Williamsport, Pa. — More than a dozen students at Pennsylvania College of Technology recently refurbished an iconic car to award-winning results. For one of those students, the experience was more than satisfying — it was personal.
Ty M. Tucker, of Columbia, is the great-great grandson of Preston Tucker, the legendary automotive figure responsible for the 1948 Tucker that the students repaired to win the First Junior Award at the Antique Automobile Club of America’s Eastern Division Fall Meet in Hershey.
The honor signified the car’s standing as the best among all judged for the first time in its class: limited production and prototype vehicles through 1998.
“It is amazing to be able to go to school and work on the car that my great-great grandfather built,” said Ty, who is seeking a certificate in automotive restoration to add to an associate degree in collision repair that he earned at another school.
Ty and his classmates in automotive restoration and collision repair spent six weeks working on Tucker No. 1013, one of 51 cars (including the prototype) designed by Preston Tucker and manufactured by the Tucker Automobile Corp. in 1948. Forty-seven of the original Tuckers are believed to be in existence today.