It’s not often that you see a Muntz Jet, doubly so for one that has been customized in the 1950’s and made neater than the stocker was. What the hell is a Muntz Jet you ask? It was a very limited run sporty car made in the 1950’s off of plans that Earl “Mad Man” Muntz bought from Frank Kurtis. Somewhere between 200-400 were made and they carried power from either Cadillac or Lincoln. This car was owned by famous 50’s band leader Freddy Martin. It’s one neat old car.
Muntz was a human dynamo who made and lost fortunes in his life. He rose to fame selling Kaisers and appearing in television commercials touting how he was selling cars for less than it cost him to get them into inventory. That’s where the “Mad Man” name came from. He made piles of money selling cheap television sets and invented the Muntz Stereo-Pak “Blue Light” 4-track tape player (precursor to the 8-track). He is un-equivically the inventor of the car stereo!
He got into the Jet project in 1950 when he bought the basic design for the car you see above from famed Indy car builder Frank Kurtis. He made some changes by stretching the wheelbase more than a foot, added a back seat, and going to GM first and later Lincoln for engines.
The ad for this particular car is incredibly detailed and goes through the whole history of this neat drop top. It is certainly one of a kind! Click the link or photo below to check out the Ebay listing.
Source — eBay Motors — 1952 Custom Muntz Jet
I WAS AT A FATHERS DAY CRUISE IN HERE IN WINDBER,PENNSYLVANIA. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY 57 YEARS OF LIFE I GOT TO SEE A RED 1952 MUNTZ JET CONVERTIBLE WITH A WHITE TOP AND WHITE INTERIOR. IT HAD A AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WITH A FLAT HEAD V-8 ENGINE. I AM ASSUMING THAT WAS A MODEL MADE WITH THE LINCOLN ENGINE. I JUST HAD TO GET ON THE INTERNET TO SEE WHAT THE STORY WAS ON THESE VEHICLES. GREAT PART OF HISTORY.
GARY