Projects 1952 Muntz Jet Build, from a beginner

Awesome !!!!! Are you going to join us up in Grants Pass Oregon? It's going to be a fun few days.

 

Found this I think on the HAMB the other day.

 

I will be passing through the area on my way to Billeproof NW on June 23 in Chehalis, WA. But I dont know if the timing will line up to meet up with y'all. With any luck my Muntz will be torn apart by then, in the midst of resto. Even if it were together, the flathead in the heat of summer, over mountain passes, at 50 mph tops? nah... I wouldnt attempt that.

 

Yeah ... kinda figured you'd be driving past us when I saw the date on Billetproof up the road, in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Did you receive a flyer in the mail for the Muntz Mania?

 

Yep, got the flier. Wayne (who is organizing this) lives not to far from me. I see him and his Muntz at Cars and Coffee every now and again. Great guy. Has helped me out with my Muntz. I needed to have skirts fabbed up, he helped me take measurements and the make templates off of his.
Here is a quick pic of mine. Not in bad shape really. A few little dings here and there, but no rust, and all there (now that I have the fender skirts, not included in this pic). I dig driving it around town. Its headed for a tear down and complete resto here soon (as soon as I get the time, likely later in March). It will be a shame to take it off the road, but it will be motivating for me to get it done quick so I can get back in it and drive.

 

great posts, fun to read... thank you for sharing..

 

Looks pretty darned nice to me, Choptop! Remarkably well-preserved example, compared to most convertibles from the late forties/early fifties.
FYI, wayne is my first cousin, and he's getting more than a little bit of help with organizing the event ...
I hope that you can say hello on your way driving past us, while you're continuing to head up north.

 

Great thread!

 

Nice, what year is it. Is it on the Registry? What's the motor?

 

Wayne also has a signed copy of the January 1962 Hot Rod Magazine that he got by accident. Sorry Ed.

 

One of the stops on our garage crawl, will be Randy Grubb's place, aka The Blastolene Bros.
/www.hemmings.com/events/detail?listing_id=52592

 

I’m looking forward to meeting and chatting with all the Muntz-aficionados, but unfortunately my Jet will (obviously) not be in a state to make the journey. Hopefully I’ll still be accepted in my driving non-Muntz car.

 

A great time was had at the Muntz Mania meetup in Grants Pass! I enjoyed being able to meet and chat with some fellow Muntz Jet folks who share a passion for these cars,and it served to inspire me to keep pushing forward with my own car. Already looking forward to the next one!

 

Front page news on Saturday, in Grants Pass Oregon.

 

Very cool, how far did they come to be there? Any news from Victor about the Registry. I've been keeping notes and page cut out's as I see information. Would like to find out what happened with the '53 car I tried to get on Ebay early last year.

 

We had one fellow fly in for the weekend, all the way from Florida. Several from Washington state. One couple drove out from Colorado. We made it there from San Diego. A few from Sonoma. A couple from Placerville. Several folks from the Oregon area. We invited Randy Grubb and his wife for our big Saturday night sit-down dinner, as we had a couple of empty seats that needed rear-ends in them.

Victor was there with his car, much of his paperwork (including new additions), and his son. We showed the MadMan Muntz movie on Thursday night at the host hotel. We went touring on both Friday (to Randy Grubb's) and Saturday (to visit Bill Pearl's collection). Weather was terrific, and the attendees behaved themselves for the most part. Very picturesque part of the country for an event like this ...

 

These are amazing cars, I admit until I read the huge article in Rodders Journal I new very little about them and have a new appreciation for these unique cars. HRP

 

"Mad Man" Muntz is famous (or infamous) in electronics circles because of the way he marketed televisions. Televisions were expensive in those days, and the tuning sections unnecessarily complex in his mind. A powerful high gain section was probably necessary if you lived in South Dakota, but Chicago or LA, not so much. He was well known for snipping out parts on prototypes with a pair of dikes, till it stopped working altogether. "OK, put that one back in." This kept the price of his televisions competitive.

 

Great color! I was Googling colors to paint our Muntz. I have a feeling it was this same color from paint in door jambs, etc. I believe it was called Stratosphere Blue.

On another subject, does anybody have "MUNTZ JET" emblems for the side of the car?

 

Let me look at what I might have in my own stash for you. If not, a few folks have had the script reproduced, and they usually had a few extra pairs reproduced as well. They ARE available.

Nathan ... I have two correct taillight lenses for you, along with at least one clear front turn signal lens.

 

Good on you Ed!!

 

I would be interested in scripts also! Another question, did Muntz use '49 - '51 Ford convertible inner quarter panels? Here's a picture of a pair.

 

Sorry - can’t help you on that one - mine doesn’t have any original parts for the inner fenders.

Those look like a good excuse to purchase that bead roller you always wanted.

 

It's been awhile, but YES, those sure look like the inner quarter panels for a Muntz. Will obviously require some trimming to make 'em fit right, though...
Look for '49-'51 Vicky/convertible parts for window stuff.

 

Thanks, I have been able to scrounge shoebox Ford convertible and Lincoln parts. A friend let me tear into a '51 Lincoln Cosmo for anything I wanted - FREE. A bunch of steering parts (including decent steering wheel), cables, handles and side trim.

 

Just found these photos of one at Hershey in 2009. Maybe they will help somehow.

 

They may be slightly modified, but they appear to be Ford. Here are mine.

 

Thanks! I’m a ways from doing any interior work but it’s always good to have some pictures in the archives for when I am there. Appreciate it.

 

Before the weather turned frigid here in the NW, and I could still work outside, I got a wild hair and decided I wanted to sand all the old body filler off the car and take it back down to bare metal. It was cracking, and rust was showing through in spots, so I knew it eventually had to go. I’m not sure I was prepared for what I found. There was filler in spots that was pushing 3/8 thick.

The metal underneath is pretty banged up and even has a hole or two in spots. The wife came out and says “it looks like a world war 2 plane that’s seen some S”. I couldn’t agree more and actually I kinda like it. It’s gritty for sure. I might just just spray it in clear and roll it around like this for awhile.

Here’s some photos in the process of sanding off the filler ...

 

A few years ago I was at the pismo car show and there was a yellow small car in line,I went over to look at it and the driver got out to register. I talk to the pass and he told me it was a Kurtis,I said it looked like a Muntz,he informed me that Muntz went to Kurtis's house to talk about something and saw the car and bought everything and start making the Muntz. The driver was a heir to the Kurtis.