Tucker #1038 in 1996

[CDB]

Long before (approximately 12 years) Tucker #1038 repainted in its original "Green" color sold for the record sum of $1,017,500 dollars in Monterey at the 2008 RM Auctions, it was a beautiful "Bronze" color sitting on display at the Ark.La.Tex. Antique car Museum in Shreveport, LA, (1995-1996). When I photographed her on 3-30-96, she was sedately sitting on her turntable at said Museum with United States Marshal papers of seizure prominently displayed on her right side front windshield. There was a dispute between the then owner of the car and the City of Shreveport over an alleged debt owed as a result of the Shreveport Pirates Canadian Football League team (owned by the Tucker owner) playing at Independence Stadium in Shreveport. Until that was resolved the car remained in protective custody while still being displayed at the Museum. When the lawyer for the Tucker owner attempted to avoid the seizure by driving the car from the Museum, the car ran out of gas and was returned to the Museum until the conclusion of the litigation. This became known in Shreveport as "The Great Tucker Caper". In my next post you will see what Tucker # 1038 looked like in these circumstances with a gold colored hood ornament as well. This is classic Tucker history! Charles D. Barnette

[CDB]

Here is Tucker #1038 sitting on its turntable at the Ark.La.Tex. Antique Car Museum (no longer in existence) in Shreveport, La., on 3-30-96. Note the United States Marshal's seizure papers on the car's windshield (one is reading "United States Marshal No Trespassing"). Also note the beautiful "Bronze" color of this Tucker with a gold hood ornament. Photographed by Charles D. Barnette.

[Larry Clark]

Charles: Thank you for posting the pictures. I was one of the original directors of that now closed museum. I moved to California just before the arrangement was settled to bring #1038 to Shreveport. The family of the original Tucker dealer (was to be Nolen Tucker) in Shreveport is still in the car business there. When I was the b-school dean there the son of one of the three brothers that owned the franchise did an independent study with me concerning Tucker. The student's father had the student late in life and they were not very close before the course (and the son knew little about the Tucker car or his family's association with it). The project brought them together doing what so many of us like to do- just sit around and talk Tucker stuff. They had a Tucker car ashtray in their main building at their used car lot from the day of acquisition- it got stolen shortly after I discovered them. I assured them that even though I craved for an ashtray car, I had not come back to steal theirs. It was never recovered- perhaps it became an early eBay item now owned by one of y'all.

Larry

[CDB]

Larry, thank you for your post. I believe Preston Tucker would have enjoyed all of the publicity generated by #1038 being in Shreveport. Charles-it made a lasting impression on me as only the second Tucker I have ever seen in person and so close to my home in Texarkana! Each Tucker is special and has its own exciting, individual and unique story to tell which entices and captivates the "Vintage Car Enthusiast". Like "Rock Stars", expect the extraordinary whenever and where ever one appears!