of Tucker since the movie when I was a kid. I just saw this video today and smiled! Glad to see they are still as amazing as they were when Preston built them. SO,............
Any plans to build new cars?
We shall see…thanks for watching!
wow.. utterly fascinating. Thank you for this tour. Your presentation of this is riveting. Thank you!!
You are welcome, thanks for watching!
That car was way ahead of its time.
Agreed! Thanks for watching
I am very happy some of Preston Tucker's descendants are involved with his legacy!
Amazing how forward thinking it was, and if he would have been able to produce, how advanced the next iteration would have been.
Agreed, thanks for watching!
Hi Mike & Sean, My father worked for New Jersey Machine when Preston needed machinery to display a working assembly line and show the bankers that he was ready to start production. as the story goes he could not afford the machinery but needed to appear that it worked, a deal was struck to take rejected stuff from the yard and place it in the assembly line to get funding. then he had them make working machines to replace the mock ones on the line.
Rich
Ha! Thanks for watching!
Hello from Australia - fascinating! I've been a Tucker fan for many years after buying a copy of 'Design and Destiny: the making of the Tucker Automobile' by Philip Egan in 1989 when I lived in UK. I've seen the film of course many years ago and collected several models and followed the surviving cars on various UA-cam channels from the US. A number of years back when still in the UK I went to the famous Festival of Speed at Goodwood (a fantastic weekend of classic car racing and road going vehicles etc.) and surprise surprise there amongst the crowd was a light metallic blue Tucker, I couldn't believe it - finally I was seeing one in the flesh, recently imported into the UK back then. I was with two friends and they knew little about the car, so I commenced telling them all about the car and its origins, something made me look behind whilst telling them and there was a crowd of people listening in! They were most appreciative as they too knew little about the Tucker - the best bit was when the owner turned up in an Hawaiian shirt, hopped in and started it - what a sound through those six pipes. I understand a Tucker was imported into Australia a few years back after a sale in the US, again in light metallic blue? I'll have to buy some merchandise from your store.
Yes, number 1045 is still in Australia, you’ll have to go see it. Thanks for watching!
That's fantastic to see a test chassis thank you for the video
You are welcome!
Hopefully you can bring some to production.The world needs more Tucker engineering.
Agreed! Thanks for watching
I think I buy the "Tucker" t-shirt with a clear car reference as not to be confused with that other tucker... Thanks for a good and intresting story!
BeCu control arms, individual torque converters for the rear wheels, _and_ tubeless tires?!
The guy was a mad man 🤣
Thanks for watching!
I am enjoying this channel your grandfather was a foward thinking man the ideas put into that chassis are apsolutly btilliant
We agree, thanks for watching!
I jumped in my seat when it was pointed out that the collection had # 1 Tucker " up the back " Soo want to see more of this legendary Car and the one on the previous video . Especially want to hear the rumble of the engines .
We will keep making these videos, we have a ton more to share!
Very cool that his collection was preserved. Last I knew the light blue movie car was still at the Ypsilanti Heritage Museum. Great job guys!
Hi Jake, that movie car is now owned by a private collection in Colorado. Thanks for watching!
@@prestontuckersspeedshop1948 definitely want to see a detailed video on the movie cars, especially the drivetrain and if the molds still exist. A Tucker replica made by a descendant of Preston Tucker would be very nice to see.
Good on you for keeping the dream alive
way ahead of their time by about 50 years!
Yessir! Thanks for watching
Awesome… love the tucker engine because of how resourceful it was.. unpractical but still pretty neat
Certainly more to work out. Thanks for watching!
Just imagine how Preston would have came up with in years later if he would've been able to continue building automobiles, I believe with his innovations he very well would've turned the automotive industry on its head
We like to think so, thanks for watching!
Had a chance to see Bob Barhe’s in Maine. It was a beautiful deep red color. And we got another in a museum/collection here in southern Maine too. Prob only 2 in one state since there’s only 48 them! Such a cool car! Thanks for sharing. Cheers from Maine
Thanks for watching! Sorry, but CA, PA, and MI have ME beat!
A man ahead of his time.
We agree, thanks for watching!
thanks again guys for showing these video's
You are very welcome, thanks for watching!
Very interesting engine design. Would be interesting to see continued research and development on it just to understand what potential the camless engine had.
Koenigsegg is working on it now, check it out!
Interesting that Koenigsegg also has a car driven directly with a torque converter and no transmission.
That is truly incredible. By today's standards a lot of those features are common place but to be that far ahead of the curve, in the 1940's. Tucker sure didn't let convention dictate any design element in his car. It would have set the bar so far above the other manufacturers had it not been killed by them instead we might actually have flying cars today!!!
Agreed, thanks for watching!
Tucker was badly underfunded - that's why the company failed. It had nothing to do with any outside influence by other manufacturers.
Great vid, really enjoyed!! 👍👍👍
Thank you, we will keep them coming!
The engine cylinder and head being cast together is one of the features that made Offenhauser great!
Great minds think alike I guess, thanks for watching!
As always,,Another great one,,Thanks guy's
Thank you, we will keep them coming!
i never knew the prototype chassis existed or how different it was to the production cars,truly awesome
Amazing that it survived. Thanks for watching!
It upsets me every time I think about how close Tuker was to succeeding. He was soooo ahead of his time. We're still leagues behind where we would be had Tucker succeeded.
We like to think so too…thanks for watching!
Really appreciate these videos. So interesting. Thank You!
Thanks for watching!
Its somewhat educational watching the Hollywood tucker movie. But this better details just how innovative the car really was, which doesn't come across as well in the movie. Well done and thank you.
You are very welcome, thanks for watching!
Ha! "This video is now over, cause some strange dude walked into our space"
Seriously folks, thanks for sharing all this truly interesting information. Like others have mentioned, it's apparent, he was a race car builder at heart. Although as a mechanic, that powertrain may have been a nightmare to service.
JT: Orlando, FLA
Haha, you noticed the guy! Funny, and agree on your comments. Thanks for watching!
Very very interesting!! Loved the movie!
So did we! Thanks for watching
That right! My beater back in the day ran 9's in the quarter and lifted the front wheels half track but that was cuz I added the roots blower off a GreyHound onto the aircooled helicopter motor in my old Tucker in the 90's... it was a screamer!
Thanks for watching!
@@prestontuckersspeedshop1948 You guys are too cool! /w\TUCKER/w\
Enjoyed this, please keep them coming.
We will, thanks for watching!
Back in the late 60s, I was in the waiting room of a dentist office and I picked up a copy of Mechanic's Illustrated to kill time. I flipped through the pages and got to the Tom McCahill section where letters from readers were posted. I noticed a letter about the Tucker car. I knew my father worked for Tucker so I read it with interest. To my surprise, when I got to the letter that provided details about the car and also what happened behind the curtain at it's unveiling, I saw that my father had written the letter. My father didn't talk much so it was a real surprise. I only knew that he worked for Tucker because my mother told me. I wish I had that magazine now. I don't remember much about what he wrote but he went into some details. I do remember that he said the battery was very large and, if I remember correctly, I think he said it's weight caused a problem. I may be wrong about that. I also remember being told that my father helped build what was then the world's largest truck to transport military equipment over the Rocky mountains during WWII. But again, I was told that by my morher, not my father.
Cool. I was just under a 1948 Packard Super 8. It had double wishbone IFS, and leaf springs and a panhard rod in the rear, pretty advanced in 1948 (for a production car). It has a 6.3 Litre I8 making 145 / 150 hp.
Wow, sounds cool. Thanks for watching!
Great video guys.
Thank you James!
I'm really interested on how the torque converters work as a transmission you guys should do a segment on that test show us how it works and explain it. Keep up the great work and God Bless you guys and your families. 💯👍👍🙏🙏
Thank you for watching!
Great video guys. That museum looks amazing.
P.S. The I heard you got some new audio equipment and it shows as your audio has improved dramatically because of it. Keep these videos coming.
Thanks, starting to get the hang of this stuff!
Used to fix cars for a guy with a tucker, only his every day cars , but never went to his open house day were you could see it .
Was interested in suspension being alignment teck to. You would know , Paris Hill Maine
Bob Bahre, #33. Sadly he recently passed away but the collection lives on. Its managed by a great group led by our friend Jeff.
Very well done! Thanks for sharing. 😊
Thanks for watching!
Man that thing would have been a nightmare to service 😯
Not really, remember this was a very early prototype, some of the complexity on “top” would have been eliminated. Thanks for watching!
My dad was at the debut of Tucker with my grandfather in Chicago. He has pics with the ticker and sitting in it my dad says he can remember it like yesterday he was 4-5. I’m pretty sure my grandpa George Kulzer knew Preston my grandfather was a machinist for electrive motors and then he and art deline owned a repair shop in Chicago and were the only people who could work on and manufacture and machine rare parts like for cords and Dusenburg‘s and early Ferrari’s
Very cool, we would love to see those pictures. Thanks for watching!
Amazing ideas.
Agreed, thanks for watching!
So cool i love the tycker car and tge anazing engineering rather it worked or not. So many of his ideas vecame a reality afterwards
I love the content. Keep it coming 👍👍
Will do, thank you for watching!
I grew up in Detroit as a boy and my dad was an engineer for GM. I knew every car and model then and I always thought the Tucker looked just like a larger Studebaker.
WOW, amazing, thank you!
You are welcome, we will keep them coming!
These cars were so innovative!!! That special engine in the test car is AMAZING!!! No camshaft!!! A hydraulic pump and actuators that operated the valves... Wow... I wonder if any other R&D was done with those methods, by other firms/companies, after that design was introduced? This car was in many ways, 50 years ahead of the other companies making cars in the U.S.& abroad... It is a shame that the 3 major U.S. car companies back in the late 40's, made large efforts and untrue propaganda campaigns , to squash this superior design , because they were not prepared to compete with it...
What could have been! Thanks for watching
I believe it was a helicopter engine? Remember, Ford and GM etc killed the Tucker!
@@melvinhunt6976 nope that wasn't the helicopter engine the helicopter engine replaced the 589 in my opinion the Tucker engineers got a little ( okay a lot )carried away with the design of this engine could you imagine how unreliable that valve train would've been
What is wrong with you people ? Those ideas were obviously failures hence nobody wanted to know about them...
@@user-kc2ru5xo4k then Why was the big 3 so afraid of Tucker?
Please start putting the links you mention in the description of your videos. Thanks for making this easily available for everyone to check-out.
Will do!
So cool.
Thanks for watching!
Only a dreamer and engineer like Tucker would put so many future features into a startup company product and so many unknowns and complicated systems. This story is also the poster child of startup failures...millions of them...that came and died after Tucker. That said, the test chassis was interesting in testing what ideas where feasible and possible and abandoning the rest for the production run.
Yes, we believe that was the intention. Thanks for watching!
Camless engines are used in F-1 powerplants and allow rpms in the 17k range. They use a compressed air system instead of hydraulic which I assume is to reduce weight.
Very cool, thanks for watching!
Tucker pioneered many mechanical engineering features that have shown up on later cars. Flat 6. Torque converters on each wheel. etc. etc. etc. Subscribing. :)
Thanks for watching!
@@prestontuckersspeedshop1948 Yer welcome. :)
Around 2018 I had a guy that bought vegetables from me on a regular basis. He drove a 67 Mustang and was always trying to buy my 65. During the conversations he said he had the one convertible Tucker, even though none were supposedly made. He said he had bought it in Nevada 10 or so years ago. He said it was stored in a climate controlled building with real time security system per the insurance company, it was insured for 2 million dollars. While he said he would show it to me I never saw .
We have “no comment” on the “convertible” 😀. Thanks for watching
These cars were so ahead of their time! I wish Tucker would have been able to stay in business.
So do we! Thanks for watching!