Amazing Tucker Barn Find To Be Offered At Arizona AuctionDecor Girl

Amazing Tucker Barn Find To Be Offered At Arizona Auction

By Decor Girl | December 17th 2016 | Comments Off

One lucky bidder is going to go home from Arizona in a few weeks with one of the most amazing examples of American engineering, a 1948 Tucker 48. RM|Sotheby’s is offering the American barn find of barn finds, the 44th Tucker ever built which has been hidden away for 34 years barely two hours from me, in a tiny little town of Freeport, Ohio.

Preston Tucker lived the American dream, he imagined a technologically advanced car, despite not having a lot of money, got backers, sold stock, bought the biggest plant in America and built his dream car, and then he was squashed by The Big Three. The story as brought to the screen by Francis Ford Coppola in his 1988 movie, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, is both a great and disconcerting movie. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to read between the lines, this was an example of the Big Three enforcing their power, AKA how the combination of big business paying for Washington kills the little guy. (Looking at Detroit today, Karma is alive and well.)

Only 51 Tucker cars were built, the car offered, number 44 has only 7,900 original miles. It rolled off the line as one of nine finished in green. Repainted in bright red, it was on display at the 1951 International Motor Show in Washington, D.C. Allen L. Rocco, a mechanic from Port Chester, NY drove 300 miles just to see and eventually buy the car. It remained in his possession for the rest of his life. The car went to two more owners before landing in the garage “barn” of a man in Ohio who drove it hardly 15 miles and put it away, for 34 years.

According to the consigner, who serviced all fluids, brakes and rebuilt the fan and water pump, the car ran as intended suggesting, “the drivetrain is nothing short of wonderful.” He also replaced the interior, but left the body in its rust-free condition.