1948 Tucker 48
Posted by David Kinney
Long before the end of World War II, Preston Tucker set about acquiring a lease on one of the largest buildings under a single roof, the 93-acre Dodge Cicero Avenue plant on the South Side of Chicago. Used to build B-29 aircraft motors for the war effort, it became surplus when hostilities ceased. Tucker’s dream was to build an entirely new car there, one that would encompass not only radical styling but also the latest in technology and safety, all at an affordable price. The advertising tag line, “The first completely new car in fifty years,” was telling in many ways.
The distinctive looking, rear-engined fastback was developed by Tucker, along with automotive stylist and designer Alex Tremulis of Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg fame. The prototype, affectionately nicknamed “The Tin Goose” by workers, was built in just 100 days. Because of a wartime lack of modeling clay, it was made of steel, largely by hand.
The Tucker was to be powered by a massive 589-c.i., horizontally opposed, six-cylinder aluminum motor with fuel injection. Rather than employ a gearbox, torque converters were connected to the drive wheels opposite the motor. An all-independent suspension had a disc brake at every wheel, and a 24-volt electrical system was used. Safety features included a center-mounted headlight that turned with the steering wheel, a pop-out windshield, a padded dash, and a safety zone in front of the passenger seat where occupants could dive in the event of an impending collision.
The biggest problem came from the big boxer six, which was inadequate to propel the heavy, torque-converter-equipped car, as it made less than 100 horsepower. The motor was replaced with a 335-c.i. helicopter unit, produced by Air Cooled Motors of Syracuse, New York. Tucker bought Air Cooled to secure as many motors as he projected he’d need for production. The torque converters were scrapped, and the first Tucker cars used an electronic pre-select transmission that last saw use on prewar 810 and 812 series Cords. (”Last saw use” is not employed here as a euphemism, as Tucker and his men found themselves buying used Cords throughout the country and scrapping them for their transmissions.)
The helicopter motor proved to be a wise choice, as after conversion to water-cooling, it proved to be sturdy and powerful, making 166 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque. Tuckers could be driven at speeds over 120 mph. But an article in a contemporary edition of The Chicago Tribune mentioned that the prototype had no reverse gear. This was true of the test car, but not for the production models, though the rumor persisted. Old-timers will still occasionally ask owners how they find driving a car that can’t back up.
As you might expect of any small manufacturer, many parts for the Tucker were lifted directly from other production models. Items such as door handles and window cranks were Detroit-sourced, likely a few pieces at a time. The steering wheel was a modified Lincoln Zephyr unit.
Los Angeles-based Kinmont was to provide disc brakes for the production cars, but in reality that did not happen. Seat belts were abandoned because of fears the public would perceive them as something necessary in this car only, leading people to believe the Tucker was unsafe. But many features, like the pop-out windshield, the center headlight, and the padded dash and safety zone stayed in the production car.
Ultimately, the Tucker story ends with the company falling into receivership after an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, one that failed to convict Preston Tucker of anything. Even so, the bad publicity was enough to end his dreams of revolutionizing the auto industry.
The legend of the car persists today, making the Tucker 48 one of the more interesting “what ifs” of American automotive history.
(From the July 2004 issue of Sports Car Market magazine.)