Tucker 1028 Sells for $1.8 Million at the Tupelo Automobile Museum Auction
Tucker 1028, the star of the Tupelo Automobile Museum, sold for $1.8 million ($1.985 million including premium). The winning bidder was the Maine Classic Car Museum soon to open in Arundel, Maine.
Below are two articles and two videos on the Tucker 1028 auction.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
Above photo: Mike and Sean Tucker checking out Tucker 1028 in Tupelo on Friday. Credit: Adam Robison
Tucker great-grandsons 'paying a visit' to Tupelo Automobile Museum auction
By Dennis Seid
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal Apr 26, 2019
TUPELO • Friday’s opening day of the Tupelo Automobile Museum attracted some 600 bidders and watchers as the automobilia – signs and other non-car-related items – went up for sale.
Among them were twins Sean and Mike Tucker, the great-grandsons of Preston Tucker, who built the “car of the future” to challenge the Big Three in the late 1940s.
But only 51 of the cars were ever made – only 47 are known to have survived – including No. 1028, which has been in the Tupelo since 1996.
“Over the years we’ve tried to preserve the cars the best that we can,” said Mike Tucker. “Over the past couple of years we’ve really got involved with a couple of them.”
The Tuckers were convinced to work on a Tucker – No. 1044 – which was bought by Howard Kroplick in 2017 for $1,347,500.
“He kind of coaxed us into working on it,” Mike Tucker said. “We had done mostly hot rods in the past. We had the capability, but it really wasn’t our thing to restore cars. Then a friend of ours, Rob Ida, who’s very well known in the Tucker world ... we got together with him and said, ‘maybe we can do this.’”
Ida’s grandfather was an original Tucker dealer and his father, Bob, was a hot rod builder. The father and son duo built a Tucker replica in 2001, and have built more since.
Ida heads the research and development department, Sean makes parts and Mike does “all the research on what’s right,” Mike Tucker said.
On 1044, they found all the blueprints to ensure it was restored to its proper status. They had given themselves three years to complete the work, but Kroplick had entered the car into a motorcar show in early 2018 at Pebble Beach (the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance). The show was set for August of that year.
“We worked pretty much 24 hours a day and finished it in eight months,” Mike Tucker said. After Pebble Beach, the car was shown at Amelia Island. Up next is Greenwich Concours d’Elegance in June.
“We had a lot of fun with it, and we’ll continue to do al things Tucker and working on as many can as we can.”
And now they find themselves in the All-America City.
“What brought us here was 1028,” said Mike Tucker. “That’s a very special car for a couple of reasons. One, it was one of the original Indianapolis test cars, which makes it unique in and of itself. All of them are unique. But it has quite a story behind it. So we’re spending as much time with it as we can. We came to pay it a visit.”
Asked if they might leave Tupelo with it, Mike Tucker smiled and said, “We’ll see what happens.”
The twins formed Preston Tucker LLC in 2012 “to further the legacy of Preston Tucker not only though awareness of his original projects and ventures, but also through new activities involving bringing concepts and designs that were never completed to life” .
They don’t work exclusively with Tuckers, however. Combined they have more than 30 years of experience in the automotive industry in engineering and management and have been heavily involved in many types of racing and custom vehicle fabrication and assembly.
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Star of Tupelo Automobile Museum goes for $1.8M
By Dennis Seid
Northeast Mississppi Daily Journal, April 27, 2019
Photo (Left): tim Stentiford of Arundel Main holds up his winning bidding number for Tucker 1028.
TUPELO – With the great-grandsons of the creator of the Tucker automobile watching, Tucker No. 1028 was purchased for $1.8 million on Saturday at the Tupelo Automobile Museum.
The winning bid went to Tim Stentiford, general manager of Motorland in Arundel, Maine, a classic car showroom and service center. Stentiford, however, was representing the Maine Classic Car Museum.
"We're really excited," Stentiford said. "We came to Mississippi with one goal in mind, and it was to try to take a run at the Tucker and see if we could add it to our place in Arundel. We're a brand new museum and we're set to open the June."
The Tucker will be the showcase of the museum, as it was in Tupelo, and Stentiford said a room had already been set aside. Clearly, they were confident they would bring the car home.
"We were ready for it," he said. "We were optimistic and hopeful, and I knew it was going to be a competitive bidding process."
The bidding for the car started at $700,000 and went to $1 million quickly. After reaching $1.5 million, the crowd buzzed a little more as there were exhortations to keep the winning bid inside the building, as a bidder on a phone was making a play for the vehicle.
"I appreciated the local encouragement from people wanting to sell it in the room instead of waiting for the phone," Stentiford said, laughing.
With the buyers premium, the cost of the Tucker came in at $1.985 million.
FAMILY TIES
Mike and Sean Tucker were watching keenly as the Tucker went up for auction.
The great-grandsons of Preston Tucker – who had hoped to challenge the Big Three with his automobile – said the 1028 is a "very special car."
"It was one of the original Indianapolis test cars, which makes it unique in and of itself. All of them are unique," Mike Tucker said. "But it has quite a story behind it. So we’re spending as much time with it as we can. We came to pay it a visit.”
Only 51 Tuckers were made, and 47 still exist, making the Tucker in Tupelo a rare car indeed.
The Tucker twins formed Preston Tucker LLC in 2012 “to further the legacy of Preston Tucker not only though awareness of his original projects and ventures, but also through new activities involving bringing concepts and designs that were never completed to life.”
They don’t work exclusively with Tuckers, however. Combined they have more than 30 years of experience in the automotive industry in engineering and management and have been heavily involved in many types of racing and custom vehicle fabrication and assembly.
The Tuckers helped restore Tucker No. 1044 last year after it was purchased in 2017 for $1,347,500. And they were pleased to see No. 1028 land in good hands.
"I was pleasantly surprised for how much the car went for," said Sean Tucker. "I think a lot of people recognized the importance of this particular car, and that helped the value of it. We're always happy to them go to a good place."
He said he and this brother were at the auction to inspect the car for a client, and weren't eying the car for themselves.
"He was bidding, but it wasn't his day today," he said.
Wayne Carini, the host of "Chasing Classic Cars" and who played a large role in helping get the auction together, said the sale of the Tucker at $1.8 million was "fabulous."
"The last one sold for $1.75 million, so it was right in the range for what they were going for," he said. "It's a great car. It was running and restored recently. It really hit it out of the park."
The record paid for a Tucker was $2.95 million in 2012. Estimates for the car in Tupelo ranged from $1.25 million to $2 million.
Jane Spain, the owner of the museum and who, with her late husband, Frank, collected many of the cars together over the years, said she was very pleased with the offer for the Tucker.
"It was exciting to watch," she said. "And to know that it's going to another museum is a relief. Tjey're also going to leave it like it is, so that's wonderful."
Proceeds from the auction go toward an educational foundation long-envisioned by the Spain family.
Saturday's auction – before any buyers premiums added – totaled $8,648,450. On Friday, the sales of automobilila – signs and other automotive-related items other than cars – drew $428,000.
The Tucker wasn't the only vehicle commanding a high price on Saturday. The 1934 Duesenberg Model J Prince of Wales Berline sold for $405,000, and the 1930 Hispano-Suiza H6B Coupe Chauffeur went for $300,000. Eight other cars breached six-figures, as well.
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A view of the Tucker 1028 Auction on the Internet
A view of the Tucker 1028 Auction onsite at the Tupelo Automobile Museum
Comments
Tucker 1028’s new home will be in Maine, that’s great for us who live in the Northeast.
The price paid at auction was very fair considering this car’s rich history.
This Tucker still has it’s Original engine.
1028 was one of the 36 Tuckers finished before the factory closed in June 1948
1028 was one of the seven Tuckers (1026 through 1032) that went to the Indianapolis Speedway for endurance testing in September 1948.
congratulations to the new owners on your winning bid