Vanderbilt Cup Races

I missed it! The before and after of Patricia. WOW!!! Great stuff Howard! Love it :D

From Mystery Foto # 8 Solved: The 1966 TDX Plastic Car Created and Built on Long Island

Too bad I couldn’t make it to the open house, due to a work commitment. But the pictures are great! I saw the Tucker before the restoration and would love to see it up close now that it has been restored. Thanks for sharing your cars, and for the work you are doing to preserve history.

From Updated: Highlights from Sunday's Amazing Tucker 1044 Open House

Howard,

Thanks for including the TDX in your 1044 Tucker open house Sunday. It brought back some great memories.

Pat

From Mystery Foto # 8 Solved: The 1966 TDX Plastic Car Created and Built on Long Island

Sam, Austin only ever called the area Meadow Spring - his business cards, stationary etc only ever said those words. Depending upon what you believe that Google currently says it can be Meadow Spring Lane, Meadow Spring Road. or whatever the person who is listing it has to call it. I do not recall any of the houses having numbers either. We often would take one of his cars out ( with or without license plates) and drive around that circle to try them out to make sure they were running well . I do remember a dark blue 1909 (?) Packard model 30 roadster Austin owned that was restored by Lew Schaefer of Westbury when he owned it. Car had a miss and would backfire, and driving it around the loop would defoliate the trees we were driving under at the time when it did back fire. All kinds of leaves fell down .  It is a private community on the south side of Duck Pond Rd. just before you cross over the LIRR track branch if you are heading West I think there are about a dozen houses can’t recall exact number. Austin’s house was the first one built ca. 1927. I do not recall the exact name of the fellow in Ohio who owned the Alco chassis but he was a big enthusiast of the VMCCA ( Veteran Motor Car Club of America) as was Austin.
Earl, yes most or all all of the postcards that Austin had made up did wind up going to Maine eventually .

From Henry Austin Clark, Jr.'s 1974 Photos of the Alco Black Beast

Where does one even begin on an enormous project like this? Definitely ahead of its time in ‘66. Fabulous teamwork, congrats!!

From Mystery Foto # 8 Solved: The 1966 TDX Plastic Car Created and Built on Long Island

Charpal:

Was that concept car a Griffen?

From Mystery Foto # 8 Solved: The 1966 TDX Plastic Car Created and Built on Long Island

As Patricia demonstrates, a concept car isn’t complete without a spokesmodel. Nice story behind this creation.

From Mystery Foto # 8 Solved: The 1966 TDX Plastic Car Created and Built on Long Island

Thank you for the great open house you had yesterday Howard.  I brought a few friends and they were very impressed with your wonderful collection.
It turned out to be much better weather than anticipated and you had a big turn out.
Thanks again for all you do to promote the old car community !

Gerry

From Hold the Date: Tucker 1044 Open House on Sunday, February 24, 2019

Howard, it was a great turnout today with people we know like the GREAT WALT GOSDEN! Also I gave a tour for a lovely couple that I’ve met previous time, showing the screwy hallways of the building with the auto memorabilia on the walls on both floors, two stairways for two different hallways on the second floor. Next Open House or any time, if you haven’t seen it, check it out.

From Updated: Highlights from Sunday's Amazing Tucker 1044 Open House

I can only echo what Jeffery has sated, GREAT TIME, GREAT CAR AND GREAT PEOPLE. I saw so many Long Island Buick Club members there I thought they were having an official meet!  My sincere thanks to so many people who made the effort this morning to wish me well, during my health recovery. It really meant a lot to me.
It was just so nice to be there, what a festive occasion. Wishing you the very best on your trip to the concours down south.

From Updated: Highlights from Sunday's Amazing Tucker 1044 Open House

Howard, I also wanted to thank you for ALWAYS letting us share in your wonderful cars. You are a very magnanimous fellow car enthusiast, John

From Updated: Highlights from Sunday's Amazing Tucker 1044 Open House

Howard, I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity to see the restored Tucker today. The car is amazing! I loved meeting the Tucker descendants and the Ida’s. All very nice people. It is awesome of you to allow all of us to get up close and personal with your wonderful cars. Your casual nature and generosity in sharing these wonderful vehicles is great for the local car hobby.

From Updated: Highlights from Sunday's Amazing Tucker 1044 Open House

Austin Clark had a huge collection of photos he took and turned into postcards for sale at the museum. Years later all or most of what was left turned up at the museum at Owl’s Head ME, along with some of his cars still bearing the Southampton museum’s stickers.

From Henry Austin Clark, Jr.'s 1974 Photos of the Alco Black Beast

Do you have pictures displaying some of the F suspension, transmission, instruments etc?

From Mystery Foto # 8 Solved: The 1966 TDX Plastic Car Created and Built on Long Island

???????

From Mystery Foto # 8 Solved: The 1966 TDX Plastic Car Created and Built on Long Island

1966 TDX, an all fiberglass monocoque. No metal chassis. Chevy v8 powered. Featured in Motortrend. I saw this at the Hemmings Concors at the Saratoga automobile Museum in Saratoga Springs New York. I am a board member there. I would Be nice to see Hemmings bring their event back to the beautiful grounds of the museum and spa state park.

From Mystery Foto # 8 Solved: The 1966 TDX Plastic Car Created and Built on Long Island

Meadow Spring Lane, no?  Do you happen to remember the street number, Walt?  Could I prevail upon you to share more of that story, please?  Sam, III

From Henry Austin Clark, Jr.'s 1974 Photos of the Alco Black Beast

Glad it was saved!

From Roslyn Landmark Society in the News (Updated: 2/21/2019)

Just learning about most of these beauties, even though an 85 year old.
Indy 500 Crew member, ‘66 thru ‘68. Tech Official Vice Chairman ‘70 thru 2012 for Indy and many, many ‘trail’ races thereafter as Pit Tech. (Had a ‘real’ job too.)

From Jerry Helck: Anyone Here Ever Seen A Vanderbilt Cup Race?

Mystery Foto #8… The plastic car is a TDX designed and built by Pat Amendolia. Uniquely, for that time period, it was built as a monocoque fiberglass (FRP)  body/frame (no metal frame). The car also had Firestone’s foam filled fuel tanks know as Safom as used on race cars today to prevent fuel fires after a crash. The TDX had a polycarbonate rear window which was shatterproof. An article about this car and other fiberglass autos was seen in the December 1968 issue of Motor Trend magazine.

From Mystery Foto # 8 Solved: The 1966 TDX Plastic Car Created and Built on Long Island