1952 MUNTZ

Taking pictures of old cars gets a bit repetitive: Lots of Chevy and Ford iron with the occasional Nash or Olds to spice things up. But during my visit to Grants Pass last month, I was taken aback by a very modern, truly lovely sports car. It was topless (only removable hardtops were made) and defied my sleuthing skills to figure out what it was without reading the sandwich board.

1951 Muntz

I had found a car I have never heard of; the Muntz. Only about 400 were made and 39 or so are believed to exist today. My luck to capture a few shots and your luck to have found them here. Tell me what you know or think about this beauty.

Here’s what the collectors say: “Earl “Madman” Muntz was a former big scale used car dealer who turned to manufacturing TV sets in the post-World War II bonanza years. But he had seen a custom 1941 Buick Frank Kurtis had built; he wanted to buy it in 1949. Instead he ended up buying Kurtis’ fledgling sports car, the KURTIS 500, lock, stock, and barrel. Kurits, who was literally up to his neck in race-car building (his cars won Indy six consecutive times from 1950 through 1956), and he was worried about competition from the Jaguar XK120, which was cheaper, had dual overhead cams and the European mystique. Muntz moved the production to Evansville, Indiana, streched the car out about a foot, enlarged the passenger compartment for four passengers, and installed Lincoln or Cadillac V8 engines. Production ceased in the mid-50’s and Muntz reportedly said he lost money on every car sold.”