1948 Tucker Torpedo

To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys The Monterey Auction event, 13 - 15 August 2026.
$1,000,000 - $1,300,000 USD

• The 19th production Tucker automobile
• Known history since new, including half a century of ownership by the Hull Family
• A well-preserved car, never fully restored aside from cosmetic refinishes
• One of exceedingly few Tuckers still available for public acquisition
• Among the most iconic and beloved post-war American automobiles
• A model that no collection or museum is complete without

PRESTON TUCKERS DREAM

There is little about the Tucker automobile that has not already been said. No post-war American automobile has had every facet of its story so religiously studied and examined; none was more controversial when new, and fewer are more beloved today.

Indeed, it would please a vindicated Preston Tucker that the 47 surviving examples of the 51 cars he built are among the most valuable and desirable American cars. They draw the most attention and crowds to any museum at which they are displayed, including such venerable halls as the Henry Ford, the Petersen Automotive Museum, the National Automobile Museum, and the Nethercutt Museum. They are the trophies of renowned collectors who consider their fleets of Duesenbergs, Isottas, and Ferraris simply otherwise incomplete without The Car of Tomorrow.

1019: THE FAMILY CAR

Chassis number 1019 was the 19th production Tucker built, and one of eight originally delivered in Viola Grey (actually a silver hue). It was shipped by train in the summer of 1947 to Seattle and acquired on 16 July 1948 by Stratton Tucker Sales, the Western Washington and Alaska distributor, and one of the few dealerships fortunate enough to actually receive a Tucker automobile to display. Reportedly it was gathering crowds even before it was fully unloaded into the building!

Historian Mike Schutta noted that the car was purchased in February 1950, presumably from the Stratton dealership, by Earl T. Simoneau of Seattle. He further recorded that it was sold later that year, through local used car dealer Avalon Motors, to Max and Peggy Borgeson, also of Seattle.

In 1952, the Tucker was acquired from the Borgesons by William D. John Bryan, best remembered as the final owner of the Pioneer Brewing Company in Walla Walla, Washington. Two years later, Bryan ran for a seat in Congress and used his car as a rolling billboard in the Walla Walla area; as his son George later recounted, My father was a great believer in progress, and the Tucker was a symbol of that. Bryan had the car repainted a darker blue with campaign graphics on the doors, and he would take it out to local parades and festivals. During its appearances young George was often stationed with the car to prevent people from climbing in and purloining the dashboard knobs as souvenirs; even in the early 1950s, a Tucker drew quite a crowd.

The congressional campaign proved unsuccessful no fault of the car! and after getting out of the brewery business, Bryan and his family relocated to the family ranch in Montana, where George Bryan eventually drove it as his first car. In 1959, John Bryan took it on a trip to Los Angeles, and after experiencing mechanical difficulties along the way brought it to a service facility in Anaheim. It was sitting in the garage, the rear fenders sticking out of the door, when Pasadena insulation contractor Melvin Hull drove by at 9 in the morning. Hull took one look, slammed on his brakes, turned around, and waited in the shop for eight hours for the cars owner to appear. When Bryan showed up, Hull bought the Tucker for $1,250 plus an airline ticket home for the seller.

It can safely be said that the Tucker had found its best possible caretaker. Hull got it running and driving well, and for years would use it to give his family rides around Pasadena on special occasions, as well as in local parades, just as the Bryans had. Occasionally it was also brought to conventions of The Tucker Automobile Club of America.

Around 1980, Hull refinished the car in a shade similar to the iconic Tucker color of Waltz Blue and installed a new interior. Seven years later, he joined in the filming of Francis Ford Coppolas Tucker: The Man and His Dream. Tuckers were gathered from around the country to appear in the film, with eventually 21 original cars, chassis number 1019 among them, participating. The Hulls car made it into several scenes, including the climactic parade scene filmed in downtown San Francisco, always with Mel driving and his daughter, Debbie, riding shotgun.

Debbie Hull had grown to appreciate the Tucker, and so, soon after the family had driven the car to see The Man and His Dream in the theater, her father gifted her the prized automobile. She took the role of being its caretaker seriously, and after deciding that it should not live in her garage at home, eventually put it on loan in 2001 to a Southern California museum, where it was prominently exhibited for over a decade.

In 2012, after a remarkable 53 years with members of the Hull family, chassis number 1019 was acquired by the consignor, a longtime admirer and enthusiast of Tucker automobiles.

Since displayed within his collection and occasionally at California museums, it has remained in much the condition it was acquired, still wearing its Hull finishes inside and out, and is very special as one of the few Tuckers that has never undergone a full, nut-and-bolt restoration just the aforementioned cosmetic refinishing. It retains its original engine, as well as the original firewall body tag. That it has held up so well is a great testament of the care given to it over the years, by both the Hulls and the consignor. Having been on static display for some years, it would be ideal for further mechanical sorting and enjoyment on the road, demonstrating the Fabulous Tucker to new generations or as the best possible solid and intact basis for a fresh restoration to the original Viola Grey livery.

With nearly all surviving Tucker automobiles having disappeared either into long-term family collections or, in many cases, into the permanent holdings of museums, the opportunity to acquire one of these post-war dream cars becomes scarcer with every passing year. The offering of chassis number 1019, after being enjoyed by only three families since 1952, is one such chance, and is not to be missed.To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/auctions/mo26/.