Finding A Tucker in Sao Paulo, Brazil

[Tuckerfan]

Okay, there’s a Tucker in Brazil that’s been allowed to rot because of legal battles over the estate of the owner. As far as I’ve been able to tell, no one really knows where the car is any more (or if they do, they’re not saying), nor what’s it’s current condition is. (Last known photo.) Naturally, I’m curious as heck as to what’s happened to it (rumors vary that it might have been stolen or hidden by another member of the family). Of course, I don’t speak Spanish or Portuguese, so I can’t do much digging myself, and I can’t afford to hire someone to track the car down, but as I said, I’d like to know more about it. The only other thing I know about the car is that it was bought at auction, when all the other cars and parts were sold, by a man named Jamie Gatamianis who then took the car back home to Brazil. So, anyone got any ideas on how to track it down?

[Xema]

I wish I could help. I can’t.

But I must thank you for your link, which tells me that there’s a Tucker on display at the Swigart Museum in Huntingdon, PA, not a long drive for me. I’ll have to catch it when the museum opens (late May).

[Loopus]

I found nothing on Googel, but I ran a search on the Brazilian search engine Cadê using the search terms “tucker carro Gatamianis,” and found exactly one page: Quatro Rodas (page title means “four wheels”- it appears to be a Brazilan car magazine). The pertinent info is the sidebar on the left. I’ll translate it for you:

Of the 51 model '48 sedans that Preston Tucker’s factory produced in Chicago, one of them had a more afflicted trajectory and ended up in Brazil. It was acquired by the business of Jamie Gatamianis in December of 1948, who substituted the original moter, a Franklin 335, also used to move helicopters, for another one. At that time, he paid 5000 dollars for the car (equivilant to 36,000 dollars today), much more that the cost of a Cadillac Fleetwood, one of the icons of that time. Fourteen years later, Gatamianis sold the automobile to Roberto Lee, who wanted to make it one of the main attractions of his Paulista [“São-Paulo-ian”] Museum of Mechanical Antiquities, in Caçapava, in the São Paulo interior. He intended to restore the Tucker, but he didn’t live long enough to do it. He died in the '70s and, since then, a legal dispute among his heirs closed the museum. Until the case is closed, the major attraction of the many things left by Lee will not be able to be appreciated by car lovers.

That’s all I could find. I hope it’s helpful.

[Tuckerfan]

Thanks! It’s more than I’ve been able to find. Hard to believe that the estate could be tied up for about 30 years.

[Loopus]

Here’s something else I found on Cadê, by searcing under “tucker ‘roberto lee’ carro.” Relevant parts translated:

The first museum of antique cars in Brazil was opened by the Paulista engineer Roberto Lee, in the '70s. He began displaying his collection in an industrial shed in the city of São Paulo. Later he took the collection, which consisted of 150 cars, to his farm in Caçapava, near President Dutra Highway. Lee was the leader of the Brazilian collectors. It fell to him to organize national meetings, which were suspended for several years after his death in 1975. The museum stayed open for a few more years, until the beginning of the '80s, but it was finally closed by the family.

Lee’s estate included a Tucker . . . There are only two [Tuckers] outside the United States today: one in Japan and the other in Caçapava, today hidden from the public.

So from all this it looks like the car is still in the shut-down museum in Caçapava, São Paulo. (São Paulo is also the name of the state that the city of the same name is located in.)

Admittedly, I’m not sure how current all this info is.

[Chronos]

(page title means “four wheels”- it appears to be a Brazilan car magazine)

Isn’t that a bit ironic, considering that the vehicle in question is a Tucker?

[Tuckerfan]

Hey, it’s all gold! I’ve learned more from your posts on the car, than I have in all the years I’ve been a fan of Tuckers in general. I’m really grateful for your efforts.

[Tuckerfan]

@Chronos

Isn’t that a bit ironic, considering that the vehicle in question is a Tucker?

Que? Tucker’s had 4 wheels.

[Loopus]

@Tuckerfan

Hey, it’s all gold! I’ve learned more from your posts on the car, than I have in all the years I’ve been a fan of Tuckers in general. I’m really grateful for your efforts.

Glad I could help.

[Chronos]

OK, where the heck did I get the idea they had five? I had understood that there was an extra one under the middle headlight.

Tuckers were the vehicles with the three headlights, right?

[Tuckerfan]

@Chronos

OK, where the heck did I get the idea they had five? I had understood that there was an extra one under the middle headlight.

Tuckers were the vehicles with the three headlights, right?

Yup, but they only had 4 wheels.

[duffer]

Perhaps you’re mixing up the light and wheel because the center headlight turned when the car did?

[MovieMogul]

Is there a directory listing all the Tuckers available for public viewing, as well as who owns them and where in the US?

[Tuckerfan]

@ArchiveGuy

Is there a directory listing all the Tuckers available for public viewing, as well as who owns them and where in the US?

Yup. It’s not wholly revealing, however, since it doesn’t mention who owns which one in some cases. (Francis Ford Coppola owns two.)

[Tuckerfan]

Oh, I should point out that just because it says a car’s not on display, doesn’t mean that’s true. Several of the cars spend part of the time in museums, or at car shows, and so can be seen, even though the site lists them as not being on display.