David Cammack, Tucker Collector Extraordinaire, R.I.P.

Click here to view the embedded video. If you ever do any research about the Tucker automobile, you'll eventually come across references to the collection of David Cammack. Cammack, of Alexandria, Virginia, passed away last Sunday at the age of 84. At the time of his passing Cammack owned the largest collection of Tucker automobiles, three of them, number 1022, number 1026, the only Tucker with an automatic transmission, and the first production Tucker made, 1001. Only 51 Tuckers in total were built, some by the Tucker company and others assembled from parts and cars left unfinished when the Tucker assembly line was shut down. Forty seven survive (with a possible 48th if you accept Justin Cole's story about the Tucker convertible), so three Tuckers is a substantial collection. There have been collectors that have owned more than one Tucker serially, and director George Lucas owned two at own time, but nobody else has owned three (well, except for Preston Tucker and his company). The three Tucker cars, though, are only part of the Cammack collection, he also gathered what is undoubtedly the largest existing collection of Tucker artifacts including components, like complete engines and spare parts, Tucker memorabilia, ephemera and even a complete set of engineering drawings for every part of the Tucker car. Mr. Cammack was known throughout the auto enthusiast community for graciously sharing not only his collection, really a private museum of all things Tucker, but also his time. Considering that some in the Tucker collecting community can be a bit secretive, and that some in the Tucker enthusiast community (the Venn diagram for those two groups, by the way, has very little overlap) are more than a bit eccentric about the brand, David Cammack's generosity of spirit was notable. That generosity survives Cammack. Some time before his passing, Cammack made it known that after his death the collection would not be broken up. He endowed the complete collection to the Antique Automobile Club of America's museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where it will eventually be displayed in a 3,500 wing that Cammack's brother Bill, who predeceased him, funded. Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth, a realistic perspective on cars & car culture and the original 3D car site. If you found this post worthwhile, you can dig deeper at Cars In Depth. If the 3D thing freaks you out, don't worry, all the photo and video players in use at the site have mono options. Thanks – RJS from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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