@@Flakjacket96 You clearly don't understand how banks work. Yet somehow they get to pay a fine while you or I get all our wealth and freedom stolen. Hmmmm, something seems a bit off there to me. Perhaps you like having a two tiered system where elites and corporations get away with whatever they want while you and I become more and more surveilled and controlled by them. Do you prefer fascism over democracy then?
For anybody who doesn't know, there's a reason that car was so valuable even in a state of disrepair. The Tucker car company was a short-lived enterprise back in the late 1940s, and it only ever made 51 of these vehicles. The Big Three auto companies did their best to help shut it down, slandering the company by (among other things) claiming the Tucker 48 was incapable of driving in reverse. In reality, it was actually quite advanced for its time, including various state-of-the art safety features that competitors lacked.
yup...I believe seatbelts, and disc brakes were two of the 'modern' features, if i remember right. (among others) that once they got Tucker shut down, they happily absorbed into their own products.
Companies r still doin the same shit today! Shutting down their competition by any means necessary! The big corporates dont like competition where the little guy is from the community and serves the community.
@darrendavis4731 Yes, that was the "payment." However from what I was hearing, the feds only assumed that was what was going on. They hadn't proved it. The guy said they were 150% legal.
Everybody breaks the law. To many not to miss at least one..that's why we all tap the breaks when we see a cop in the median.. we pay people more than what the average person makes to tell us what to do and punish us if we dont.. the little ones are the reason it continues. its very easy to get a conviction and silenced.. as one. But we are in charge and we as people are the key to this planet and its inhabitants survival.we have to stop just riding along and take charge together. Put our differences aside.and speak as one.. we have no say in our future if we say nothing now.. take the time of one of these tiptoes to think about all the things that are happening 2 min..then decide to do aomething.. write a rep or senator. I don't know what plan of action should be .. not to support any president but more one big community our president will answer to the people just as the judge will..we have given to much power away..rant over
If you pause at 7:35 the newspaper article says they were involved with others in a methamphetamine making lab and the money from that went to buy and restoring cars!
In 1985 I drove from Portland Ore to Independence Ore to look at a 1970 Dodge Charger that was for sale by an elderly man who lived on a small farm. We bought the car and had a long conversation with him. He asked if we had ever seen a Tucker. I'd never even heard of a Tucker. He took us to his barn and took a tarp off the car. It was green and in quite good shape. He started it up for us, it was amazing. He said the car was for sale and he had a man on the east coast quite interested in it. He offered it to me for $30,000. I had no clue what I was going to miss out on. The next time I saw a Tucker (except for the movie a few years later) it was at The Portland Expo Center as part of the Smithsonian tour. That's my "One that got away" story.
I found 2 phantom corsairs by a barn in the 1000 Islands region back in the late 80s. early 90s, funny thing is there's only 1 know to exist , I thought at the time " What an ugly car " man was i dumb
@@ericschulze5641I sold a 65 Corvair Corsa Convertible GT Turbo in 1991 for $5,000. I paid $400 for it in 87. It had a blown up turbo and the guy couldn’t get the rocker arms set properly. He had the rockers on backwards, and I got the turbo rebuilt by a shop in Boston, Mass. That car was scary fast.
@Tom-hz9oc you had a corvair, there's only 1 known corsair, other than the 2 I found behind an old abandoned barn they're worth millions this is a 1930s vintage car big gaudy boat , 1000 islands have been called the playground of the millionaires since the 1920s when 1 million would be today's equivalent of 20 million
Not that my "one that got away" compares but I was passing by a home that advertised a Jaguar for sale, (not sure of the model) I was tempted but kept driving. The next day it was front news. The woman that owned it was selling it for a DOLLAR! Man! And yes it was only a few years old and in perfect condition.
@@joemurray8902 I didn’t buy a cheap looking gun safe that a lady listed for a couple hundred dollars. I didn’t know that it was full of her dead husband’s guns.
Everyone in the Tucker Club loved Rich and Ed even after their troubles. When the Tucker number 39 was on tour in cities with Smithsonian’s 150 year tour, a CNN reporter asked on live television to a Smithsonian spokesperson, “how’s the paint and body work on it?” The spokesperson said “it’s as good as we’ve ever seen!” Greg McGlothlin did 100% of the body and paintwork on Tucker 39. Boy, today’s eurathane enamels sure are tough, but they can’t compare with that sheet of glass look when you use that DuPont Lucite laquer!
You could do things with laquer that are just not possible with anything else. Layers of transparent color over white could look like it was inches deep.
its pretty crazy that people used to listen to cnn, knowing now that they sold out the american people to large multinational conglomerates. You're even praising dupont chemical, which is unthinkable to me, but i guess that's what people call the generation gap!
@@blacktiger995 idk that's what I was trying to find out I'm betting they just made up some kinda conspiracy to comment about controlled substance charge of some kinda or there personal favorite for making an illegal seizure into a legal seizure and that's the Rico Law which should be abolished
As someone that's become more libertarian throughout the years, I do feel there's something important to keep in mind. Not all government is bad, nor is all government good. Recently I was explaining the difference between different types of capitalism, one came up called State Capitalism. It came down to the government would regulate the economy to keep large business from running amuck (much as they're doing now in America). It could even involve running specific services, transit, oil, fire protection, ect. It could just as easily become the problem however with the bureaucrats becoming as bad as the corporations they were meant to defend against. Not all controlling government is like the latter. I formerly thought so, becoming an anarchist for a while. It's detrimental to have government so large and powerful that it no longer represents the people beyond the minimal amount needed to gain continued support, such as the USA has now. It is however also detrimental to have too little (or nothing) as well. People tend to default to authoritarianism for one, which tends to lend to the idea that you can and should use force to get what you want. The way we're socially engineered here also comes into play. From an early age we're taught in America that if you respect people, you'll be respected in return. What it really means here is if you submit to authority, you MIGHT get treated like a human being. That translates into how we treat people from business or government positions. That kind of mentality is bred into generations here, not only are we ill equipped for anarchy we're ill equipped to look out for each other like this even with authority. You can make the government smaller, that doesn't fix the generational damage that leads to the abuse we inflict on each other sadly. In some ways, it's a lot worse without government interference.
Back in the early eighties. I worked with a older gentleman that worked for the Tucker company. He was part of the crew building the cars and had a fun and great job at the time. He also said he thought of Mr. Tucker as a very good man and was making a great new car. That the public would love.
Considering what they had was a meth manufacturing and distribution ring whose income was laundered through their business, I'm sure they were trying not to let the government know.
My wife's uncle had the Tucker dealership in NJ. There were officially 50 made. Her cousin had #51. He completed the construction on his own. When they made the movie "Tucker", they flew him and his car to California. It's my understanding that both Spielberg and Lucas owned Tuckers at the time. Her cousin had a lot of the original parts, brochures, posters and manuals that were used in the film. It was interesting to see what they did to make it realistic. They modified old Studebakers, took fiberglass molds off his car and put the 'glass bodies on wooden 2X4 frames with rope holding the doors closed. The one car that was "rolled" was a Studebaker, but the closeup of the wrecked car was actually fiberglass that they put a hole in the roof, covered it with crinkled aluminum foil and painted it to look like it was caved in. If you look closely in the film, when all the cars are lined up, you can see that most of the cars are just background scenery. After her cousin died, we lost track of his family and the car. He always said that it was going to be his retirement fund.
It is the law. They can take your house too. They once took everybody's gold too, and made it illegal to own gold. That is where the gold in Fort Knox came from. Yes that is correct, from 1933 to 1974 it was illegal to own gold, and you had to hand your gold over to the government. FDR and the Democrats wanted all the gold, so they simply took it.
The U.S.Marshall’s are known by law enforcement agencies as the, “government assassins.” And the, FBI as the government cover up agency for, “Government Crimes.” Hunter Biden and, Obama prove that. Bill Clintons, favorite agency, go ahead and ask, J. Epstein.
You could hear the pain in his voice at the end when he thinking about the car being stolen from him. It’s got to be worth in the 10s of millions now and to think it was stolen from him by the government…
@@Thumper68 it does, but guess who decides what "equal compensation" is? Why do you think the Government simply declares "imminent domain" if you refuse to sell your land to them for their 1/5-value offer and simply TAKE it from you?
The passion in this story is moving! I'm from Brazil and here we have had a Tucker for many years in a museum, it's not in its best shape but it's still our pride! Best Regards
Yes, Rich is a true Tucker can and it comes through when he tells the story. And a genuine great guy. Someday we hope to come see Tucker 1035 in Brazil, it also has quite a unique story. Thanks for watching!
Amazing story of that incredible automobile. The Preston Tucker story and the hurdles and hoops he had to jump through was awful. He definitely had the car of the future. All the features you would see in the future autos of the Big 3. Thankfully this Tucker Automobile was saved.
Man think about it! What other people thought it was junk! It turned into a rare couple of million dollar piece of history! Amazing! Glad it was restored and brought to its former glory! Absolutely stunning!👏👏👏👏👌😎👍 and a great story to go with it!
WTF! It was the federal government that shut down the making of the car too. I think to myself "Who do they think they are?" The answer comes back immediately. They answer to god. They better hope I never become president.
Its all the alphabet agencies, FBI, CIA, DEA, FDA, IRS,… the only one that I can think of that I haven’t heard of those crimes is the FAA, but somehow I doubt they are clean.
I remember Lucky Costa telling a story about how he was called in to that shop to do some work on it when he was doing mobile mechanic work. He said he got it running and did a tune up. He left and told some friends a few days later that he had worked on a Tucker. They didn't believe him. He said he would show them. He went back to the shop and the Feds had already yellow taped it off and sized everything. He found out later that it ended up in the Smithsonian. Crazy!
I saw this car at the Smithsonian in 1999. I've seen the Tucker at The Henry Ford Museum, Gilmore Car Museum, Stahl's Auto Museum & Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum.
If i recall correctly, the one at Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Mich was number 47, and the hood came from number 3. It's one of the evening gown blue ones. I used to talk to the guy that restored it, while he was doing it. Amazing cars.
Sheesh, it sure hauls in those old videos. What a restoration and glad it's still around to be seen. One of these days I'll make it down and see a few of these gems in person. What a hoot it must have been, even in the 80's to drive a Tucker!
Yes, there is certainly more to that side of the story but it happened 35 years ago. Who chose to focus on the positive aspects surrounding how things ended up today. Regardless of how it got there Rich's work landed 1039 at the Smithsonian for everyone to enjoy.
@@prestontuckersspeedshop1948 except you say it was stolen by the feds....this was a fuck around and find out be a criminal lose your shit that's how it goes.
Incorrect. It says "seized by the US Marshals" which is exactly what happened. Several folks chose to turn that into the car being stolen by their comments which was not the case. We can't control that unfortunately. Thanks again for watching.
I get the impression that many of the commenters simply reacted to the title and didn't watch the video. At 4:50, he clearly mentions money laundering in the shop. That's why the cars would have been seized.
Yes, we think so too. A lot of the comments got crazy political which is unfortunate. We were hoping to focus on the car and our friendship with Rich today. We've all made mistakes in our past but he's a great guy and true Tucker fan! Thanks again for watching.
The Tucker was far advanced back in the day. It was a threat to the Big 3 automakers. Being able to remove the "helicopter" engine to repair replaced with another until the other engine was fixed. Wow! And the safety of the car is exceptional! Beautiful design, a great family car.
I have an awesome story of a Tucker Torpedo I encountered when I was a young 13 year old back in 1979 - 80. I got to sit in it and look it over. It was at a shop in Texas in the town I lived in and they were restoring it. They were having some parts machined for the rear-end wheel axle or suspension . It still had the original engine and was in overall decent shape, the body was fine, except the paint was faded. I don't remember what number it was, really didn't know it was a big deal back then to know. My dad first spotted it and he knew all about it since he grew up in Milwaukee and was around 18 years old in 1947 - so he remembered all about it and told me everything. He was so surprised to see it in our town. We stopped in at the shop and my dad talked with the owner/mechanic about the car and showed us everything and let me sit inside. It was really neat. We moved from Texas shortly there after and never gave it a thought until the Tucker movie came out and we knew that it was probably used in the movie as one of the cars in the film. I have no idea what happened to it but I know, at one time, there was a car museum in Corpus Christi - down the coast from where we lived and where the shop was - that car museum had a restored Tucker and I also thought that might be it or maybe it was the one the Francis Ford Coppola bought. It was a medium to dark blue, waltz blue I believe is what it is called, so it is one of those survivors. It was at Gulfway Motors in Port Lavaca, Texas 1979 - 1980. Anyway, it was a neat thing and I have a picture of the Tucker on the wall in my room as I type. . . .
Very cool story, thanks for sharing. We can't nail down which number with any of that info unfortunately, but we will keep an eye out for a mention of those locations in our future research. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for your great work. And thank you for giving people the pleasure of knowing that unique automobile of American history that should have had a different story in its time.
Saw this car in the Smithsonian in July 2022. I had no idea it had an even bigger story than just what I learned from the movie. The crazy thing is, they parked it right next to the GM EV1. The two car display showcases “reinvention,” how both manufacturers were “reinventing” the car.
@@DavidPlantzOh I do. It’s a sad one. Saw a red one at the Petersen museum, and one back when GM was promoting their future innovations at Future World in EPCOT. Now THAT was pretty sad. They removed the EV1 and displayed the new trendy “hybrid” that was extremely popular in the mid 00s. The darn thing got 17mpg!!! They replaced an electric car with a 17mpg “hybrid” truck!!! I think what makes the EV1 story so sad is the fact that just like with the Tucker, the owners wanted to keep the cars, but being leases, they were required to return them.
Credit where credit is due. We hope this did a small part to honor Sr.'s legacy. We truly thank your family for helping to carry on the Tucker legacy forever. -Mike T.
As a 9 year old kid; I saw a Tucker being worked on at a shop at the corner of Century Blvd and Hawthorn Blvd; in Inglewood Ca. The mechanic said to me "bet you have never seen a car with the motor in the back of the car". Many years later I bought a Corvair.
Mr. Gene Clark's car! We got to spend quite a bit of time with it over the past year with our good friend Mark Lieberman at Nostalgic Motoring. Great car, thanks for watching!
Back in the 1950 my father was a auto mechanic. In our town we had an old man who had a Tucker but never drove it over 10mph. I think he was almost blind. Every few months he would bring the car to my dad complaining it wasn't running right, and my dad was the only mechanic that could fix it. My dad would drive the Tucker to the next town and back doing 100+mph. This would blow the carbon out of the engine, and it would run great until the next time. The old man is long dead and I have no idea what happened to the Tucker. Thanks for the memory.
Those guys had their shop on PCH and second in Hermosa! The "Bev was here" got my attention, Bev Fierra owned 1041 for years, thats gotta be his writing on the glass! I cant believe 37 was in the southbay. That is wild!
Taken in 1992 by the DEA, not the US Marshall Service, as part of property forfeiture for dealing drugs. Maybe don't do business with criminals if you don't want to pay the price.
And I am quite certain you believe everything your government tells you.... if their lips are moving....... Like to see DJTs new admin' review this case..... heard a similar story about a Cord.... ended up at the Smithsonian also.... take a look sometime at the names involved with the Smithsonian...... not the nicest folk in the Country..... nor the most truthful.....
So, what I'm hearing here, is that the government did him dirty, and rather than let them profit from it a guy from the Smithsonian grabbed the car from them and pulled an Indiana Jones
Some clarity on this should be important. The man says the words himself. He clearly says "gave up the car" and "actually, uh, uh, made a deal to lessen the effects of the arrest". Put on captions, its at 6:49 The man did what he did and its behind him. If he is a free man, he has done what is required of him, and it would seem that giving up the car lead to him having more of his life available to him outside of jail, so he made the choice to give it up. He is not a victim. He says money laundering. Google it and it stemmed from a narcotics investigation apparently. I am only mentioning this because it is a really huge loss, but considering what he might have been up against, it seems like he made a good choice. They even knew they were going to give it up and took out for a final spin....that is not the feds "stealing it". Dude says his shop was legit, and his work on that car is beautiful, so I am sure his shop was 150% legit like he said, but people in the comments are crying about the big bad government and I dont think that is really something this guy is getting into while talking. And not the case here.
what interests me the most is when you said you paid $40,000 and people told you you were crazy. This is the state of the average person when they comment on something they know nothing about. They don't know they'll never know. And probably don't even want to know. Typical average human being doesn't know s***. You did the right thing probably had a great time doing it. which the average person doesn't know how to have a great time. Good job. F*** the Nay Sayers
So true. I could write a book on many people and what they think, while not knowing, and not wanting to know. Those types of people hate the truth, and will fight to keep from knowing.
It’s not that they aren’t car enthusiasts, it’s that they simply can’t see potential in anything. Had my mom seen this car in the museum like I had, she would’ve thought it was beautiful, probably worth 6 figures, without ever seeing the movie, without ever reading the placard on the display. Had she seen the before pictures though, and only seen what it looked like before, yeah, she would’ve said that was too much. Even $2k would’ve been too much for a “hunk of junk.”
@@budc6246Richard Rawlings would’ve bought that car for $9k, sold it to his friend Dennis as is for $40k, then he would either sell it back to Richard, or to this shop for $15k at a loss. Probably why the feds investigated the shop in the first place. I have a high suspicion that Richard, Dennis, and much of the high roller car kings are in the hobby for money laundering purposes.
If the government cant tell the difference between real and corrupt money the corrupt part must be PROVEN. The government is obliged to prove their case against this man and not just guess for the reason of seizing his property.
Their shop was on Cypress Ave in Hermosa Beach. The mural of the Tucker is still on the side of the building. My business is right up the street, I remember them well and saw the car all the time. The last part of the video they were driving up Cypress, went right by my shop. How often do the Feds impound something that ends up in the Smithsonian ? Hermosa in Spanish means beautiful. So is the car.
When I was a kid, this was the dream car I always wanted. They fascinated me. Other people liked Super Sports or Corvairs etc, my dream was always the Tucker. ❤
In 1979, I was looking for parts for my '66 International Scout. There was a 4X4 repair shop / junkyard on the property and I bought the truck cap and bulkhead from a junker. I noticed 2 hubcaps on the junker that I had never seen before and I thought they were cool. I bought the hubcaps and fitted them to my rear wheels. Years later I found out they were from a '48 Tucker Torpedo! No, I don't have them (or the Scout anymore). The Scout was Towed from my apartment when I was on a long vacation and I was unable to get it back. The apartment owners had it towed and scrapped because the registration had expired while I was away, thinking it was a junk vehicle. So one can say I owned a Tucker.......Well, 2 hubcaps anyway! Aren't there a few Tuckers still waiting to be found or have they all been accounted for? Thanks for the video, I really enjoyed it.
Very cool story, those were some rare parts! All cars are accounted for. The end of the story for number 1042 was the car being scrapped in Memphis, TN but we have not heard that first hand or seen any pictures. So, there is a super small chance that car could be out there. But we highly doubt it. Thanks for watching!
This comment brought back memories. I learned to drive a standard on an International Scout in 81 while pregnant. That old rattle trap had me pulling over and kicking the tire! It was probably at least 10 yrs. old when bought it and was a green color.
In 1950 my father placed a deposit on a Tucker. Within weeks he received the heater and radio and some other parts as well. The serial number assigned to his car was #1058. The car was never delivered because the courts shut the assembly line down.
I’m of the belief that if I can’t have it nobody can. If I did nothing wrong especially. A while back I ran afoul if my local police department who wronged me badly. It cost me 3,000 dollars and my gun, I don’t hold police or the feds in much regard these days. This just affirms my distrust in police even more
I never rode in a Tucker, but I sat in one. It was a restore done by Mariposa Boat Club Member Bev Ferreira. Bev rescued the remnants from a salty death at the Sutro Baths in San Francisco. The engine was gone and Bev retrofitted a Japanese Helicopter engine. Bev had a public garage on Union Street in San Francisco and he parked many of his and other club members antique treasures where he also worked on them. I was fifteen and spent an hour admiring a restored Indian 4 cylinder. I worked as a draftsman for Master Planning on the Presidio and one day Bev gave me a ride to work in his Packard 12 with a rumble seat. The overall boss saw us arrive and for an hour, no work got done. I remember Bev painted his Tucker a canary yellow and it was an icon driving in SF.
Doesn't sound like it, from his telling. If you fund your business with drug profits, you stand to lose your stuff. Lot's of good people made bad decisions back then.
The Tucker Preston story is unfortunately so representative of our government in action. Someday we citizens will discover just how corrupt this government is. It’s sad when you think of the sacrifices endured by Washington, Jefferson, the Adams, Hamilton, and those instrumental in making this nation become a reality.
Kinda sad and typical in this world . Anything of value is not yours. Your home ,your life , your passion. It is now and always has been up for grabs. This guy as a young man went after a dream and made it real ,all that’s left is a display of his passion as someone else’s property... Life sucks so live with it ? “ It is what it is “ Sad story Sad commentary
@@Flakjacket96 That's not the way "civil forfeiture" statute works. They can confiscate your property on suspicion it was used in a crime, even if they don't suspect you committed the crime. They can confiscate a wad of cash you're traveling with without even charging, much less convicting you (or anybody else), of a crime (it's been done, more than once) on the theory that traveling with large amounts of cash is associated with crime. That's how it actually works, regardless of what you've been told. The statute is a clear violation of the "due process" and compensation of the "takings" clauses of the Constitution.
@@Flakjacket96 Sorry about the repeat postings in your feed. I kept posting and it kept not showing. then they all showed up at once. I deleted the extra.
This is heartbreaking. Can anyone think of one instance where the US government and its agents were NOT involved in criminal activity? I don't know of any.
They never got the Tucker back either. That is a different Tucker behind him. His old Tucker is in the Smithsonian I believe. Rich and several others were convicted for distributing hundreds of pounds of meth across many states. The vehicles (and other assets) were seized as a result of these charges.
I was just at a flea market and found a 1:18 Tucker. Man! It was so fun exploring the history of that car. And Yes(!) that little model became a part of my mini collection of dream cars. Even the guy who sold it to me really didn't know about it. He told me "oh yeah, my dad likes that one."
According to the federal HESCHLAVVO law, it is already forbidden in Switzerland to drive combustion engines on mountain passes from 2025. In France, the SCHLABOUBVE regulates that fossil vehicles that produce fine dust are prohibited in all cities from 2025. The BABVVO in Germany will bann exhaust gas pollution from 2027 and that is what will happen in entire EU also bann of all tires and brakes because of fine dust!!!!
That’s my dad’s white vega wagon. My dad did 100% of the body and paintwork of the Tucker Sedan number 39. It looks the way it dies today because of Greg McGlothlins’s hands. Rich and Ed paid my dad to do the work. They owned a beautiful car and that picture is in my mom and dad’s driveway.
They were drug dealers, dude. He seems like a great guy now, and they were definitely car guys, but they got over their heads in the Hollywood drug scene.
@@87mini I was going to say the same exact thing. All these people angry the car was "stolen" don't seem to realize that the money which bought that car was paid for by the production and sale of large quantities of meth. That is certainly "ill gotten gains", and the government seizes those assets to discourage others from like enterprises. And yes, that guy seems to be a really nice guy, but he also does not acknowledge the pain and damage he is responsible for, by profited by selling this poison. He says they were just "money laundering", and they were really "good guys". Well part of being a "good guy" now would be owning up to the horrific nightmare they bestowed on society's most vulnerable. If that is done, we can choose to forgive them. But not before. I never used drugs, but I saw several examples, first hand, of the inhumane results of that industry. It wrecked my family and relationships, and killed several people I have known. So forgive me if I don't accept this "Kumbaya" aura displayed by so many here, and the defense of this unapologetic meth dealer. I not only don't sympathize, I don't think he should in any way enjoy any association with the car. He does not deserve that. In fact, he taints its history.
Reading about Preston Tucker and his success and demise at the on Wiki is fascinating. A sad, sad parallel to some of our current event. Thanks for the video. I myself can barely add oil, but I come from a long line of tool turners.
Kind Both, you set the gear you wanted and accelerated till the transmission shifted to that point. - Ypsilanti Y-1 transmission Ypsilanti Machine and Tool Company, which was tapped to recondition the Cord units, began immediately redesigning the transmission for mass production for Tucker. This new design, which had few similar parts to the Cord transmission, still used the same basic indirect transmission design, but had all new gearing, shafts and electro-vacuum controls. Tucker and his engineers modified it, installing stronger gears and lengthening the case. The modified Cord transmission was named the Tucker Y-1 (Ypsilanti-1) and was installed in a few Tuckers. Both also used a Bendix designed electric vacuum shift mechanism with no mechanical linkage to the steering column shift lever. These EVS's had problems of their own with electrical connections and vacuum leaks that hindered shifting, so a new fully mechanical shift design would have been needed, had the Tucker made it into 19
I know a guy who owned a shop for a while. Business got slow, it was hard to keep the lights on and the employees paid, so he stopped paying the taxes to keep his people fed. It eventually caught up with him in a big way and he had to close everything down and liquidate and declare bankruptcy and all that. Sometimes ya make bad choices when you're trying to do the right thing, I guess. He says he'd do it again the same way through, he cares more about people than whether he owes the IRS life-ruining amounts of money lmfao
I liked that show Jeff Bridges did a great job with it, the headlights turning with your steering wheel as you go through a curve ,many innovative designs.
Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between the feds and the mob.
We can't say one way or the other on that one. Thanks for watching!
I understand your position on this.@prestontuckersspeedshop1948
❤
They're the same!
Only sometimes?
Quickest way to get prosecuted, have something the feds want to take.
Freedom From Satan!
No, quickest way to get prosecuted is to launder money for criminals.
@@Flakjacket96 You clearly don't understand how banks work. Yet somehow they get to pay a fine while you or I get all our wealth and freedom stolen. Hmmmm, something seems a bit off there to me. Perhaps you like having a two tiered system where elites and corporations get away with whatever they want while you and I become more and more surveilled and controlled by them. Do you prefer fascism over democracy then?
...ask American Indians!
Ask Ukraine & US Congress = No problems for them @@Flakjacket96
For anybody who doesn't know, there's a reason that car was so valuable even in a state of disrepair. The Tucker car company was a short-lived enterprise back in the late 1940s, and it only ever made 51 of these vehicles. The Big Three auto companies did their best to help shut it down, slandering the company by (among other things) claiming the Tucker 48 was incapable of driving in reverse. In reality, it was actually quite advanced for its time, including various state-of-the art safety features that competitors lacked.
Just as our medical industry ruined Royal Rife. It's the European Infil-TRAITORS who have taken control of our courts & govt.
yup...I believe seatbelts, and disc brakes were two of the 'modern' features, if i remember right. (among others) that once they got Tucker shut down, they happily absorbed into their own products.
Companies r still doin the same shit today! Shutting down their competition by any means necessary! The big corporates dont like competition where the little guy is from the community and serves the community.
The movie with Jeff Bridges is a good watch. Can't recall the name of the movie offhand though.
@@tylerwilliams6022 / Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988)
This man must be paid for the restoration of that fine piece of classic historical automotive machinery!
he was probably paid in the form of ' dropped ' charges. lol (don't know the story and just assuming)
I think he was paid. He said he stayed out of jail in so many words for laundering dirty money.
@darrendavis4731 Yes, that was the "payment." However from what I was hearing, the feds only assumed that was what was going on. They hadn't proved it. The guy said they were 150% legal.
Everybody breaks the law. To many not to miss at least one..that's why we all tap the breaks when we see a cop in the median.. we pay people more than what the average person makes to tell us what to do and punish us if we dont.. the little ones are the reason it continues. its very easy to get a conviction and silenced.. as one. But we are in charge and we as people are the key to this planet and its inhabitants survival.we have to stop just riding along and take charge together. Put our differences aside.and speak as one.. we have no say in our future if we say nothing now.. take the time of one of these tiptoes to think about all the things that are happening 2 min..then decide to do aomething.. write a rep or senator. I don't know what plan of action should be .. not to support any president but more one big community our president will answer to the people just as the judge will..we have given to much power away..rant over
If you pause at 7:35 the newspaper article says they were involved with others in a methamphetamine making lab and the money from that went to buy and restoring cars!
Government: if you can’t prove that you’re innocent then you must be guilty.
Haven't heard that corruption does exist
Except when it applies to them. Then it's "If you can't convince us we're guilty, then we must be innocent"
The more you talk to them they start fitting your testimony to the crime and on the other hand if you invoke the 5th then you must be guilty.
Obviously he did something illegal. If his books were legit, he'd be able to prove it.
@funnyfarm5555
Totally. The only way you should ever talk to the cops or government agents is thru a lawyer.
Period.
In 1985 I drove from Portland Ore to Independence Ore to look at a 1970 Dodge Charger that was for sale by an elderly man who lived on a small farm. We bought the car and had a long conversation with him. He asked if we had ever seen a Tucker. I'd never even heard of a Tucker. He took us to his barn and took a tarp off the car. It was green and in quite good shape. He started it up for us, it was amazing. He said the car was for sale and he had a man on the east coast quite interested in it. He offered it to me for $30,000. I had no clue what I was going to miss out on. The next time I saw a Tucker (except for the movie a few years later) it was at The Portland Expo Center as part of the Smithsonian tour. That's my "One that got away" story.
I found 2 phantom corsairs by a barn in the 1000 Islands region back in the late 80s. early 90s, funny thing is there's only 1 know to exist , I thought at the time " What an ugly car " man was i dumb
@@ericschulze5641I sold a 65 Corvair Corsa Convertible GT Turbo in 1991 for $5,000. I paid $400 for it in 87. It had a blown up turbo and the guy couldn’t get the rocker arms set properly. He had the rockers on backwards, and I got the turbo rebuilt by a shop in Boston, Mass. That car was scary fast.
@Tom-hz9oc you had a corvair, there's only 1 known corsair, other than the 2 I found behind an old abandoned barn they're worth millions this is a 1930s vintage car big gaudy boat , 1000 islands have been called the playground of the millionaires since the 1920s when 1 million would be today's equivalent of 20 million
Not that my "one that got away" compares but I was passing by a home that advertised a Jaguar for sale, (not sure of the model) I was tempted but kept driving. The next day it was front news. The woman that owned it was selling it for a DOLLAR! Man! And yes it was only a few years old and in perfect condition.
@@joemurray8902 I didn’t buy a cheap looking gun safe that a lady listed for a couple hundred dollars. I didn’t know that it was full of her dead husband’s guns.
Everyone in the Tucker Club loved Rich and Ed even after their troubles. When the Tucker number 39 was on tour in cities with Smithsonian’s 150 year tour, a CNN reporter asked on live television to a Smithsonian spokesperson, “how’s the paint and body work on it?” The spokesperson said “it’s as good as we’ve ever seen!” Greg McGlothlin did 100% of the body and paintwork on Tucker 39. Boy, today’s eurathane enamels sure are tough, but they can’t compare with that sheet of glass look when you use that DuPont Lucite laquer!
You could do things with laquer that are just not possible with anything else. Layers of transparent color over white could look like it was inches deep.
its pretty crazy that people used to listen to cnn, knowing now that they sold out the american people to large multinational conglomerates. You're even praising dupont chemical, which is unthinkable to me, but i guess that's what people call the generation gap!
I've always said that about laqur paints it looked like glass on top of the paint and it held up fast longer than today's stuff
what troubles did they do? drug dealing?
@@blacktiger995 idk that's what I was trying to find out I'm betting they just made up some kinda conspiracy to comment about controlled substance charge of some kinda or there personal favorite for making an illegal seizure into a legal seizure and that's the Rico Law which should be abolished
People don't understand the less government involvement in your life the better.
9 scariest words in the world…
I’m from the government and I’m here to help!
You forgot to credit President Reagan!
Don't launder money for criminals. God, stop protecting criminals, you are worse than the libs.
For some things yes, and other things no.
Unless it has to do with a woman's body, then you'll absolutely legislate all over it.
" Bigger the government smaller the citizens!"
Look at China. Any guess what direction we are headed?
china is going to leave us in the stone age, while we die strapped with medical debt boomer@@moparfan4388
As someone that's become more libertarian throughout the years, I do feel there's something important to keep in mind. Not all government is bad, nor is all government good. Recently I was explaining the difference between different types of capitalism, one came up called State Capitalism. It came down to the government would regulate the economy to keep large business from running amuck (much as they're doing now in America). It could even involve running specific services, transit, oil, fire protection, ect. It could just as easily become the problem however with the bureaucrats becoming as bad as the corporations they were meant to defend against.
Not all controlling government is like the latter. I formerly thought so, becoming an anarchist for a while. It's detrimental to have government so large and powerful that it no longer represents the people beyond the minimal amount needed to gain continued support, such as the USA has now. It is however also detrimental to have too little (or nothing) as well. People tend to default to authoritarianism for one, which tends to lend to the idea that you can and should use force to get what you want. The way we're socially engineered here also comes into play. From an early age we're taught in America that if you respect people, you'll be respected in return. What it really means here is if you submit to authority, you MIGHT get treated like a human being. That translates into how we treat people from business or government positions. That kind of mentality is bred into generations here, not only are we ill equipped for anarchy we're ill equipped to look out for each other like this even with authority.
You can make the government smaller, that doesn't fix the generational damage that leads to the abuse we inflict on each other sadly. In some ways, it's a lot worse without government interference.
@@moparfan4388Go with Trump and you'll get there quicker
@@startmeup775 Said the commie to the patriot.
Back in the early eighties. I worked with a older gentleman that worked for the Tucker company. He was part of the crew building the cars and had a fun and great job at the time. He also said he thought of Mr. Tucker as a very good man and was making a great new car. That the public would love.
Wow, that's amazing! I'm sure he had some interesting stories to tell.
Was the Tucker movie accurate?
i knew it ! never let the government know what you have
Considering what they had was a meth manufacturing and distribution ring whose income was laundered through their business, I'm sure they were trying not to let the government know.
That’s what got them in trouble, money laundering
The shop was criminally laundering money.
My wife's uncle had the Tucker dealership in NJ. There were officially 50 made. Her cousin had #51. He completed the construction on his own. When they made the movie "Tucker", they flew him and his car to California. It's my understanding that both Spielberg and Lucas owned Tuckers at the time. Her cousin had a lot of the original parts, brochures, posters and manuals that were used in the film. It was interesting to see what they did to make it realistic. They modified old Studebakers, took fiberglass molds off his car and put the 'glass bodies on wooden 2X4 frames with rope holding the doors closed. The one car that was "rolled" was a Studebaker, but the closeup of the wrecked car was actually fiberglass that they put a hole in the roof, covered it with crinkled aluminum foil and painted it to look like it was caved in. If you look closely in the film, when all the cars are lined up, you can see that most of the cars are just background scenery.
After her cousin died, we lost track of his family and the car. He always said that it was going to be his retirement fund.
Wow, so cool. Thanks for sharing!
How Pathetically Criminal the US Marshals are.
I'm a retired soldier & I don't trust any form of government agencies or law enforcement!!
It is the law. They can take your house too. They once took everybody's gold too, and made it illegal to own gold. That is where the gold in Fort Knox came from. Yes that is correct, from 1933 to 1974 it was illegal to own gold, and you had to hand your gold over to the government. FDR and the Democrats wanted all the gold, so they simply took it.
@@chrisgullett4332 thank you for your reply 🇺🇸🙏🇺🇸.
The U.S.Marshall’s are known by law enforcement agencies as the, “government assassins.” And the, FBI as the government cover up agency for, “Government Crimes.” Hunter Biden and, Obama prove that. Bill Clintons, favorite agency, go ahead and ask, J. Epstein.
@@chrisgullett4332naturally you forgot to mention the great depression but you guys were never good about facts or telling the whole story...
I grew up in Manhattan Beach and saw this vehicle driving all over the southbay..
That's cool! They definitely drove the car a lot in the short time they had it.
You could hear the pain in his voice at the end when he thinking about the car being stolen from him. It’s got to be worth in the 10s of millions now and to think it was stolen from him by the government…
THE GOVERNMENT IS FULL OF CROOKS
Doesn’t it say somewhere in the constitution something about nothing seized without equal compensation
The irony of the government stealing a Tucker after the car company orginaly is beyond ironic
@@Thumper68 it does, but guess who decides what "equal compensation" is?
Why do you think the Government simply declares "imminent domain" if you refuse to sell your land to them for their 1/5-value offer and simply TAKE it from you?
@@Gwydion_Wolf thought it was always decided as fair market value.
A priceless, historical vehicle. That's why they wanted it! It must be returned to you!
The passion in this story is moving! I'm from Brazil and here we have had a Tucker for many years in a museum, it's not in its best shape but it's still our pride! Best Regards
Yes, Rich is a true Tucker can and it comes through when he tells the story. And a genuine great guy. Someday we hope to come see Tucker 1035 in Brazil, it also has quite a unique story. Thanks for watching!
Amazing story of that incredible automobile. The Preston Tucker story and the hurdles and hoops he had to jump through was awful. He definitely had the car of the future. All the features you would see in the future autos of the Big 3.
Thankfully this Tucker Automobile was saved.
Agreed, thanks for watching!
Man think about it! What other people thought it was junk! It turned into a rare couple of million dollar piece of history! Amazing! Glad it was restored and brought to its former glory! Absolutely stunning!👏👏👏👏👌😎👍 and a great story to go with it!
Agreed, thanks for watching!
WTF! It was the federal government that shut down the making of the car too. I think to myself "Who do they think they are?" The answer comes back immediately. They answer to god. They better hope I never become president.
Some BS with the DEA
Its all the alphabet agencies, FBI, CIA, DEA, FDA, IRS,… the only one that I can think of that I haven’t heard of those crimes is the FAA, but somehow I doubt they are clean.
Doesn't matter who becomes POTUS, Congress has long since seen too it that most of the real power lies with them
They don't answer to God. They investigate themselves and determine that they do nothing wrong.
They don't even think they answer to God anymore. Hence why they spy on the religious.
They Must have thought it was Tucker Carlson and the car contained the Vladimir Putin interview tapes.
Best comment ever!!!
You know what's funny that's exactly why this is on my screen right now
Because computers are stupid. Learn your paradoxes. We will win, John Conner.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Taken during the Reagan administration, but good one. 👎
@@red_ford23 Oh geez. That must be why. I never look for classic cars, and I haven't heard about the Tucker in years.
I remember Lucky Costa telling a story about how he was called in to that shop to do some work on it when he was doing mobile mechanic work.
He said he got it running and did a tune up.
He left and told some friends a few days later that he had worked on a Tucker. They didn't believe him. He said he would show them. He went back to the shop and the Feds had already yellow taped it off and sized everything. He found out later that it ended up in the Smithsonian. Crazy!
Wow, we have never heard that one. Crazy!
I saw that episode where Lucky said that! 😄
I saw this car at the Smithsonian in 1999. I've seen the Tucker at The Henry Ford Museum, Gilmore Car Museum, Stahl's Auto Museum & Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum.
It’s probably better off at the museum, that way others can see it.
Hey Guys - I'm in your corner . You and your partner are "Great Guys " The Car
is magnificent. I tip my hat to both of you. --- Jim
Thank you!
Laundering of money wouldn't be a crime, hell it wouldn't be a "Thing" if not for illegal taxation.
Our government is the source for laundered money
Illegal taxation, right, so... don't drive on any roads or bridges that your taxes pays for.
He didn't just "launder money" as he falsly claims... he was a member of a ring that made and distributed vast quantities of meth. Look it up.
The white current house resident is the best money laundering president of all time .
@@BornAgainCynic0086oh yeah, roads, bridges, hospitals, schools: all things that existed before the 16th Amendment (authorizing an income tax)
@@vonbuzz9009Yes he is
If i recall correctly, the one at Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Mich was number 47, and the hood came from number 3. It's one of the evening gown blue ones. I used to talk to the guy that restored it, while he was doing it. Amazing cars.
That car needs to be driven, not collecting dust in a museum!
Well you can tell they did! Really cool to go through Rich's old videos and see a Tucker actually driven. Thanks for watching!
Sheesh, it sure hauls in those old videos. What a restoration and glad it's still around to be seen. One of these days I'll make it down and see a few of these gems in person. What a hoot it must have been, even in the 80's to drive a Tucker!
Crazy to see it driven like a "regular" car. They were very good performers for their day! Thanks for watching!
That last clip was money!
That silver color looks phenomenal 🤩
I think so too!
That's some pretty great homage to Preston Tucker. Driving that girl like he designed it for
A car so safe the big 3 had it's production shut down, then they used his designs in their cars..
Just a quick internet search reveals the DEA was involved. Also happened in 1992.
Yes, there is certainly more to that side of the story but it happened 35 years ago. Who chose to focus on the positive aspects surrounding how things ended up today. Regardless of how it got there Rich's work landed 1039 at the Smithsonian for everyone to enjoy.
@@prestontuckersspeedshop1948 except you say it was stolen by the feds....this was a fuck around and find out be a criminal lose your shit that's how it goes.
Incorrect. It says "seized by the US Marshals" which is exactly what happened. Several folks chose to turn that into the car being stolen by their comments which was not the case. We can't control that unfortunately. Thanks again for watching.
I get the impression that many of the commenters simply reacted to the title and didn't watch the video. At 4:50, he clearly mentions money laundering in the shop. That's why the cars would have been seized.
Yes, we think so too. A lot of the comments got crazy political which is unfortunate. We were hoping to focus on the car and our friendship with Rich today. We've all made mistakes in our past but he's a great guy and true Tucker fan! Thanks again for watching.
What an incredible story! I’d love to hear more like it from other Tucker owners past and present.
Crazy what is behind some of these cars. We are thankful to Rich for being willing to tell the tale!
@@prestontuckersspeedshop1948where was that video made? Was that his car behind him?
This was made at the 75th Anniversary Tucker celebration in Hershey, PA this past year. The car behind Rich is 1022
The Tucker was far advanced back in the day. It was a threat to the Big 3 automakers. Being able to remove the "helicopter" engine to repair replaced with another until the other engine was fixed. Wow! And the safety of the car is exceptional! Beautiful design, a great family car.
I have an awesome story of a Tucker Torpedo I encountered when I was a young 13 year old back in 1979 - 80. I got to sit in it and look it over. It was at a shop in Texas in the town I lived in and they were restoring it. They were having some parts machined for the rear-end wheel axle or suspension . It still had the original engine and was in overall decent shape, the body was fine, except the paint was faded. I don't remember what number it was, really didn't know it was a big deal back then to know. My dad first spotted it and he knew all about it since he grew up in Milwaukee and was around 18 years old in 1947 - so he remembered all about it and told me everything. He was so surprised to see it in our town. We stopped in at the shop and my dad talked with the owner/mechanic about the car and showed us everything and let me sit inside. It was really neat. We moved from Texas shortly there after and never gave it a thought until the Tucker movie came out and we knew that it was probably used in the movie as one of the cars in the film. I have no idea what happened to it but I know, at one time, there was a car museum in Corpus Christi - down the coast from where we lived and where the shop was - that car museum had a restored Tucker and I also thought that might be it or maybe it was the one the Francis Ford Coppola bought. It was a medium to dark blue, waltz blue I believe is what it is called, so it is one of those survivors. It was at Gulfway Motors in Port Lavaca, Texas 1979 - 1980. Anyway, it was a neat thing and I have a picture of the Tucker on the wall in my room as I type. . . .
Very cool story, thanks for sharing. We can't nail down which number with any of that info unfortunately, but we will keep an eye out for a mention of those locations in our future research. Thanks for watching!
Beautiful piece of work, and one hell of an achievement. Beautiful.😊
Thank you for your great work. And thank you for giving people the pleasure of knowing that unique automobile of American history that should have had a different story in its time.
Thanks for watching!
I just watched the short half an hour video Tucker "The man and the car"! To say the least, I was truly impressed. You should put it on your channel!
What a beautiful car! They did a flawless restore. These guys loved this car. Sad they lost it. Glad we can go see it.
Saw this car in the Smithsonian in July 2022. I had no idea it had an even bigger story than just what I learned from the movie.
The crazy thing is, they parked it right next to the GM EV1. The two car display showcases “reinvention,” how both manufacturers were “reinventing” the car.
If you don't know the EV1 story it is worth researching.
@@DavidPlantzOh I do. It’s a sad one. Saw a red one at the Petersen museum, and one back when GM was promoting their future innovations at Future World in EPCOT. Now THAT was pretty sad. They removed the EV1 and displayed the new trendy “hybrid” that was extremely popular in the mid 00s. The darn thing got 17mpg!!! They replaced an electric car with a 17mpg “hybrid” truck!!!
I think what makes the EV1 story so sad is the fact that just like with the Tucker, the owners wanted to keep the cars, but being leases, they were required to return them.
Props to you! What an amazing piece of history!
Thanks so much Richie
Those where good days
I miss it
JR
Credit where credit is due. We hope this did a small part to honor Sr.'s legacy. We truly thank your family for helping to carry on the Tucker legacy forever. -Mike T.
As a 9 year old kid; I saw a Tucker being worked on at a shop at the corner of Century Blvd and Hawthorn Blvd; in Inglewood Ca. The mechanic said to me "bet you have never seen a car with the motor in the back of the car". Many years later I bought a Corvair.
A teacher of mine from Chico CA owned number 21. It just sole for 1.7 million at the Mecum Auto auction in Kissimee FL last month.
Mr. Gene Clark's car! We got to spend quite a bit of time with it over the past year with our good friend Mark Lieberman at Nostalgic Motoring. Great car, thanks for watching!
"You got a tucker in there?!"
"I dunno marshal, you wearing level four plates?"
Back in the 1950 my father was a auto mechanic. In our town we had an old man who had a Tucker but never drove it over 10mph. I think he was almost blind. Every few months he would bring the car to my dad complaining it wasn't running right, and my dad was the only mechanic that could fix it. My dad would drive the Tucker to the next town and back doing 100+mph. This would blow the carbon out of the engine, and it would run great until the next time. The old man is long dead and I have no idea what happened to the Tucker. Thanks for the memory.
Wow, what a cool story! They do perform exceptionally well for a car from the late 1940's. Thanks for watching.
That's called an Italian tuneup.
$40,000 dollars? BACK THEN!?!!
Those guys had their shop on PCH and second in Hermosa! The "Bev was here" got my attention, Bev Fierra owned 1041 for years, thats gotta be his writing on the glass! I cant believe 37 was in the southbay. That is wild!
Correct, that was Bev who actually saw the car a few months before Rich did!
As I remember this story it was a problem with the chain of ownership. Supposedly bought the car from someone who didn't actually own it.
Taken in 1992 by the DEA, not the US Marshall Service, as part of property forfeiture for dealing drugs. Maybe don't do business with criminals if you don't want to pay the price.
How’s that boot feel?
And I am quite certain you believe everything your government tells you.... if their lips are moving.......
Like to see DJTs new admin' review this case..... heard a similar story about a Cord.... ended up at the Smithsonian also.... take a look sometime at the names involved with the Smithsonian...... not the nicest folk in the Country..... nor the most truthful.....
Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience, Sir! I can feel your joy, pain and pride. ❤
Your talents restored it nicely.
So, what I'm hearing here, is that the government did him dirty, and rather than let them profit from it a guy from the Smithsonian grabbed the car from them and pulled an Indiana Jones
Some clarity on this should be important. The man says the words himself. He clearly says "gave up the car" and "actually, uh, uh, made a deal to lessen the effects of the arrest". Put on captions, its at 6:49
The man did what he did and its behind him. If he is a free man, he has done what is required of him, and it would seem that giving up the car lead to him having more of his life available to him outside of jail, so he made the choice to give it up. He is not a victim. He says money laundering. Google it and it stemmed from a narcotics investigation apparently. I am only mentioning this because it is a really huge loss, but considering what he might have been up against, it seems like he made a good choice. They even knew they were going to give it up and took out for a final spin....that is not the feds "stealing it".
Dude says his shop was legit, and his work on that car is beautiful, so I am sure his shop was 150% legit like he said, but people in the comments are crying about the big bad government and I dont think that is really something this guy is getting into while talking. And not the case here.
what interests me the most is when you said you paid $40,000 and people told you you were crazy. This is the state of the average person when they comment on something they know nothing about. They don't know they'll never know. And probably don't even want to know. Typical average human being doesn't know s***. You did the right thing probably had a great time doing it. which the average person doesn't know how to have a great time. Good job. F*** the Nay Sayers
So true. I could write a book on many people and what they think, while not knowing, and not wanting to know.
Those types of people hate the truth, and will fight to keep from knowing.
It’s not that they aren’t car enthusiasts, it’s that they simply can’t see potential in anything. Had my mom seen this car in the museum like I had, she would’ve thought it was beautiful, probably worth 6 figures, without ever seeing the movie, without ever reading the placard on the display. Had she seen the before pictures though, and only seen what it looked like before, yeah, she would’ve said that was too much. Even $2k would’ve been too much for a “hunk of junk.”
@@budc6246Richard Rawlings would’ve bought that car for $9k, sold it to his friend Dennis as is for $40k, then he would either sell it back to Richard, or to this shop for $15k at a loss. Probably why the feds investigated the shop in the first place. I have a high suspicion that Richard, Dennis, and much of the high roller car kings are in the hobby for money laundering purposes.
@@budc6246Rawlings is primarily a t-shirt and entertainment business.
If the government cant tell the difference between real and corrupt money the corrupt part must be PROVEN. The government is obliged to prove their case against this man and not just guess for the reason of seizing his property.
Their shop was on Cypress Ave in Hermosa Beach. The mural of the Tucker is still on the side of the building. My business is right up the street, I remember them well and saw the car all the time.
The last part of the video they were driving up Cypress, went right by my shop.
How often do the Feds impound something that ends up in the Smithsonian ? Hermosa in Spanish means beautiful. So is the car.
Wow, no way! We'd love to see a picture of that mural. Info@tuckercorporation.com
After they seized it from the meth dealer they decided to donate it as it was historically significant.
Drifting sure changed over the yrs
Million dollar car!
Thanks for watching!
When I was a kid, this was the dream car I always wanted. They fascinated me. Other people liked Super Sports or Corvairs etc, my dream was always the Tucker. ❤
In 1979, I was looking for parts for my '66 International Scout. There was a 4X4 repair shop / junkyard on the property and I bought the truck cap and bulkhead from a junker. I noticed 2 hubcaps on the junker that I had never seen before and I thought they were cool. I bought the hubcaps and fitted them to my rear wheels. Years later I found out they were from a '48 Tucker Torpedo! No, I don't have them (or the Scout anymore). The Scout was Towed from my apartment when I was on a long vacation and I was unable to get it back. The apartment owners had it towed and scrapped because the registration had expired while I was away, thinking it was a junk vehicle. So one can say I owned a Tucker.......Well, 2 hubcaps anyway! Aren't there a few Tuckers still waiting to be found or have they all been accounted for? Thanks for the video, I really enjoyed it.
Very cool story, those were some rare parts! All cars are accounted for. The end of the story for number 1042 was the car being scrapped in Memphis, TN but we have not heard that first hand or seen any pictures. So, there is a super small chance that car could be out there. But we highly doubt it. Thanks for watching!
This comment brought back memories. I learned to drive a standard on an International Scout in 81 while pregnant. That old rattle trap had me pulling over and kicking the tire! It was probably at least 10 yrs. old when bought it and was a green color.
In 1950 my father placed a deposit on a Tucker. Within weeks he received the heater and radio and some other parts as well. The serial number assigned to his car was #1058. The car was never delivered because the courts shut the assembly line down.
Fantastic car. Great story. I’m glad it is in a place where people can appreciate it.
Yes, things ended up for the best and we believe Rich feels the same way all these years later. Thanks for watching!
Boot lick😊
Go sue them! That's terrible! how dare they!
I’m of the belief that if I can’t have it nobody can. If I did nothing wrong especially. A while back I ran afoul if my local police department who wronged me badly. It cost me 3,000 dollars and my gun, I don’t hold police or the feds in much regard these days. This just affirms my distrust in police even more
Did you not watch the video? He admitted to laundering money.
Matt this guy was in the meth business.
Rich works out at my gym, he’s a great guy. One of my favorites to talk to.
I have a 1/18 scale model of the Tucker, will the corrupt government come and take that one away from me too.
I never rode in a Tucker, but I sat in one. It was a restore done by Mariposa Boat Club Member Bev Ferreira. Bev rescued the remnants from a salty death at the Sutro Baths in San Francisco. The engine was gone and Bev retrofitted a Japanese Helicopter engine. Bev had a public garage on Union Street in San Francisco and he parked many of his and other club members antique treasures where he also worked on them. I was fifteen and spent an hour admiring a restored Indian 4 cylinder. I worked as a draftsman for Master Planning on the Presidio and one day Bev gave me a ride to work in his Packard 12 with a rumble seat. The overall boss saw us arrive and for an hour, no work got done. I remember Bev painted his Tucker a canary yellow and it was an icon driving in SF.
Those cars are amazing,such a shame Preston and his guys were drug thru court until the company was killed. And yes all of them were innocent!!!
Yes, unfortunate but we did get 50 cars and some great history. We are still talking about him 75 years later!
Doesn't sound like it, from his telling. If you fund your business with drug profits, you stand to lose your stuff. Lot's of good people made bad decisions back then.
@@87mini what ????
@@rayleehylton8427 You do know what money laundering is right?
The Tucker Preston story is unfortunately so representative of our government in action. Someday we citizens will discover just how corrupt this government is. It’s sad when you think of the sacrifices endured by Washington, Jefferson, the Adams, Hamilton, and those instrumental in making this nation become a reality.
In a country where individual rights and private property are protected by the constitution we may say that in this case US Marshals made a robbery.
Kinda sad and typical in this world .
Anything of value is not yours.
Your home ,your life , your passion.
It is now and always has been up for grabs.
This guy as a young man went after a dream and made it real ,all that’s left is a display of his passion as someone else’s property...
Life sucks so live with it ?
“ It is what it is “
Sad story
Sad commentary
Don't commit crimes and you won't lose your stuff. Simple.
😂 Or don't sell meth.
@@Flakjacket96 That's not the way "civil forfeiture" statute works. They can confiscate your property on suspicion it was used in a crime, even if they don't suspect you committed the crime. They can confiscate a wad of cash you're traveling with without even charging, much less convicting you (or anybody else), of a crime (it's been done, more than once) on the theory that traveling with large amounts of cash is associated with crime. That's how it actually works, regardless of what you've been told. The statute is a clear violation of the "due process" and compensation of the "takings" clauses of the Constitution.
@@Flakjacket96 Sorry about the repeat postings in your feed. I kept posting and it kept not showing. then they all showed up at once. I deleted the extra.
This is heartbreaking. Can anyone think of one instance where the US government and its agents were NOT involved in criminal activity? I don't know of any.
Free Country 😅
The biggest American illusion is
I've got rights😅
Quit the whiney snowflake shite. Still the best country in the world and you know it. Go move to Russia with Snowden.
Feds also took this Tucker from Tucker himself before taking it from this guy.
Can imagine some kid saying way back then, " Preston, do you call your mom Mother Tucker" 😃😃😃
This happens to us almost every day! Thank you for watching.
I feel it morally still belongs to the man. He and his partner put blood, sweat, and tears into it. That is a bond that doesn't fade.
I have seen this car as I live across the river in Virginia
Very cool, thanks for watching!
So extortion???? Our fine government people at work for the people.
104 mph , impressive
We think he was joking, but he was pushing it pretty hard! Thanks for watching.
You know this guy is a real car guy. He's really lived it. And when he breathes in, it even sounds a little like tires screeching.
Did they ever get the other cars back from the Government?
Thank you for watching. We don't believe so.
They never got the Tucker back either. That is a different Tucker behind him. His old Tucker is in the Smithsonian I believe. Rich and several others were convicted for distributing hundreds of pounds of meth across many states. The vehicles (and other assets) were seized as a result of these charges.
@@paulmorrow8372 Why are so many people blaming the government for stealing the Tucker of this meth distributor?
Amazing!
Crazy story, thanks so much to Rich for being willing to tell it!
Somebody wanted that car!! Plain and simple.
I was just at a flea market and found a 1:18 Tucker. Man! It was so fun exploring the history of that car. And Yes(!) that little model became a part of my mini collection of dream cars. Even the guy who sold it to me really didn't know about it. He told me "oh yeah, my dad likes that one."
According to the federal HESCHLAVVO law, it is already forbidden in Switzerland to drive combustion engines on mountain passes from 2025. In France, the SCHLABOUBVE regulates that fossil vehicles that produce fine dust are prohibited in all cities from 2025. The BABVVO in Germany will bann exhaust gas pollution from 2027 and that is what will happen in entire EU also bann of all tires and brakes because of fine dust!!!!
Yep they have gone insane, represent no one but some insane agenda
Ther will be a reconing for governments that try to subdue thier citizens,,
Pure insantiy. Why do your EU overlords hate you?
The total Restoration on this car was done well.🇺🇲
A Tucker, a Renault GTA convertible and a Vega Kammback in the same video. That's something you don't see every day.
Crazy right! Rich has great taste!
That’s my dad’s white vega wagon. My dad did 100% of the body and paintwork of the Tucker Sedan number 39. It looks the way it dies today because of Greg McGlothlins’s hands. Rich and Ed paid my dad to do the work. They owned a beautiful car and that picture is in my mom and dad’s driveway.
@@daniellehayes236 That's awesome. I have a soft spot for the wagons. My mom's first car was a robin's egg blue '72 wagon with a four-speed.
Sweet. It’s got an Aluminum Oldsmobile V8 since 1980
Wow, your dad has great taste and did some great work on 1039, the wagon is super cool!
Be glad that the old Tucker was not stolen to be vandalised . Oh well things could have been worse .
Gov stealing your car WTF.
They were drug dealers, dude. He seems like a great guy now, and they were definitely car guys, but they got over their heads in the Hollywood drug scene.
@@87mini I was going to say the same exact thing. All these people angry the car was "stolen" don't seem to realize that the money which bought that car was paid for by the production and sale of large quantities of meth. That is certainly "ill gotten gains", and the government seizes those assets to discourage others from like enterprises. And yes, that guy seems to be a really nice guy, but he also does not acknowledge the pain and damage he is responsible for, by profited by selling this poison. He says they were just "money laundering", and they were really "good guys". Well part of being a "good guy" now would be owning up to the horrific nightmare they bestowed on society's most vulnerable. If that is done, we can choose to forgive them. But not before. I never used drugs, but I saw several examples, first hand, of the inhumane results of that industry. It wrecked my family and relationships, and killed several people I have known.
So forgive me if I don't accept this "Kumbaya" aura displayed by so many here, and the defense of this unapologetic meth dealer. I not only don't sympathize, I don't think he should in any way enjoy any association with the car. He does not deserve that. In fact, he taints its history.
Reading about Preston Tucker and his success and demise at the on Wiki is fascinating. A sad, sad parallel to some of our current event. Thanks for the video. I myself can barely add oil, but I come from a long line of tool turners.
Was the car automatic or stick shift?
It was a pre-selected vacuum / electric manual, very similar to the 1930's Cord 810 and 812. Some call it a semi-automatic. Thanks for watching!
Kind Both, you set the gear you wanted and accelerated till the transmission shifted to that point. - Ypsilanti Y-1 transmission
Ypsilanti Machine and Tool Company, which was tapped to recondition the Cord units, began immediately redesigning the transmission for mass production for Tucker. This new design, which had few similar parts to the Cord transmission, still used the same basic indirect transmission design, but had all new gearing, shafts and electro-vacuum controls. Tucker and his engineers modified it, installing stronger gears and lengthening the case. The modified Cord transmission was named the Tucker Y-1 (Ypsilanti-1) and was installed in a few Tuckers. Both also used a Bendix designed electric vacuum shift mechanism with no mechanical linkage to the steering column shift lever. These EVS's had problems of their own with electrical connections and vacuum leaks that hindered shifting, so a new fully mechanical shift design would have been needed, had the Tucker made it into 19
He didn't go deep into explanations but it sounds like Tax evasion is what got them .
News paper clipping says DEA so could be both.
I know a guy who owned a shop for a while. Business got slow, it was hard to keep the lights on and the employees paid, so he stopped paying the taxes to keep his people fed. It eventually caught up with him in a big way and he had to close everything down and liquidate and declare bankruptcy and all that. Sometimes ya make bad choices when you're trying to do the right thing, I guess. He says he'd do it again the same way through, he cares more about people than whether he owes the IRS life-ruining amounts of money lmfao
Unless your super rich tax evasion is the ultimate sin if your super rich then it seems to be commended
@@tomricketts7821 Steal a little and they throw you in jail, Steal a lot and they make you king.. Dylan said that
Great story. You did a great job fixing the Tucker.
I own original Tucker stock certificates.
Very cool! There are several still floating around these day. Thanks for watching!
Stories like these just get me all spun up.
Feds can screw up a wet dream. Dont csre about anything
He was a meth dealer.
National City 1992, the year I graduated high school from Sweetwater High School. Crazy to see this here now.
That is a beauty, I did restoration work last few years of my career in autobody, so my professional opinion is that is the tops !
Yes, the work on the car is fantastic. Rich, Ed, Greg, and team did a wonderful job on the car. Thanks for watching!
Aww man I hate this for him. 😢 I genuinely appreciated listening, feeling and seeing how passionate he is/was about the car.
I liked that show Jeff Bridges did a great job with it, the headlights turning with your steering wheel as you go through a curve ,many innovative designs.
I lived in San Diego in the 80s. There was a Tucker outside the theatre when I saw the movie in '88. I've loved these cars ever since.