Gasser Madness ~ Legends ~ Hugh Tucker's AA/SR

My personal favorite of all the Street Roadsters was Hugh Tucker's '28 Chevy, powered by a blown Oldsmobile and later by a blown Chrysler. Hugh and his son are currently restoring the roadster to it's Chrysler configuration.

I asked Hugh for a little chronology of the roadster and here's what he wrote:

"You asked for a chronology of the car. I'll do the best I can, considering a severe case of CRS (boy...can I ever identify with that!). After starting this it turned into a full history of the car which was great but 4 pages long."

1961: The car was powered by a 400 inch Olds normally aspirated with six Strombergs. I was using a 1937 LaSalle transmission and a Columbia two-speed rear end.

Late 1961: Blower, B&M Hydro & rear suspension: Went to a blown 476 inch late Olds and a B&M Hydro. After initial tests I went to a 57 Pontiac rear end and ladder bars along with 1/4 elliptical springs. The car was still pretty heavy, around 3000 pounds.

Spring & Summer 1962: Light weight front suspension Put the front of the car on a diet. Went to a tube axle, magnesium wheels, Crosley disc brakes, homemade aluminum hubs on 40 Willys spindles, and aluminum radius rods, tie rod, and drag link. Lost about 200 pounds off of the front end.

Late Fall 1963: Light weight body, interior & roll bar Fiberglass body, 3 point roll bar, light weight interior. Lost about 400 pounds.

Early 1965: 4 point roll bar, headrests, paint, front coil springs Full 4-point roll bar with headrests (to raise the center of gravity), coilover front shocks, new paint job & gold leaf lettering, move fuel tank to trunk.

Winter 65/66: Chrysler Hemi

Spring 1966: Torqueflite transmission

September 1966: Wrinkle Wall tires and narrow rims

Thank you, Hugh.

Late note: I asked Hugh to check out this page before I put it up for public viewing. I wanted to make sure I had all the facts right. After one minor correction, he added the following. I was just going to incorporate it above, but decided the best thing I could do was to add it as he wrote it, so:

"I think it would be appropriate to mention in the chronology that I was in partnership with Dave Stoll in late 61 and 62. I also used Tom Dawes Chrysler for the 66 Winternationals as well as John Rasmussen's Chrysler for Indy in 66 and the 67 Winternationals. Tom Dawes ran the "Freedom Machine" out of Mass. as well as a Top Gas car that I drove on the west coast. Tom was a very, very close friend and passed away in 1980 at the young age of 40."

	First outing, at Santa Maria, CA after a hard week building the car!
	1962, Class winner and Street Eliminator at the Winternationals.
	Hugh caught Bones "napping" on this one!
	Riverside, 1964. Hugh throws out the anchor after another good run.
	In a classic street roadster duel, Hugh goes off against a competitor.
	Street roadsters were very cool! Here's Hugh out on the opponent by half a car.
	Once a mainstay of blown street roadsters and gassers, this is what a "full tilt" blown Olds looks like.
	It did have "The Look", didn't it.
	This is the end of the car that most of his competitors saw.
	With the wheels up at Lions Dragstrip...don't think those 90 pound headrests could have helped, do you?
	The Olds has now been replaced by a Chrysler.
	Hugh shows a competitor how it's done at the '66 Indy Nationals. If anyone happens to have a photo taken from the other side of the track on this run, Hugh would sure like to get a copy.
	Another view of the car in 1966.
	In the pits at the Indy Nationals, 1966.
	Heading for the finish line at Riverside (that's the first speed light you see) at about 150, Hugh is about to pass the Airioso Brothers' Willys doing around 120.
	Fast Forward to 1998. After sitting in a barn in Washington State for 18 years, the roadster is found
	Loading it up to take home. The kids belong to the gentleman who had owned the car for 18 years. They had never seen the car and didn't even know about it!
	Here's what it looked like when Hugh and his son finally got it home and before they started a bottom-to-top restoration. Looks to me like it could have been a lot worse, but there was a LOT of work to do. Definitely a 70's paint job, huh?
	As the restoration got underway, everything was redone...even new fender brackets.
	It's definitely starting to look like a race car again, isn't it?
	This is starting to look cool! I can hardly wait to see it completed...hopefully by the time the next (2001) California Hot Rod Reunion rolls around.