The Ford Nucleon Reference Guide

A fact-checked reference guide to the Ford Nucleon, Ford’s 1958 idea for an atomic-powered car that only ever existed as a non-working 3/8-scale model: the atomic age that inspired it, designer Jim Powers and Alex Tremulis, how the power capsule was meant to work, the cab-forward shape, why it could never work, and the model’s travels from the Ford Rotunda to the Smithsonian and a museum loan, with a who’s who, a glossary, a sources-disagree table and a timeline.

What’s inside:

- How to use this guide

- The Nucleon in one page

- The atomic age

- The designers

- How it was meant to work

- Shape and layout

- Why it could never work

- Shows, storage and museums

- People and words

- Where the sources disagree

- Timeline at a glance

- Credits, licence & sources

Pages: 13 (including cover and credits). Sizes: A4 (210 × 297 mm) and US Letter (8.5 × 11 in), both PDFs included in one zip.

Printing: Print at 100% / actual size on A4 or US Letter. Inside pages use light backgrounds and print well in black and white; covers are dark, so start from page 2 to save ink.

Every fact is checked against named sources from The Henry Ford’s collection records, Hemmings (2018 and 2024) and the Victoria Times Colonist (2020) (checked 9 Nov 2026), and the sources are listed on the pack’s credits page. Things that can change, such as where the model is displayed or on loan, are printed with the date we checked them. Where sources give different figures, each is shown with its source.

Photos are from Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licences (CC BY-SA 3.0), credited on the credits page; all drawings, charts and layouts are REALLYBYTE’s own. Drawings are simplified; only the 1:32 outlines are drawn to published overall dimensions. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Ford Motor Company, The Henry Ford, the Atomic Museum, the Deutsches Technikmuseum, Hemmings, the Times Colonist or any photographer or publisher named here. Names are used only to identify the vehicles, people and organisations discussed. The Nucleon was a non-working 3/8-scale model, never a real or working car.

Licence: personal use. Print as many copies as you need for yourself and your household. Please don’t resell, re-upload or share it publicly. For club, school or commercial use, please email info@reallybyte.com.

Made by REALLYBYTE, the team behind nucleon.motoring.im. Questions: info@reallybyte.com

This is a digital download: no physical item will be shipped.