Muntz Jet

The Muntz Jet was built by the Muntz Car Company, which was founded by Elgin, Illinois, native Earl "Madman" Muntz.[1][2] Muntz, who was born in 1914 and attended Elgin High School for three semesters before dropping out,[3] had established a prominent reputation selling television sets and other commercial and consumer electronics.[4][5][6] Before founding the Muntz Car Company, Muntz had worked successfully as a used-car salesman and at Kaiser-Frazer dealerships in both Los Angeles and New York City,[3][4][7] even earning the sobriquet of "world's largest car dealer".[8] According to automotive journalist Turk Smith, he "made and lost several fortunes" during his lifetime,[9] and he was married to seven different women.[2][7]

1950 Muntz Jet in Yountville, California

The Muntz Jet was developed from the Kurtis Sport Car (KSC), a two-seat, aluminum-body sports car designed by Frank Kurtis.[5][6][10] Muntz bought the rights to the KSC, along with its parts and tooling, from Kurtis Kraft for $200,000.[8][11][10] Sam Hanks, who would later win the 1957 Indianapolis 500, contributed to the redesign and re-engineering necessary to create the Muntz.[6] The Jet was built with a solid hardtop.[8][12][13] Two different V8 engines were used in the Jet: a 160 hp (120 kW) Cadillac engine, and a 160 hp (120 kW) Lincoln engine.[11][12][14] The first Jets to be constructed, in Glendale, California, had the Cadillac engine and aluminum bodies, while those built later in Illinois instead had the Lincoln engine and steel bodies.[15][16][17] The cars were equipped with General Motors Hydramatic automatic transmissions,[4][14][18] while a three-speed Borg-Warner manual transmission was also available as an option.[1]

Compared to its Kurtis predecessor, the Jet was heavier but also more agile and capable of a higher top speed, due to its lower drive ratio.[3] The Muntz was 400 pounds (180 kg) heavier than the KSC,[12] weighing almost 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg).[19] Its wheelbase was 113 inches (290 cm),[18] 10 inches (25 cm) longer in both overall length and wheelbase than the Kurtis,[1][3] which gave it enough room to include a back seat and accommodate four occupants.[6][10][12] The Jet stood 54 inches (140 cm) in height.[18] It was built with body-on-chassis construction and had independent front suspension (A-arms with coil springs) and a live rear axle with leaf springs. It also featured power steering, four-wheel hydraulic brakes, dual exhausts, and a dual coil ignition.[8]

In April 1951, Norman Nicholson described the Jet as having "the appearance of a streamlined, scaled-down limousine".[18] It was available in colors such as boy blue and elephant pink.[11] Similar in appearance to the KSC, the Muntz was more luxuriously appointed than its sports car predecessor.[12][20] Some of these appointments included an all-leather "tuck-and-roll" interior,[6] racing-style Stewart-Warner gauges,[21] and a center console with a Muntz radio.[8] A liquor cabinet and ice chest placed under the rear seat armrests were available as an option.[3] The Jet was equipped with safety features that were not standard on most cars of its day, including a padded dashboard and seat belts.[3][12]

1953 Muntz Jet

The first 26 to 40 Muntz Jets were built in Glendale, California.[3][11][16] Production was then moved to a factory at 1000 Grey Avenue in Evanston, Illinois, where the car was built roughly between 1949 and 1952.[1][16][22] The near cross-country move was necessitated by difficulties related to materials and transportation that plagued the original plant in Glendale.[1] In April 1951, the Muntz Car Company was employing 40 people in its Evanston factory and producing a car a day.[18] In approximately 1952, the company moved plants again, to 2901 North Sheffield Avenue in Chicago's Lake View neighborhood.[1][16] Production ceased in 1954.[1][8]

In January 1951, the projected cost of a Jet was $5,000.[14] That year, Muntz planned to sell the car out of factory-run showrooms in Houston, Los Angeles, and New York City.[18] With no network of dealers, Muntz Jets were sold to customers directly from the factory.[1] The car sold for $5,500 in 1953, about $51,500 in 2017.[4][13][21] At the same time, a Cadillac convertible sold for $3,987,[7] and a comparable Lincoln for $3,600.[1] A single Jet cost roughly $6,500 to produce,[16] $1,000 more than its sticker price.[13][19][23] Muntz himself estimated that labor costs alone for each Jet produced totaled $2,000.[12] In total, he lost approximately $400,000 on the venture, and after four years gave up on it.[13][16] Famous owners of the Jet included Clara Bow, Vic Damone, Grace Kelly, Alfred "Lash" LaRue, and Mickey Rooney.[12][15][21]

Six Jets were fitted with a factory-installed "hop up" kit that included an Edelbrock aluminum intake and twin double-barreled Stromberg carburetors.[4] Muntz Car Company welding chief Peter Condos claimed that two Jets were built with 331-cubic-inch (5,420 cc) Chrysler FirePower V8 engines.[1]

[15][21]

Writing in 1951, Norman Nicholson noted a production Muntz Jet had an official top speed of 112 mph (180 km/h). Muntz himself claimed it could accelerate from 0 to 80 mph (130 km/h) in nine seconds.[18] He also stated that the Jet could reach 150 mph (240 km/h), but automotive journalist Turk Smith, writing in 1969, expressed doubt that it could even attain 130 mph (210 km/h).[9]

Muntz Jet at the Museo de Historia de la Automoción in Salamanca

In total, 198 Muntz Jets were built.[4][8][24] Earlier estimates of 400 cars produced, a figure possibly sourced to Muntz himself, are now thought to be inaccurate.[4][13][20] An estimated 50 to 130 of these cars are still in existence.[4][16][20] There is no owner's club for the car, although a registry of owners that has accounted for about 125 cars by serial number does exist.[4] Three Jets are owned by the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.[6] By 2002, well restored Jets were selling at auction for $50,000 to $70,000.[1] By 2016, fully restored cars had sold for over $100,000 at auction.[16]

In the assessment of Autoweek writer Graham Kozak, while the Jet "lacks the cachet of the Tucker...it stands on its own as a well-conceived, well-executed luxury convertible".[20] According to author Matt Stone, the Muntz was "one of the fastest and best-performing American cars of the time".[21] Turk Smith, writing in 1969, opined that a well tuned Jet "will still outperform most stock cars of today".[9] In 1969, Muntz claimed that the 1958 Ford Thunderbird was inspired by the Jet, and quipped that "I was eight years ahead of my time" with his car.[11]

Thomas E. Bonsall credits the Jet as being the first personal luxury car.[25] In 2000, Daily Herald journalist Jerry Turnquist called it "America's first, high performance, four-seat sports car".[3] It is also an example of an orphan car.[26] After production of the Jet ended in 1954, Muntz invented and manufactured the 4-track Stereo-Pak tape player, the predecessor of the 8-track tape player.[7][8][23] In June 2000, Muntz's childhood home of Elgin celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Muntz Jet with a parade featuring numerous Jets and their owners.[3]

• Lyons, Dan (2005). Cars of the Fantastic '50s. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. pp. 27–29. ISBN 978-087349-926-2.
• Pace, Harold; Brinker, Mark R. (2004). Vintage American Road Racing Cars: 1950-1969. Saint Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing Company. pp. 94–95. ISBN 0-7603-1783-6.
• Stone, Matt (2015). Exotic Barn Finds: Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin and More. North Branch, Minnesota: CarTech. pp. 14–17. ISBN 978-1-61325-202-4.