Earl 'Mad Man' Muntz made his fortune by selling low cost TVs of his own design and is credited with the invention of the abbreviation 'TV.' He even named his daughter Tee Vee. He made another fortune when he invented the stereo 4-track tape player that was the basis of Bill Lear's 8-track. Earl 'Madman' Muntz also was an extremely successful used car salesman in California. The Jet was Muntz's answer to the sports cars that were coming onto the scene in the early 1950s, cars like the Kaiser Darrin, the Hudson Italia, the Chevrolet Corvette and the Nash Healey. Muntz met with famous race car builder Frank Kurtis and purchased the rights to produce a Kurtis road car. Muntz stretched the chassis and created a 4-seat sports car. Indy car builder Frank Kurtis produced 36 sports cars in 1949. Earl 'Madman' Muntz, of TV fame, bought the tooling and manufacturing rights from Kurtis and began producing Muntz cars. Costing more than $5,500, fewer than 300 were produced. All were convertibles, with removable 'Carson' tops. The Kurtis 'Sports Car' was stretched 13 inches by Muntz to add additional room for the back seat. The cars had a simple, yet streamlined styling. The cars were bold and elegant, with colors that were eye catching and flashy. Under the hood was a 205 horsepower overhead valve Lincoln V8, giving the car a top speed exceeding 100 mph. The Muntz Jet shown here has been completely altered from the factory version except for the body. The engine is a 337 cube version with Edelbrock heads and two Stromberg carbs and a GM Hydramatic auto tranny. The interior upholstery has been completely redone with the look of authentic materials. The interior featured a full console, with radio and four-passenger seating. A lift-off hardtop roof was also included. The first 28 cars were built in Los Angeles, but sales proved difficult and Muntz moved production to his home base of Evanston, Illinois. Despite the high price, Muntz reportedly lost $1,000 on each one he made. Estimates on how many cars were produced has been know to be only 198 examples. Finding this very rare Muntz Jet was a pleasure to record and thank you very much for viewing this 1951 Muntz Jet.
