Story by Jon Stalnaker AKA The Studebaker Dude
I first heard the Tucker car story when I was just a child. The story took place a good 3 years before I was born, and my dad was still talking about it when I was old enough to remember such things. He told me about this really cool car that was way ahead of anything being built by the big auto makers of the day and how they ran him out of business. My dad told me if he hadn’t been such a procrastinator, he would have bought stock in the company. The car was that good, my dad was not a rich man and struggled to keep a family of 5 children clothed and fed. That story made a big impression on me, and you can only imagine how excited I was when Frances Ford Coppola and George Lucas made a movie about the whole thing in 1988. Unfortunately, my dad didn’t live long enough to ever see it. I would have loved to watch it with him and revisit his memories of the real event. The movie was called “Tucker: The Man and His Dream” and it starred Jeff Bridges as Preston Tucker.
Coppola owned two Tuckers at the time he did the movie. That was pretty special as only 51 Tuckers were ever built and I believe they are all, but one, accounted for. Back then, the cars were selling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars range, if they ever went up for sale. I believe the movie helped spike the value of these cars as they sell in the multi-million dollar range now.
I once bought a Motor Trend magazine from my birth month (June 1951) and it had an ad for a Tucker and an extra engine in the want ads. Back then you could buy one for a couple hundred bucks. Nobody wanted them because you couldn’t get parts for them. Well, nobody but the wise people and the future time travelers that went back in time to get one cheap. (that last category was a joke, or WAS it?) I originally wrote this story in 2003 and changed it up only slightly to fit today. You should watch the movie if this stimulates your curiosity. I loved it. What follows is what I salvaged from the original story from 2003.
If you have seen the movie about the Tucker, you should know about the Studebaker element. I had heard that they had modified at least one bullet-nosed Studebaker to look like a Tucker for a few of the scenes that they thought they could get away with it in. I understand that the scene in front of the courthouse, where they drove all of the Tuckers required it, as they could not round up all 51 Tuckers for the shot. Also, in the scene where the Tucker rolled over on the racetrack, they obviously could not demolish such a rare car just for a movie. Therefore, a stand-in was required and what car would be easier to modify to look like a Tucker than a bullet nose Studebaker? They certainly are plentiful enough and who cares if one gets destroyed? (Other than us Studebaker guys!)
The actual Tucker (#27) that was rolled on the racetrack was sold along with a bunch of parts and may be restored someday to its original condition. According to the official Tucker website, 50 of the 51 Tuckers are accounted for and only one has been street rodded. There was a company that was making a Hot Rod Tucker, but no actual Tucker was sacrificed in the building of it. I saw it in a car magazine, and it was way cool. It has a mid-engine NorthStar Cadillac motor and lots of modern upgrades. I don’t know if they are still making them.
I’ve often wondered if any of those movie stand-ins still existed and decided to search the internet for my answer. I was able to locate a still shot from the movie that showed the “STUCKERbaker” in the rollover scene. You most likely wouldn’t have even noticed it since the rollover scene only lasted mere seconds. However, when you view the still picture, you can tell it is a modified Stude and not a real Tucker.
I searched some more and discovered that the movie stand-in STUCKERbaker is at the Tallahassee Automobile Museum. It is displayed in all of its demolished glory. The front Tucker modification of the car fell off during the crash and the 1950 Bullet nose is clearly visible now.
I went on the Studebaker forum and asked if anyone had any pictures of this car and my friend, Matthew Burnett came through with these terrific shots of the car in the parking lot. So, if you ever make it to Tallahassee, check out the Automobile Museum there and look for this car. A true piece of movie history and, some could argue, a worthwhile sacrifice of one of our beloved Studebakers.
