THE TUCKER

" krp" > wrote in message
...
> Has anyone ever driven a Tucker or see one?
>
>
>Yes.. I saw one on a dealer showroom in Denver, CO
I was told that if the engine needed any repairs it was so easy to remove
that the dealer
would slip another loaner in while yours was being repaired. If I recall
it was a 6 cylinder
pancake type of engine. WW

"Roger Blake" > wrote in message
. org...
> On 2008-11-24, krp > wrote:
>> I don't believe that the Jav opr AMX used trunions. It was not
>> uncommon
>> to see early ramblers squatting down on tirels laying flat on the road.
>
> They did until the 1970 model year, when AMC changed to twin ball-joint
> suspension. The Javelin and AMX were derived from the Rambler American
> chassis and shared its suspension. (All AMC cars had upper trunnions
> in the front end until the 1970 model year. Also vacuum wipers through
> 1971!)


Sorry I had both a 68 AMX and a 70 Javeline NEITHER had vacuum wipers.

>> I had a friend who bought a Golden Hawk with the R-5 package. It was
>> "QUICK" to say the least.

> I have no doubt! Studebaker was a performance leader with their
> supercharged engines.

The R-5 was supercharged and the larger displacement engine. In its day
nothing much stayed on the road with it.

>> The Rebel with the 390 was a dream. Still it handled well for its day

> Yes, that came a bit later on, in 1967 the top AMC engine was the 343.
> As I recall the 390 first saw the light of day in the 1968 AMX.

Yep, buit was followed months later in the Rebel and Javelin.

"WW" > wrote in message
...

>> Has anyone ever driven a Tucker or see one?
>>
>>
>>Yes.. I saw one on a dealer showroom in Denver, CO
> I was told that if the engine needed any repairs it was so easy to remove
> that the dealer
> would slip another loaner in while yours was being repaired. If I recall
> it was a 6 cylinder
> pancake type of engine. WW

Yep was a great car for its day.

"Roger Blake" > wrote in message
...

>> Sorry I had both a 68 AMX and a 70 Javeline NEITHER had vacuum wipers.
>
> Electric wipers were an option, and were not made standard until the
> 1972 model year. At car shows I have seen many AMXes and Javelins with
> vacuum wipers. AMC also went with the Chrysler Torque-Flite automatic
> transmission in 1972. They previously used the Borg-Warner automatic.

I ordered both my cars. Electric wipers were STANDARD on both the AMX
and Jav.

>> Yep, buit was followed months later in the Rebel and Javelin.

> Also the Ambassador, ostensibly as part of a trailer-towing package.
> And don't forget the SC/Rambler! (Essentially a Rambler American with
> a 390 and 4-speed!)

The HURST S/CRambler or Scrambler as some called it.

"Roger Blake" > wrote in message
. org...

>> I ordered both my cars. Electric wipers were STANDARD on both the AMX
>> and Jav.
>
> Pretty sure that was not the case until 1972. Here is a picture of
> a 1970 AMX engine bay (sans engine), note the wiper motor:

I had a 68 AMX and a 70 Javelin. BOTH came with electric wipers STANDARD.

> http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2998...76313828IopbLb


I see the vacuum wiper motor. First one I ever saw with vacuum wipers.

> I know I have examples of AMXes and Javelins equipped with vacuum
> wipers in my own photo collection.

>> The HURST S/CRambler or Scrambler as some called it.

> Yes, no mistaking one of those with the wild red, white, and blue paint
> job.

Some were delivered in one color.

"Roger Blake" > wrote in message
...

>> I see the vacuum wiper motor. First one I ever saw with vacuum wipers.

> Don't know what to tell, you, as mentioned I've seen quite a few that way.

I was on the factory stunt driving team and raced the cars. I never saw
vacuum wipers on any. That doesn't mean tghere weren't any, but from what I
saw they'd have been rare.

RFE: HURST SC/RAMBLER

>> Some were delivered in one color.

> Yes, ditto for the Rebel Machine, available in eye-catching red, white,
> and blue, or plain-jane solid colors.

They built lots of SLEEPER cars. Poor unsuspecting owners of Vettes or
Mustangs would pull up top a light and see a plain Jane ugly green Rambler
and race just to show off and get their doors blown off and wonder what the
hell hit them.

"Roger Blake" > wrote in message
...

>> I was on the factory stunt driving team and raced the cars. I never
>> saw
>> vacuum wipers on any. That doesn't mean tghere weren't any, but from what
>> I
>> saw they'd have been rare.
>
> You've piqued my curiosity, so I rooted around a bit. I dug out a
> 1971 AMC factory service manual, which covers all AMC models for
> that year. The section on wipers has a photo illustrating removal
> of the vacuum wiper motor from a Javelin. Accompanying text details
> removal of the vacuum hose and the control cable. I think I also
> have a '71 AMC owner's manual around which covers all models, it
> may have more info on the wiper controls.
>
> A little more noodling around came up with this:
>
> http://www.amx-perience.com/xperienceamx96100.htm
>
> Note that on the above site a point is made that the white AMX
> towards the middle of the page is equipped with electric wipers,
> not something one ordinarily would mention even in passing on most
> cars of that vintage.

> I also ran across a web page with decoding info for 1968-1970 Javelin
> and AMX build sheets, with an "electric wiper only" option mentioned for
> the optional Visibility Group:

> http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/...00/jan2000.htm

> However I have not found any production figures on how many were actually
> built with vacuum versus electric wipers.

I think the visibilty group must have been fairly standard then. I got
around tghe AMX circles pretty much 68-70. Ones with vacuum wipers may have
existed, I never saw one.

>> They built lots of SLEEPER cars. Poor unsuspecting owners of Vettes
>> or
>> Mustangs would pull up top a light and see a plain Jane ugly green
>> Rambler
>> and race just to show off and get their doors blown off and wonder what
>> the
>> hell hit them.

> Even the '65 Rambler Classic I drove years ago, with its 327 4bbl V8
> and twin-stick manual trans, surprised a lot of people back in the day.
> It just looked like a typical "old man car" but would take off like
> a scalded ape.

> Getting back to Tucker, while looking through some magazines I found
> the July 4, 1988 issue of "AutoWeek," which features the car and movie
> on the cover. (Jeff Bridges is shown posing with a red Tucker.)

> Inside is a fair amount of coverage, including a pretty harrowing
> ride in one of the Tuckers belonging to director Francis Coppala.
> The article also talked about the difficulty of getting enough Tuckers
> together for the film. They finally managed to get 22 cars, out
> of which about two-thirds did not run, 90% had broken suspensions,
> and only two had properly-working gearshifts.

Amazing the Tucker club would lead you to believe that is not the case.
I haven't see 20 Tuckers so what do I know?

"Roger Blake" > wrote in message
...

>> I think the visibilty group must have been fairly standard then. I
>> got
>> around tghe AMX circles pretty much 68-70. Ones with vacuum wipers may
>> have
>> existed, I never saw one.
>
> I am sure not many people would have wanted to order their AMX with
> vacuum wipers, but seeing as how the other manufacturers had given
> up on that "feature" years before it probably caught some folks by
> surprise.

Never saw the option.

>> Amazing the Tucker club would lead you to believe that is not the
>> case.
>> I haven't seen 20 Tuckers so what do I know?

> The article mentioned that there probably had not been 20 Tuckers
> together in one place since 1948. The ride in Coppola's Tucker was
> a tale of handling instability ("Hey, this thing is FISHtailing!"),
> grinding gears, and stalling in the middle of a state highway.

> In the back of this issue of AutoWeek there is an article by a fellow
> named Roger Barlow who purchased a used Tucker in 1953 and drove it for
> a while:

> "...I owned a Tucker. Not for long, but I did own it and drive it.

> Having driven VWs, the 170H Mercedes, early Porsches, and the 4CV
> Renault, its handling was no surprise -- with so much weight so
> far aft, in such a long wheelbase, oversteer was only to be
> expected. And it was there to a quite disconcerting degree despite
> the helpfully quick steering ratio...

> The odd action of the suspension contributed further to my unease
> with the car. I did not enjoy driving 'my' Tucker! ... The car was
> an interesting concept -- but definitely not ready for prime-time,
> as they might say today on Vine Street.

I don't think the Tucker would be highly regarded by today's standards.
But then neither would my friend's 48 Chrysler New Yorker. Although my 51
Henry J was quite nimble. I once had a 55 Kaiser - that was - well - far
from spectacular.

> I phoned [the salesman] recently to see if he remembered driving
> this car. 'Spooky,' was his summation, 'real spooky. And scary.'"

Funny things about cars. Take any given brand or model and you'll get
people on both sides. The AMX took a great deal of panning, but Craig
Breedlove set loads of records with it on tracks, both oval and road. I used
to take great pleasure in blowing the doors off Corvettes, Cameros, and
Mustangs. I used to love to watch a guy in a 500KR Mustang pound his
steering wheel when I left him in my dust. I hated to race Chevys. You never
met a group of people with such whining rationalizations for losing races
anywhere. Oh the litany of excuses. NEVER because the other car was faster.
NEVER!!!!