Tucker fans, inside!!
08-29-07, 08:26 PM
#1
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Posts: n/a
Tucker fans, inside!!
In the current issue of Hemmings Classic Car magazine, there is an article that literally blew me away. It is about a man named David Cammack and his private collection of Tucker automobiles and associated items. This is the world's largest collection of Tucker material, and it is HUGE. The centerpiece of Cammack's collection is his three (yes...3!) restored Tucker 48s, with serial number 1001 among them (1001 is the first Tucker manufactured after the original "Tin Goose" car). He has been collecting Tuckers and Tucker memorabilia since 1972. The collection is housed in a warehouse in Alexandria, Virginia, and since I'm only a few hour's drivetime away, I'm planning on a major pilgrimmage sometime this summer.
Among Mr. Cammack's Tucker displays are:
#1001, 1022, and 1026 Tucker 48 automobiles. All restored and running, although Cammack has NEVER driven one of them. He's ridden as a passenger in one, though. Strange, v. strange.
One of the two complete running test-chassis that Tucker Motors constructed to test the new powertrains. It is equipped with the original, all-Tucker 589 cubic-inch flat-six engine, which has a valvetrain that is actuated NOT by pushrods, camshafts, or anything so mundane as that. The valves were to have been actuated on the Tucker's engine by hydraulics. It proved to be impractical in practice, and the engine was cancelled at the last minute. Cammack has eight examples of the Franklin aircooled flat-six helicopter engine that Tucker converted to watercooling and mounted in the "production" Tuckers, including one engine in its original configuration as a helicopter powerplant.
Cammack has prototype automatic transmissions that Tucker was developing.
Cammack has complete, on-display examples of the "Safe-Stop" disc brakes that Tucker was developing for the car.
Cammack has tons of NOS Tucker parts and accessories, still in their original boxes, including radios.
Perhaps most importantly, Cammack has the complete company documents and blueprints for the Tucker automobile, which he purchased just before they were to have been destroyed some years ago. He is organizing them and archiving them at this time. There are over 50,000 documents.
Cammack has the original tooling for the parts that produced Tuckers.
This is just incredible to a Tucker enthusiast, and I'd never heard of this man before. I can't wait to call him (he welcomes visitors on a limited basis). If anyone else is interested (what Tucker-nut wouldn't be interested?) in visiting his private museum, here is the address and phone:
The Cammack Collection
216 South Payne St.
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-836-4520
Mr. Cammack is up in years, and when he is unable to maintain his collection any longer, the Antique Automobile Club of America's museum in Hershey, PA is ready with a specially built 3,500 square foot room to house the collection in perpetuity.
Among Mr. Cammack's Tucker displays are:
#1001, 1022, and 1026 Tucker 48 automobiles. All restored and running, although Cammack has NEVER driven one of them. He's ridden as a passenger in one, though. Strange, v. strange.
One of the two complete running test-chassis that Tucker Motors constructed to test the new powertrains. It is equipped with the original, all-Tucker 589 cubic-inch flat-six engine, which has a valvetrain that is actuated NOT by pushrods, camshafts, or anything so mundane as that. The valves were to have been actuated on the Tucker's engine by hydraulics. It proved to be impractical in practice, and the engine was cancelled at the last minute. Cammack has eight examples of the Franklin aircooled flat-six helicopter engine that Tucker converted to watercooling and mounted in the "production" Tuckers, including one engine in its original configuration as a helicopter powerplant.
Cammack has prototype automatic transmissions that Tucker was developing.
Cammack has complete, on-display examples of the "Safe-Stop" disc brakes that Tucker was developing for the car.
Cammack has tons of NOS Tucker parts and accessories, still in their original boxes, including radios.
Perhaps most importantly, Cammack has the complete company documents and blueprints for the Tucker automobile, which he purchased just before they were to have been destroyed some years ago. He is organizing them and archiving them at this time. There are over 50,000 documents.
Cammack has the original tooling for the parts that produced Tuckers.
This is just incredible to a Tucker enthusiast, and I'd never heard of this man before. I can't wait to call him (he welcomes visitors on a limited basis). If anyone else is interested (what Tucker-nut wouldn't be interested?) in visiting his private museum, here is the address and phone:
The Cammack Collection
216 South Payne St.
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-836-4520
Mr. Cammack is up in years, and when he is unable to maintain his collection any longer, the Antique Automobile Club of America's museum in Hershey, PA is ready with a specially built 3,500 square foot room to house the collection in perpetuity.
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06-20-09, 10:35 AM
#9
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Pics of real Tucker brochure!
From VWVortex..I love the movie Tucker
Originally Posted by vwlarry
This one is kind of cool. It is an exact reproduction of an original Tucker sales brochure that I picked up years ago, when stuff like this was cheap. It's printed on the same heavy stock paper as the original, and is in a "gatefold" layout, sort of like an old-fashioned roadmap. So, it's a bit "mosaic-ish", but that's the only way the scan would work, so use your imagination. 
06-20-09, 11:43 AM
#11
The only thing better than this brochure is being exposed to it in real life. Several years ago, think I was still in High school (87-91) I remember being on a bus stop waiting to catch the bus home when one drove past me. Film maker Barry Levinson, known for films such as Diner, Rain Man, Homicide: Life on the Streets, etc., was driving around in his. For a good while, Levinson filmed most of his films in the Baltimore area. I was nearly floored when I realized what was sitting in front of me at a stop light, and coincidentally it was shortly after I had saw the film Tucker: A man and his dream. This car was just breathtaking on the streets. My only other encounter with one was in a museum in Pennsylvania(don't know if it is still there). If you can track one down in a museum, if is def worth a trip to see one. I know there were only 50 made and somewhere less than 40 still in existence, but seeing it is a rare treat and one not to be missed.
