Fastback Friday – A 1946 Tucker Torpedo Prototype built from a 1971 Buick Riviera
Well this story sure gets around the web fast… I saw this particular eBay listing last night (Wednesday) and it has since gone viral. Well, I’m going to write a posting about it anyway, because the car looked familiar, and it was from the pages of Jalopnik way back in September of 2007. If you want to read that particular post, just click here, scroll down to the bottom, and take a look for yourself. (By the way, it was at my suggestion way back then that Lieberman wrote this particular article… and you can see that he acknowledged my suggestion at the end of the article.) Anyway, back to this particular eBay listing. This is a very bizarre vehicle, made from an equally bizarre 1970’s Buick. Is it appealing, or is it gross? Is is a keeper, of something meant to be junk? Who cares, as I thought this was the perfect Fastback Friday Feature for all of you to enjoy… Unlike some of the other web sites that are featuring this car right now, I’m not going to beat around the bush with a lot of history, or comment about the connection with the actual designer of the Tucker, but here is the listing in its entirety:
What I am listing is a one off vehicle built by my late Uncle and completed in June of 1994. It is the 1946 Tucker Torpedo Prototype II. This vehicle was assembled using actual plans from the original Tucker Torpedo design obtained from an original design member. There is a lot of info in this description that needs to be stated due to the complexity of this one off custom car so please bear with me. As in the title the car’s base is a 1971 Buick Riviera which in it’s own means is a rare sought after car. The sky blue paint color is made up of special acrylic and is the highlight to the beauty of this vehicle. The two front fenders turn independently with the wheels. The car has three headlamps. One mounted on each fender and the third on the nose of the hood for high beams. The rear seat is a bench style seat. The two front seats are bucket type seats that swivel sideways for easy access in and out of the car. The upholstery is vinyl leather, door to door. Rug covers the floor in the back. There is a built in ashtray. The hood sports a special ornament. The rear trunk along with the rear fenders have fins with a gold “T” in the middle. There are two rear fender lights on the back of the rear fender fins. There are skirts over the two rear tires. The trunk is very roomy.There is a front console in between the bucket seats that has gauges and switches to monitor and operate special functions. One of the features is small section of the roof on both sides opens up when you get in and out of the car to avoid hitting your head on the roof. Another control panel is just above the windshield area. The car is equipped with special wipers. The car is equipped with dual exhaust and the 455 Buick V8 as previously stated. It has very strong acceleration along with quick braking. Also has a built in radar detection system albeit may need updating to recognize todays signals. This vehicle was built starting on the 71 Buick Riviera chassis along with parts from a LaSalle and Pontiac to name a couple. As you can plainly see many of the parts were custom fabricated for the unique build that this is. The car has won numerous awards and will make a nice addition to any collection or for the person looking for the one and only car that no one else has. Now with the car sitting most of the time since my Uncle’s passing there are areas that will need some TLC. I would first give the car a complete tune up soup to nuts although most of the time she runs like a charm. I would also look for a higher capacity alternator as with all the feature this car possesses it takes a toll sometimes on the charging system. A few nicks and areas of touch up on the body and interior will go a long way. But over all the buyer of this car will have a very nice and UNIQUE one of a kind car.
Bidding is hot an heavy with the high bid so far of $9,200 without reaching its reserve. Of course there is over 5 days to go until the auction ends, so who knows how high the bidding will go? See the listing and tell me what you think about this bizarre automobile: [sc:ebay itemid=”221489120870″ linktext=”1946 Tucker Torpedo Prototype II ” ] From the original Fantasy Garage Article… The Proposed Carioca!
Well this story sure gets around the web fast… I saw this particular eBay listing last night (Wednesday) and it has since gone viral. Well, I’m going to write a posting about it anyway, because the car looked familiar, and it was from the pages of Jalopnik way back in September of 2007. If you want to read that particular post, just click here, scroll down to the bottom, and take a look for yourself. (By the way, it was at my suggestion way back then that Lieberman wrote this particular article… and you can see that he acknowledged my suggestion at the end of the article.) Anyway, back to this particular eBay listing. This is a very bizarre vehicle, made from an equally bizarre 1970’s Buick. Is it appealing, or is it gross? Is is a keeper, of something meant to be junk? Who cares, as I thought this was the perfect Fastback Friday Feature for all of you to enjoy… 
Unlike some of the other web sites that are featuring this car right now, I’m not going to beat around the bush with a lot of history, or comment about the connection with the actual designer of the Tucker, but here is the listing in its entirety: The two front fenders turn independently with the wheels. The car has three headlamps. One mounted on each fender and the third on the nose of the hood for high beams. The rear seat is a bench style seat. The two front seats are bucket type seats that swivel sideways for easy access in and out of the car. The upholstery is vinyl leather, door to door. Rug covers the floor in the back. There is a built in ashtray. The hood sports a special ornament.
The rear trunk along with the rear fenders have fins with a gold “T” in the middle. There are two rear fender lights on the back of the rear fender fins. There are skirts over the two rear tires. The trunk is very roomy.There is a front console in between the bucket seats that has gauges and switches to monitor and operate special functions. One of the features is small section of the roof on both sides opens up when you get in and out of the car to avoid hitting your head on the roof. Another control panel is just above the windshield area. The car is equipped with special wipers.
The car is equipped with dual exhaust and the 455 Buick V8 as previously stated. It has very strong acceleration along with quick braking. Also has a built in radar detection system albeit may need updating to recognize todays signals. This vehicle was built starting on the 71 Buick Riviera chassis along with parts from a LaSalle and Pontiac to name a couple. As you can plainly see many of the parts were custom fabricated for the unique build that this is. The car has won numerous awards and will make a nice addition to any collection or for the person looking for the one and only car that no one else has.
Now with the car sitting most of the time since my Uncle’s passing there are areas that will need some TLC. I would first give the car a complete tune up soup to nuts although most of the time she runs like a charm. I would also look for a higher capacity alternator as with all the feature this car possesses it takes a toll sometimes on the charging system. A few nicks and areas of touch up on the body and interior will go a long way. But over all the buyer of this car will have a very nice and UNIQUE one of a kind car.
Bidding is hot an heavy with the high bid so far of $9,200 without reaching its reserve. Of course there is over 5 days to go until the auction ends, so who knows how high the bidding will go? See the listing and tell me what you think about this bizarre automobile: [sc:ebay itemid=”221489120870″ linktext=”1946 Tucker Torpedo Prototype II ” ] 
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