Tucker project car

[Paul]

Hello,<br>
My name is Paul and I'm a mechanic as well as a classic car owner from Richfield, Minnesota.<br>
I have taken a very deep interest in the Tucker automobile over the past few years and I have decided to try to build a replicar from scratch.My project basically consists of a handbuilt frame that surrounds the entire perimeter of the car, interior components would come from a late-model car (probably a Caprice or Lincoln Town Car), and if an original engine could not be found it would either be a 301 V-8 with a GM front wheel drive motorhome transmission or a Lincoln Intech 4.6 mounted transversely in the rear. I estimate that it would take one to three years to complete. The only problem, I need body panels for the project. I was told earlier about a man named Chick Delorenzo. I was told that for a decent sum of money that he would produce a set of fiberglas panels. How do I get ahold of Mr. Delorenzo? Are there any spare steel body panels left out there? I am also hearing rumors of spare Tucker 335 engines and L18 transaxles lying around. If this is true, where can they be found? There is not too many people in Minnesota that know about these cars and only two cars were in this state: one in Little Falls and one was in Bloomington at Peterson Pontiac a long time ago. Any help or suggestions would much appreciated.<br>
<br>
Thanks<br>
<p></p><i></i>

[tucker48fan]

There have been various rumors about Mr. Delorenzo's health, so I don't know if he's still involved actively with the club or not. IDA Automotive was building expensive replicars of the Tucker, don't know if they've cut the price or not. (Both Mr. Delorenzo and IDA are located in Butler, NJ.) There are engines which turn up occassionally on eBay (they go for about $10K), along with trim parts, radios and other things. I've not seen any metal body panels, nor do I think that any exist. The company which built the original Tucker engines (Franklin Air Cooled Motors) is still in business, and while they no longer make the 335 engine which served as the basis for the Tucker engine (basic difference being the Tucker was water cooled and the Franklin engine was air cooled), the 350 engine they sell looks almost identical, and I suspect that it's simply the 335 bored out to 350.<br>
<br>
You could do what they did in the film for the rollover car and rework a Studebaker, since they were very similar in appearance.<br>
<br>
The transaxle for the Tuckers is based on the one found in Cords, and while I don't know what the components go for, the cars themselves are valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, so it should be possible to locate someone familiar with the mechanicals by contacting the folks at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg club. The Tucker Club also sells a maintence manual for Tuckers that has been put together by the owners and mechanics of Tuckers which has a great deal of information on the mechanicals of the car, including the modifications done to the Cord trannys. <p></p><i></i>

[Paul]

To Tucker48fan:<br>
<br>
Thanks for the info,I do appreciate it and I will look into the Tucker service manual. I do however, need to stick to somewhat of the original plan to build a chassis for the car and either get steel or fiberglas duplicate panels to place over the chassis. That means; roof, fenders, quarters,decklid,hood, and doorskins. The front of the car was only two pieces so that shouldn't be too hard to mold if someone knows what they are doing with molds. I cannot use a Studebaker land cruiser platform because it is too narrow and it will not accept the engine in the rear. Remember a Tucker is 219'' long and 80'' wide with a 130'' wheelbase. There is just no way that a car with a 114'' wheelbase and a width of just 74'' can pass for a Tucker. The car used in the movie for the rollover scene is in Tennesee and I have seen it, the fenders of the Studebaker can still be seen on the doors ahead of the fiberglas Tucker rear section. A Chevrolet platform is closer to the size of the Tucker. The center headlight that revolves with the steering is also important. That can be achieved wtih servos connected with switches to the steering column. The car will also use GM ABS brakes(taken from the Caprice), and also the Caprice's steering and as I mentioned earlier, the interior components as well. Are there any places that can make duplicate fiberglas panels for the Tucker? And metal panels do exist, as 16 cars were left unfinished on the assembly line(This was on the word of Alex Tremulis before his death) after they were seized by the government they were put in storage and later auctioned off. No one knows where they have been ended up not even club members. They will probably be found someday by someone other than myself. I will settle for fiberglas duplicates but I need to know of someone who makes them. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p206.ezboard.com/btucker.showUserPublicProfile?gid=paul@tucker>Paul</A> at: 12/23/04 11:35 pm<br></i>

[tucker48fan]

Mr. Delorenzo did have the molds, and anyone who's done fiberglas layups can do the work, so in theory, you could buy the molds from Mr. Delorenzo (if he's willing to sell them, of course) and then get anyone who's done layup work to do it, or you could even buy a book and learn how to do it yourself. According to Mr. Delorenzo the metal panels and the incomplete bodies (other than the one he purchased) ended up in a field in Indiana, where they promptly rotted away after exposure to the elements. Of course, it's possible that some have survived. The rollover car recently turned up in Michigan and is slowly being restored, supposedly.<br>
<br>
According to Mr. Delorenzo, the rear window of a Tucker (which is the only non-flat glass) can be duplicated using a section of the windshield of a 73 Ford Pinto. <p></p><i></i>

[Paul]

To Tucker48fan:<br>
<br>
Thank you. You have been helpful. I do hope that maybe some of those panels in Indiana survived and someone gets what remains. I will try to get ahold of that Pinto windshield that you were speaking of for the back window. Do you know how I can get ahold of Mr. Delorenzo for the molds? I do know people at the college that I attend who can mold fiberglas panels. I will probably still use the 301 however and try the front wheel drive motorhome transaxle.That will allow longitudal rear wheel drive. I have also seen Tucker tailights on Ebay and I will proabably need those too as reproductions will be hard to come by. There is also a welding shop near my house which is about to do some work on my 56' Olds. They can probably do some of the smaller sections of frame, but the major portions I will have to assemble myself. The revolving headlight mechanism however, will be hard to fabricate, as it does originate as a GM headlight retract mechanism. It is originally used for hide-away headlights and now the servo mechanism is being used sideways to turn the center headlamp. If you would like talk more about my project, you can reach me at metalpro_084@hotmail.com I do have more interesting info about the Tucker cars that were in Minnesota. Finally, I will include also include pics of the engine setup that I want to achieve with a reply.<br>
<br>
Thanks Again,<br>
<br>
Paul <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p206.ezboard.com/btucker.showUserPublicProfile?gid=paul@tucker>Paul</A> at: 12/25/04 1:50 am<br></i>