The Mystery Of The Tucker Convertible 

It could be that chassis #57 was used to try two different designs, starting with testing the wrap around window and then if/when that was passed on it was reused for the convertible rather than changing it back into a standard Tucker, it'd be more sensible than taking another chassis off the line for testing.

I love that you use the words "restore" and "repair" while it is basically a brand new car. I believe it should be in the Guinness book of world record as "the car that took longest to be assembled" because 60 years from start to finish is an awful long time for a brand new car to be made. it should have a movie of it's own, see if it sells then!

I literally cannot wrap my head around how fans of the Tucker say it's not a real Tucker, if the *ACTUAL EMPLOYEES* of Tucker say it's real and they worked on it. What do they even base their argument on?

As a man who restores automobiles, this is a Tucker 48 convertable.... finished years later in the spirit of the people who started the project.

I personally know of this car. I worked at Accelerate Auto in Texas. Justin Cole owns Accelerate auto. He does not own the vehicle and just transferred his representation of selling it from Benchmark Classics to Accelerate. The car, last I knew, is not in Texas. It’s stored by the owner in Wisconsin. The car is being sold/represented by Accelerate Auto to this day.

Looks FANTASTIC in rag top. No mistaking that face. It's a Tucker. Great story.

In 1971 my best friend and I went to Alex Tremulis' Bay View apartment in my hometown Ventura, CA. a couple of times. He told us all kinds of stories about the Tucker and how he designed it with the moving center headlight and independent suspension etc. It went around Indy at some amazing speed. He didn't mention the convertible, but I believe Tucker ordered it done. Alex was a great guy with amazing true stories.

I was a member of the TACA discussion forum at the time that this car surfaced and the controversy started. The first thing about the body shell with with the wrap around windshield. It could be seen in pictures in the LIFE magazine photo archive at the time. One of the pictures is shown in this video. These pictures were taken after the factory was shutdown. There was picture or two that showed a row of incomplete body shells in the factory assembly line with a gap where it appeared one had been removed. Based on the number of known assembled bodies and incomplete body shells at that time, it appeared to line up with being the 57th body. There was no way to prove it though. Regardless, since "Project Vera" supposedly started before all of the trouble with the Feds, and the body shell with the wrap around rear glass was sitting in the factory after it was shutdown, there is no way that it is the "Project Vera" car. If "Project Vera" actually existed, it would have to have been a different body shell.There were somewhere between 5 to 10 incomplete body shells sitting in the factory at this time. This was after they 50 cars built by Tucker. I don't know where the number of 36 came from. That is definitely not correct. After the factory was shutdown, they auctioned off everything. People bought complete cars, Partially completed cars, bare body shells, engines, body parts, radios, the 589 test chassis, the Tuckermatic test chassis and anything else that was for sale. There are pictures of rusted out body shells that sat outside until they collapsed. Several people bought large numbers of stuff to try to complete cars from the incomplete body shells. The gentleman who supposedly had bought the "convertible" was one of them. These things weren't worth anything back then like they are now. One guy had a semi truck load full of Tuckers along with the 589 test chassis and I think he had the original "tin goose" prototype. He took these cars all over the country displaying them. There were 50 cars built by Tucker plus the Tin Goose, although they were not all complete with drive trains. 51c was built from NOS Tucker parts and some fiberglass parts. 52c is built on a test chassis that was used for the Tuckermatic transmission testing along with parts from other wrecked Tuckers and some NOS parts. They had to make some of the sheet metal parts and modify some doors to complete 52c. If I remember correctly, the doors or at least parts of the doors and the top mechanism for the "convertible" were from a different make altogether and I believe they were supposedly Chevy parts from several years after the factory closed and everything had been sold off. When it surfaced, the car was far from in any sort of completed shape and the shop owned by Justin had to fabricate a lot of the back end of the car to be able to mount fenders and rear deck lid. There was very sketchy "documentation" at the time like someone saying that they had seen this car in a shop several decades earlier, and this was the big "proof" that it was "Project Vera". Regardless, I don't recall anyone ever saying that this wasn't a Tucker in the sense of, it was made of Tucker parts other than the roof, doors and any other convertible only parts that had already been fabricated by someone and then what Justin had to make to complete the car. Justin had a web site with progress pictures of the "restoration" at the time. In reality, it wasn't so much a restoration as it was a completion as they had to make so much to have a complete car. The beef was with the lack of any real proof that "Project Vera" actually was a real project started by Preston Tucker and if that were the case, that this was that actual car. It is one thing to try to sell it as an official project started by Preston Tucker with no real proof and to sell it as modified Tucker. The real thing, if started by Preston would be in one price range and and modified Tucker made from parts will be in a much lower price range. That's just the reality of the situation. Now if new reliable proof has come to light, I haven't kept up with it so I can't comment. However, a factory started convertible, being worth who knows how much more than a standard Tucker, does provide people with the incentive to try to prove it is the real deal and hence worth a premium price. So there's that to consider. Many of the "purists" as some have referred to them, actually own, had owned or ran museums that owned Tuckers. These were some of the people questioning the validity of the story and this car. These weren't people who "had zero hope of ever owning one" Personally, I think it is not "Project Vera" and I seriously doubt that the story of the secret project is true. It is my opinion, that it was an incomplete body shell bought at the factory auction that some started to make into a convertible at some point. Justin bought this car and finished it. The blue car made from Tucker parts and with a fabric roof is a handsome car, and the work done to finish it looked to have been done to a very high level regardless of whether it was started by Preston or not.

Wow, that car is BEAUTIFUL. Great story, too. If I had the money, I would buy it. Maybe not drive it too much, but can you imagine the bragging rights???? That car is a REAL Tucker.

Nice story! One of my bosses when I worked for Motorola almost 50 years ago was Preston Tucker jr. He didn't talk much about the Tucker car stuff but when he did he had some nice stories to tell.

1st off, Just wow, what a stunning vehicle. 2nd off, If the guys on the line are saying it's real, it's real. As if anyone is listening to a bunch of peoples opinions that weren't even there. I was born in 81, in England. If I say it was a fabrication, would you listen to me? No, I have no idea as I wasn't there building it, just like these minecraft playing, sandal and sock wearing, spectacle adjusting people also had no hand in it. Stick with them old boys that keep coming in the shop. They're the real deal.

The car is done so beautifully and there's a genuine possibility that it's "real", so I say it's historical value is valid. I know I would love to have it!

It's important to buy cars when interest rates and prices are low. My financial advisor also gave me the same advice. When rates and prices are low, it can save you money on financing and make the overall cost more affordable.

Tucker got screwed so bad.... so so far ahead of his time

This is easily in the top 5 of VinWiki car stories.

Great story..I remember this car and all the controversy around it..I think it's probably legit, but with mostly all original Tucker parts, it has to be valuable in its own right even if it's a fake.

Always thought it was a real shame Tucker got screwed over because the cars he designed look so good.

Fascinating story! And I believe it to be true! Tucker is the kind of guy who would have approved of it, even when this other company came in and took it from the factory. And "with a great crowd of witnesses" who recognized it as #57, It makes a lot of sense. The original "wrap-around rear window, as it was intended, made it far easier than taking any other Tucker 48 (Torpedo) and trying to make it into a convertible. Thank you for this new information!

The original body was so cool looking. I think it had a chassis code of 1057, and has a really trick wrap around window!

That is a real Tucker convertible people, and Tucker himself would be speechless at the end result. This story choked me up a bit. To finally have what Tucker always dreamed of, is a honor to his legacy. He was a visionary ahead of his time, and this car being so loving built is a physical way to keep men like him alive. It gives people hope to see this car. Bravo!

As soon as I saw what car Nik was talking about, i knew it had (double) ties to Wisconsin. I remember reading about chassis 57 and the convertible project ages ago. Always hoped to see it in person. My dad knew a guy that owned a burgundy sedan, but he passed away before I even knew wat a Tucker was. I wonder where that car is today. Cool car, and a cool story very well told.

I’ve gotten a personal tour of chassis 1044. Howard is an avid collector. Has quite an amazing collection. Look up his collection , you’ll be amazed at what he has found. The Tucker is immaculate. Literally knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Much appreciated Howard!!

They had some cool colors on those cars. Movie director Francis Ford Coppola (Nicolas Cage's uncle) owns two Tuckers.

Always remember growing up my dad telling me that "Ford City Shopping Mall" was the Tucker plant. He also said that one of his neighbors in the late 1950s had one, which makes sense since he grew up just a few miles from the plant.

WHILE I AM NOT A TUCKER FAN, I AM STILL A CAR AND TRUCK GUY!! THE STORY OF THIS CAR IS AMAZING THAT ONE OF THE SEVERAL OWNERS DID NOT GET DISCOURAGED AND SCRAP IT ALTOGETHER! IN MY EYES, A GENNIE TUCKER WITH A CRAZY HISTORY!!👍👍

This is a fascinating story! I heard about it, about 15 years ago, with no pictures. ( First time I've seen it! Absolutely, bad ass! ) thank you for sharing! I believe, it is!

Of course it's a real Tucker. Even if it were built as a HT and later converted to a ragtop, it's still a real Tucker. Geez, Tuckers are rare. Enjoy them!

There have been several manufacturers that sourced parts together to build new models. If this was a car build by an employee during his lunchbreak with parts from the floor it would still be a tucker.

" Hold That Tiger " !! 😉👍🏻

I saw the car when it was being worked on in Madison. Definitely cool, but I had no idea the story behind it. Thanks for the video!

A really well worded talk on the Tucker convertible. You make no claims regarding authenticity, but lay out the different claims and opinions floating around, and don’t lead the viewer down a particular path. Still, you present a fascinating story of this wonderful mystery car. I’m looking forward to your next presentation. Thank you very much!

New Glarus Wisconsin here, southern Wisconsin. This will be a great watch. Yes capitol Corvette! As a kid coming into Madison that was the coolest thing every time was seeing all the awesome cars!

Originally, the entire front end of the car was supposed to turn but engineers found that to be highly unsafe as it messed with the aerodynamics of the care itself, and thus, the turning cyclops headlight was born!

Call it whatever you want; I call it STUNNING. Ageless styling wrapped around innovative engineering. 🤩

There is a lot of conflict and disagreement about this car. I think we'll have more to the story coming soon.

"Don't let a Tucker pass you by!"

Do people think that this is not a real Tucker because it wasn't finished at the factory? Isn't this a similar situation with the original Fox body Mustangs, where ASC took the notchbacks and made them into a convertible? Just because work is farmed out doesn't mean it's not legitimate.

A "Tucker" video _without_ Steve Lehto? Blasphemy, I say! 😁

I'm surprised Jay Leno has not snapped up this car.

Devil's advocate: what if the chassis that had the roof chopped off was the one with the wraparound rear window? Does anyone actually know what happened to the wraparound window chassis?

Real, or, not, it's GORGEOUS.

Preston Tucker was a great man with vision. A beautiful design and family owned... The Big 3 are truly evil

I think it's a beautiful car, far better looking than the sedan. The convertible top assembly and windshield frame are believed to be from a Buick or a Cadillac. Everyone has an opinion, so here's mine: Preston Tucker was famously concerned about safety in his cars; he wanted the best rollover protection, body structure, seat belts, disc brakes, and padded interior parts to protect the occupants in crashes. Convertibles have almost none of that, so it seems unlikely that he would have approved of a version of his car that was inherently unsafe in an accident, as convertibles were at that time. That, and no actual factory documentation of the project make this car basically a phantom - a car that never was, but is factory in appearance and easily could have been.

It's beautiful. If you made one car and only one car before you went backrupt (or the SEC seized your assets), you'd be proud if it was the Tucker 48.

"I worked for the company that did the steering wheels for Tucker"....well, that would be the Lincoln division of the Ford Motor Company, the Tucker steering wheels were Lincoln Zephyr and were all given to Tucker by FoMoCo.

It's an engineering mule for a convertible. They weren't worried that 60 years later there would be a controversy about what it is or isn't. They were taking a chassis and figuring out how to make a convertible version of the car to sell for the company. All manufacturers have oddball prototypes like that.

Great looking Tucker💙💙

If you are into these cars, Preston's grandson's have a channel centered around the car

I saw this Tucker convertible at Benchmark several times . Awesome. I was looking at a square bird they had in inventory.

This is cool, I have never even heard about this car before and it was huge into being here in Wisconsin for sure and cool and thanks for sharing this for sure.

In the 20s, many cars had Pilot Ray Lights. They were a second set of head (driving) lights that turned with the steering. In the 50s and 60s Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud convertibles started life as a 4 door sedan then it was sent to the coach builder to make them into a convertable.

Good story today. I never knew about chassis 57.

It is car #57! And always will be car #57, whether it has a roof or not! You can't get better documentation and corroboration than the people who actually knew and worked on the car! It's a Tucker!

HAHA! Well, to be fair, if it wasn't shrouded in controversy and doubt, it wouldn't be a "Real Tucker" would it?

So the people who worked on the car in the factory say its real, but the arm chair purists whove never been to any automotive factory swear its fake? I wonder who i should believe...

Mr. B. Here ! 🍩☕️👀😎👍. Yes he gets railroaded, don’t forget the Big 3 !

In the end, this is a gorgeous car and it needs to get driven. This is the best telling of the story I have come across. Nik tells it from the point of view of someone who sees the car for what it is. Not a pessimist out to discredit the car. Why wouldn't Tucker have explored other models? The convertible would have been a logical next step in the late 40s. If #57 was experimented on by cutting up the rear window it would make sense to use that altered car to try a convert idea instead of trying to fix the cut-up rear window. It also makes sense that Tucker wouldn't do this conversion in-house. Car companies have always used outside shops to do prototypes etc. And like others have said here, if all of those people who were there at the time know what this car is, I'd say they trump today's enthusiasts who were not there. The mess that followed the collapse of Preston dreams must have left a lot of holes. Lastly, I find it hard to believe anyone would have attempted a conversion in the 50s without doing some less than factory like modifications. I'd drive the car! Hell, the story that applies now is almost as good as the original prototype story. The car has status even in controversy.

Im not a car guy. In the mid 80's I was a teenager and my great uncle took me to see his WW2 army buddy who had just bought a big 1800s house in downtown Indianapolis on Pennsylvania street. The house was complete with all the furniture and everything from the former owners. At the end of our visit he showed us the garage that had a Tucker and a 2 seater Jaguar. I think he said it was a XK120. And I think he said the color was lavender grey or lavender pearl, it had red interior. Years later I saw the man and he said he sold them both. If I knew better I would have been all over the Tucker instead of the sporty, more common Jag.

Whether the car is a real Tucker or not is irrelevant. The point is, the car is freaking gorgeous!

Also the ONLY 2-door Tucker EVER BUILT!

Its appropriate its a mystery. Tucker is always a mystery

Someone needs to reach out to Rob Ida and get his version of the story on this car. He is very involved in the Tucker community. I thought he was directly related, however I was wrong. It’s Rob’s grandfather who had a Tucker dealer. I’m sure he has a very interesting story or two about Tucker and some of the mysteries surrounding him.

Jay Leno would be the ideal buyer of this car. If he knew about it, definitely would be one for him to consider buying.

I saw that car in Texas, about 14 years ago. They had a price tag of 5 million dollars on it 😮. And it needed a full restoration.

I loved walking through Capitol Corvette when I was a kid. It could make a good vinwiki episode.

Some of the more notable manufacturers and body design studious routinely built very limited runs of cars utilizing former racers, wrecks, prototypes, show cars, spare chassis, trade-ins,and whatnot, reconfiguring them and selling them again. This seemed particularly common in Europe; I suppose local laws did not prohibit such activities. This is often discovered during restoration projects. My vote: It is a Tucker.

Love seeing Nik on VINWiki! Fascinating story!

As far as I am concerned that is the real deal, just with an asterisk. Great video! [Personally, I think the Tucker family should start selling replicas using tube frames and fiberglass construction with Porsche drivetrains.]

it's chassis 57, if you actually dive into everything that is...

If the people who built it in the factory say it's real, then who am I to claim otherwise?

Loved this story, thanks for sharing!

*My Grandfather would love to own a Tucker 48, I have actually seen two different 4 door Tuckers in person at automotive museums. That convertible 48 looks so much better than the 4 doors with it’s refined lines and convertible top I can almost understand why some purists would insist it’s not real* 😅

even if it was a 4 door with the roof cut off , its still a tucker and its now a convertable. so to say its not a tucker convertable is odd.

One can only ask what is the required of sword eye witness is need to prove that this is the chassis 57 seen in the factory. As well as the required level of documents to further prove it provenance .

Great Story. And the Folks that actually worked on this Convertible back in that Timeframe, walk Into the Harley Dealership and recognize the car as being the Read Deal Chassis #57. Well, that's as good as it get's right there Fellas. I believe this to be the #57 Tucker Convertible and the "ONLY" One ever! Nuff said. Cool Car.

Wow! Wasnt expecting this today. Great video.

The tucker armored car was too fast for the army but the one thing the army used from it was the plexiglass gun turret idea

The new owner should reach out to the car museum in Hershey, PA. They have all the blueprints and documents leftover from Tucker.

I went and dug through old pictures from the convertible thread. There are several pictures of the incomplete bodyshells in the factory. There are 7 shells visible with a spot where a shell should have been followed by one more shell. There were 50 Tuckers built, 36 when the factory was still open, the remaining 14 by Tucker employees that remained after closure. So that is where the figure of 36 came from. These 14 cars didn't have drivetrains installed. If these bare are sitting in order and are numbered in order, the first one would be #51 and the last one would be #58, leaving the missing shell to be #57. There were 58 body shells built from what I have read. Assuming these shells are 51-58, in order, then the missing shell would have to be the one in the other pictures taken at the same time with the modified rear window, and it would be #57. This body was photographed after the factory was shutdown and "Project Vera" was supposedly started before the Feds started their case. Tucker #51C was built after the factory was liquidated and is based on body shell #54 spare parts and fiberglass fenders. No other Tuckers have been built from original un-built body shells other than the convertible. 52C was built on the Tuckermatic test chassis and parts from scrapped cars so it didn't actually use one of the leftover shells. On the tuckerconvertible web site they have some of their documentation posted. There is a letter from Tucker Accountant, Mel Koeppen written to Allan Reinhert from Aug of 2000. It reads, "Dear Allan, Long time no see. I hope your address hasn't changed and this gets to you ok. Did you ever get the Tucker convertible finished? I would like to drive over and se it sometime. Give me a ring and tell me when it will be convenient to get together and bring each other up to date." This is offered as proof, but IMO it offers zero proof. It is a Tucker and it is a convertible, so it is reasonable to call it a Tucker Convertible, but this offers no proof that it is "Project Vera". This is no affidavit stating that he saw it when it was supposedly at the factory. If there is a separate affidavit, they don't show it. There are several pay stubs for Mel, proving that he worked for Tucker Corp. That is good to prove, but Mel's letter proves nothing IMO. There is also an affidavit from the Harley shop owner. He describes the condition of the car and details that he noticed. One thing is that it was very rusted. There was an old picture of a very rusted shell sitting outside, and I believe it was missing it's roof so it was surmised at the time that it may have been #57 with the roof cut off, leaving no way to know if it is the wraparound rear window body seen in the pictures. It also mentions by first name only who had come to the shop and recognized it as #57, "Project Vera". That person named another worker by first name only and said that they had been ordered to cut the roof off #57 at the factory so it could be built into a convertible. No affidavits from these people are offered and no last names are given. The shop owner also states that the reinforcements would have to have been done at the factory because they were equally rusty. This seems like conjecture to me. I have seen cars that had body pieces replaced, and the project stalled and the whole thing rusted. At a certain point heavily rusted metal looks the same unless parts are completely rusted out, and even then environmental factors could cause more deterioration in different parts of the car. He also states that the numbers didn't appear to have been done outside of the factory. I don't know how he could tell that to the level to say that they are factory stamps. Crooks and unscrupulous car restores have been re-stamping cars for decades so it is definitely doable to fake a stamp. Not saying the stamps are fake, just that it is possible to fake them well enough to fool most people. The letter then brings up the owner of LeCara steering wheels "knowing about the Tucker convertible and that it was started at the factory". Here again, this seems flimsy at best. Lots of stories get passed around about all sorts of things. Doesn't make them true. Several times, a life sized factory drawing of the Tucker Convertible is mentioned as having been seen with the car in the past. However this drawing has never been seen to this day. That would be the best proof that Tucker actually, at least went to the effort to consider building a convertible. Still doesn't prove that they ever started however. The fact remains, unless some very credible factory documentation is found, showing that they conceived, designed and paid the outside firm to start building "Project Vera", I don't see how you can ever prove that this car is legit. The "secret off the books" nature of the story, even if true, makes it impossible to prove and the nature of the story also leaves room from someone to have fabricated the story and the car as well. Tucker was selling dealerships as well as radios, seat covers, custom fitted luggage and heaters before the cars were even built, to raise money for the company. That was one of the things that got him into trouble. The 50 cars built were pre-production prototypes. The steering wheels were rejected '41 Lincoln Zephyr steering wheels that Alex Tremulous got from a friend at Lincoln with the stipulation that they had to be pulled and replaced with whatever Tucker's final design was. They had been buying old Cord transaxles, rebuilding them and installing them to get the cars drivable. It seems rather unlikely to me that Preston would have wanted to spend the time, money and energy to start a convertible project when they still hadn't finalized a production car and started production. He has been described as rather impetuous and a micromanager, so it is possible, but if he did and did it off the books, then he doomed the car to being an un-provable enigma.

I live in Madison, this car was displayed in Fitchburg about 3 miles from my house growing up and I NEVER KNEW-open mouth, insert foot.

It is not chassis 57, but it is real, and it was the factory vert prototype. It's also not in texas, it's in a 20x10 unassuming storage unit in WI being consigned remotely.

Got a chance to see #45 at a car show few years back in Melbourne Australia

Awesome story!

Looks like a Tucker to me!

Fun fact over a 10th of the remaining factory completed tuckers are in Pennsylvania

Nice article, but even nicer are some of the reactions. I was a member of a Dutch Citroen club. I am surprised that anybody that ever touched a Tucker is still alive, I am almost dead, being from 1947 most of us do have 1 foot in the grave. I always loved the big Citroens , still drive one, but the length some people go through to find the original glovebox screw from a 57 vs a 58 DS, that goes a bit too far for me. My Citroen friends here in Vancouver have the right idea, we drive our cars, have fun with them and truly enjoy them for what they are. Still get a lot of thumbs up. Love the Tucker, just as bizarre as the DS, I would love to see the Car from this article, fake or not, I don`t care, it looks fantastic. Somebody did a hell of a job. We didn`t think Joan Rivers was "Fake" while a lot of her parts were not original. Thanks and greetings to all car fans.

Accelerate auto is like a stone’s throw from my house and I remember being absolutely _dumbfounded_ the moment I saw that on their website. I think that’s the closest I’ve ever been to a heart attack in my time on this earth

An intriguing story is it or isn't but what a good looking car

Let’s not forget the Tucker turrets he created for the bombers, or the armored vehicle he created that the military said was too fast

The Tin Goose and another one are in a museum by Rayestown Lake in PA.

Preston Trucker was 100% into safety, agree. A convertible in those days, common folks. He was a showman, maybe a convertible for the draw. Auto companies use concept cars all the time just for that purpose...

If it looks like a fish and smells like a fish, swims like a fish it’s a DAMN FISH!

Saw the car up close in Madison. Had our 65 Nova SS there on consignment! I think Cole is a fast talker and took us for a good screwing on our car and wouldn't even tell us the truth about where the Nova went!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAYBE THAT IS WHY HE WENT TO TEXAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He told us Him and his father owned the TUCKER. !!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's very real Tucker they should know this because Tucker had it made but could not finish it because the government shut him down

Call it what you will. It is one of the most attractive cars out of that period in history period if I had a few bucks like that sitting in my pocket. I would certainly go down to Texas and check it out.

My guess is this is a prototype made in the Tucker factory at sometime before it was clear that Tucker inc. would be out of business.

Poor Preston Tucker!!!😮

I like the side view of the car. Very futuristic but must have been difficult to produce in those times.

Wow what a story I have never heard that or about this car that is amazing.

There's a bigger mystery here. Since this convertible is #57 and only 51 Tuckers were built, where are chassis numbers 52-56? 🤔