Episode 40: Dom Tucci, Designer, Tucci Hot Rods

Hot-rod builder and designer Dom Tucci designs custom cars at Tucci Hot Rods, his family-owned auto garage in Marcy, NY. Dom grew up working in his family's auto shop, studied industrial design at university, and then returned with new approaches and new tools that he then applied to the custom car business: including the introduction of 3D printing to their traditional manual machine shop array of tools.

Over the past 25 years, Tucci Hot Rods has made a name for itself as one of the most respected garages in custom auto for creating striking, street-legal hot rods. Dave Tucci, Dom’s father, pioneered several approaches to the field that remain popular among hot-rodders today. Among their many projects, Tucci Hot Rods has been selected to produce custom versions of recent Ford model cars and trucks to be showcased at the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas. (This episode launched the first day of SEMA 2022 where Tucci Hot Rods is again sharing new vehicles.)

In this episode, Dom shares his approach to incorporating 3D printing into fabrication processes and custom parts, and discusses in detail several recent projects such as his SEMA-award winning 2022 Ford Maverick custom race-styled vehicle from last year.

Dom Tucci - "I think if you were to start a shop now, it is just as important to get a 3D printer as it is to get a welder, a lathe, or a mill. It's just as useful as any of those tools."

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