Tucker Day 2011 was a resounding success! After viewing our first Tucker of the convention (No. 1030) at the Petersen Automotive Museum yesterday, we saw three (and a half) more Tucker '48s today!
First up was
Tucker No. 1040, which we saw at the
Nethercutt Museum in nearby
Sylmar, CA. Museum staff "dropped the ropes" so we could get a rare, up-close view of
No. 1040. We understand that the Nethercutt is planning a complete restoration of the car in the near future. After an hour or so on our own at the museum, we went across the street for a guided tour of the spectacular
Nethercutt Collection. In addition to more beautiful cars displayed in the ornate
Grand Salon, the collection also includes an amazing display of "functional art," including music boxes, antique furniture and an immense
Wurlitzer pipe organ. Even more amazing, the Nethercutt--owned by the heirs to the
Merle Norman cosmetics empire--is open free to the public!
Tucker Day 2011 then continued to the
Breslow Collection in
Northridge, CA. There we saw two complete Tucker '48s:
No. 1003 and
No. 1031. We also had
John Schuler's "work-in-progress"
Tucker No. 1052 on display. After a tasty BBQ lunch provided by
Eric Breslow, he and
J.R. Roberts (owner of
No. 1003) treated us to a rare--and perhaps historic--"drag race" between
No. 1003 and
No. 1031 in the parking lot. In addition, several members of the
Tucker family were in attendance and took rides in both cars, as did many TACA members. It was definitely an afternoon that none of us who were there will soon forget.
(PS - Check the
TACA Facebook page for video of today's Tuckers in motion)
(Post and photo credits: Kit Fox)
No comments:
Post a Comment