Whatsit? I don't know #536 - John Bucik's Pursuer

[Julien1A]

there are picture of the (or actually a slightly different) car:





maybe a second car, but still made by the gentleman

[Otto Puzzell]

And another...

BTW, the car does indeed have a name, besides "car of the future".

[pguillem]

This one is the 0011 Pursuer from 1965 built by John Bucik.This car was 14-ft long, and the highest point on the car was 25 inches above the ground. The body was mounted on a 1960 Fiat chassis, and was powered by an Abarth 750 c.c. engine. Bucik put 3000 man hours of work into the car.

But is it the same as the car shown in the first photograph ?

[Otto Puzzell]

I knew that. But it was locked

[pguillem]

Oops !  Sorry.  I just come back from Mexico.

[Ray B.]

Two months ago, I asked Geoff Hacker if he knew anything about that car and here is the answer:

Hiya Thierry...

Of course – that was built by my friend John Bucci in the early 1960's.  I visited John and the car 2 weeks ago.  See attached picture.  I'm getting ready to talk about Bucci on my website and his many cars – not published in 50+ years.  He still has most of them too.  Quite a story.

I'm interviewing John now and will have stories posted on his first car in the next few weeks.  Sound ok?

Hope you enjoy the pix and have a great day...

Geoff

Well he didn't bother to post a reply here and get his point and I don't guess he ever will. A very busy man (I get about five messages a day from his Forgotten Fiberglass newslette)°.
That's Geoff with the car in the picture.
The two questions left are: - Bucci or Bucik?
- Who gets the point?

[pguillem]

It seems to be John Bucci.  According to his portfolio, "Bucci displayed his "Le Sable"--The Sword which he built in his Glenview shop just 5 years after emigrating from Italy as a refugee from Communist Yugoslavia".  Probably Bucci is an americanization of Bucik, a more yugoslavian name.

[Otto Puzzell]

It's Bucik. PM sent.

[Ray B.]

Otto's infos in his PM establishing that Bucik was from Slovenia, completes that last part by pguillem. Both spellings are correct I guess; Maybe Bucik italianized his name first, then went back to the original spelling after some time in America.

But I still don't know who I give the point to.
I didn't unlock this myself I think. And now I have two answers to a locked puzzle (Julien1A's is dismissed beause he didn't give us the name). Plus Geoff's in his PM.
Paul, Allemano , what would you do?

[Paul Jaray]

Geoff knew the car but didn't post here.
Wendax was 1st guessing Buick.
Pguillem's info about 0011 Pursuer refer to a different car
Otto's found out the real name.

You said it was a 2-point puzzle?
Otto and Wendax would be my choice.

[Carnut]

I'd agree with PJ.
pguillem can't benefit because he wasn't actually entitled to post.
Wendax and Otto have both come up with sufficient to earn a point.
I'm quite happy to split 2 points if puzzlers have earned them on the same puzzle.

[Ray B.]

Common practice at autopuzzles is that the puzzler is the sole master of how points are to be granted.
While I am OK to give one point for each of the closest answers, Weendax doesn't deserve a point. SorryWendax, and sorry to disagree, guys.
All that Wendax did was reading the signature on the photograph, as anybody else did, and repeat conclusions (even erroneous -the VW part) made by others.
I think that all pictures show the same car, and that Bucik at some time remodeled the front.
To me the points go to Geoff Hacker and Otto Puzzell, who had  found it but refrained to post because I had locked it. My apologies to pguillem and Julien1A.

I'm adding it to Otto.
I cannot add it to Geoff myself, as I am no longer an editor.
Can one of you ex-colleagues do it for me? I know that he didn't post IN the puzzle, but he was the first to ID the car. And we used so much of his stuff for our puzzles that this first (and probably only) point is a small and symbolic reward.

[Carnut]

I cannot add it to Geoff myself, as I am no longer an editor.
Can one of you ex-colleagues do it for me? I know that he didn't post IN the puzzle, but he was the first to ID the car. And we used so much of his stuff for our puzzles that this first (and probably only) point is a small and symbolic reward.

I have the honour of giving Geoff his first (and so far only) point.
That gives him the average of 1 point per post!

[Allemano]

Strange... I found a source which clearly says his name is John Bucci from Chicago where's still a John Bucci agency today.
According to that Giovanni Bucci was his name before he emigrated to the US.... which doesn't sound that much Slovenian..

[Wendax]

which doesn't sound that much Slovenian..

The border between Italy and Slovenia moved from time to time, especially around Trieste.

[Ray B.]

Puzzle picture uploaded again.

[Oguerrerob]

Pictures published at 2014
John Bucci (Bucik, slovenian inmigrant) built this car 1963 as La Shabbla, renamed in 1963 as the 001-Pursuer (according to this source).
And a note published in 1963 from Custom Car Cavalcade, where Paul Anka seated in La Shabbla