Anyone have a MUNTZ?

[prewtv]

It was 1956 1957 large screen B/W metal table top?
Looked like Sams #341 chassis 624 series?
Anyone know of one of these?
Had it as a kid and like how simple Muntz made TVs.
Entire VERT section a 12AV5 tube.
1st sound IF reflexd thru 2nd video IF.
Only 10 tubes!!!

http://www.tvhistory.tv/1956-Muntz-624T.JPG

[bgadow]

I did see a very similiar set about a year ago at a flea market. I hardly gave it a second look, being it was a common looking set and overpriced. I did look at it for a minute, seeing how it was the only Muntz I've ever seen in person. But didn't look close enough to know about the chassis.

Those sets might have been alright...not much to tear up, right?

[prewtv]

If you look at older threads on Muntz, not much to recap, not much to go wrong.
Anyone in this group have or know of a Muntz?
How many were sold? They were cheaper, but did that sell them?
On web some crazy ads, a fare amount of sites for TV, 8 track and the CAR. Ebay has a large console for $150 in Texas, I am in WIS.

They want $175.00 to ship it.

Great story: http://www.smecc.org/mad_man_muntz!.htm

Stolen from another website:
"Engineers of a certain age still refer to the practice of "Muntzing", which means reducing something to the absolute minimum number of parts it requires in order to run. I worked as a TV repair person while going to high school and it was amazing how we could make the TV's a lot better by adding back in the few components he snipped out!!! Bypass capacitors here and there made a big difference! "

Found the company's production life listed as: Muntz TV, Howard Radio, Television Manufacturers of America, TMA Co. 1948-73

Wasn't aware of Howard Radio or TMA and didn't know they used the Muntz name on TV's up till '73 either. Does anyone have any more info? I can only assume that the latter 2 companies were either the actual manufacturers of the Muntz sets or perhaps obtained the rights to the name at some point.

Anthony

[peverett]

A former TV repairman in Dallas told me the story of a doctor who owned a Muntz TV. It worked fine in Dallas, near the TV tower.

However, when the doctor retired and moved about 80 miles away, the TV would no longer get a signal. The doctor asked the repairman to fix this and was told that this TV would never work at the doctors new location due to the cheapness of construction.

[Whirled One]

Wow, it's funny, but I was just now sifting through a box of old service docs, and came across a couple of Muntz items, including the service manual for one of those 10-tube (plus picture tube) "extreme dollar-engineered" sets, though this model/series is a bit different from the one in the picture that prewtv referenced (the knob configuration is different, for one). Oddly, despite it being an official 'factory' service manual, it is actually just a thinly disguised Sams Photofact reprint. (!)

Along with this was an envelope containing several Muntz production change notices and related service bulletins. The "production values" of these bulletins and such are pretty much as you might expect from Muntz, though-- they're good ol' purple-ink mimeographs ...with masters produced using a typewriter for text mixed with totally hand-drawn schematics and other diagrams. Oh, and from the rough appearance of most of these, I'd say Muntz apparently made sure they got as much use as possible out of each of those duplicating masters too! [Remember: Nothing says "manufacturing quality" like company correspondence that looks like something that got handed out by a 3rd grade elementary school teacher...]

Well, at least the Sams-sourced "service manual" was professionally printed.

By the way, when exactly did the Muntz name completely go away..? I grew up in the St. Louis area, and there was a local TV dealer who used to run these distinctively dopey commercials, featuring himself as "Your old Uncle Leonard here!" Anyway, he always (at least through the mid/late 1980's) referred to his shop as "Leonard's Muntz TV" (and I think the ending 'tag' sometimes still even had the Napoleon-looking Muntz logo) despite the fact that his ads in the 1980's never seemed to actually mention or show any Muntz-branded items. Perhaps "Uncle Leonard here" felt that the Muntz name was still an important part of his store's identity, and so just kept on using it despite the fact that the brand itself was defunct...

[veg-o-matic]

In the early 70's, I remember the Washington DC station running Muntz commercials. Frankly, I can't remember what exactly they were selling--TVs?--Used Cars?. But to this day, I can hear the female announcer saying "Mad Man Muntz says..."

Too bad I can't remember what he said!

[Steve K]

Speaking of Muntz commercials, does anyone know the lyrics to his early TV commercial? It went something like;

"There's something about a Muntz TV"
"in oh so many ways"
"there's something about a Muntz TV"
"that earns your lavish praise"

How does the rest of it go?

Steve

[veg-o-matic]

Originally posted by Steve K
Speaking of Muntz commercials, does anyone know the lyrics to his early TV commercial? It went something like;

"There's something about a Muntz TV"
"in oh so many ways"
"there's something about a Muntz TV"
"that earns your lavish praise"

How does the rest of it go?

Steve

"It's sold and serviced Muntz-to-you
and here's the reason why:
The factory way, no dealers to pay
it costs you less to buy!
For sales and service qual-i-teeeeee
There's something about a Muntz TV!"

Yeah, I got that one on video, too. Lyrics I can remember. The name of the vice president? That's another story...

[Steve K]

Thanks Veg:

I've been trying to get those words for a long time. What did we ever do before the internet and forums like this!

Steve

[Steve D.]

It was back in the 80's. I was looking to purchase a new fangled Hi-Fi VCR. I took a ride to the San Fernando Valley to "Muntz Discount Electronics." Sure enough there was old Earl "Mad Man" Muntz in the store greeting the folks. I did buy an RCA Hi-Fi VCR from old Earl that day. The only "Muntz" branded items I recall were big screen projection color tv's. I still have the sales brochures for those sets somewhere.I'm not sure when Earl passed away. I remember he had a used car lot here in L.A. when I was a kid. I also think he marketed the "Muntz" automobile in the late 40's before the tv business.

[bgadow]

I saw a VERY brief interview with him in the late 80s; all he really had time to talk about was how hard the tv business was in the early years (hard to convince some folks that they could have pictures in there house...) which I thought was kinda strange, seeing how tv's sold like hotcakes in the late 40s.

[captainmoody]

I have a muntz console from the early fifties, I believe around 1952, Was simple to recap as it only had a handful or so!
Actually has a nice picture and works great too.

Originally posted by Steve D.
I remember he had a used car lot here in L.A. when I was a kid. I also think he marketed the "Muntz" automobile in the late 40's before the tv business.

If you do a Google search for Muntz you'll find loads of info on him. At one time he was a Kaiser-Frazer car dealer and then later bought the rights and tooling to the Kurtis Kraft which he re-engined and renamed the Muntz Jet.

"I buy 'em retail and sell 'em wholesale. It's more fun that way!" A more flamboyant character you'd be hard pressed to find!

Anthony

There is a really nice guy who has a site called tv history the first 75 years of tv at http://www.tvhistory.tv

and he has a page for muntz tv's at http://www.tvhistory.tv/1950-59-MUNTZ.htm

He does not have a photo of every tv ever made but he's attempting to get there with the help of people who send in photos of their tv's, I think from what I recall he has a lot of photos ready to be put up but just hasn't had the time to do it yet.

My tv is on his site because I sent it in for him to use because he didn't have a photo of my model of muntz, mine is a 1954 blond oak console tv (321C1) scroll down the page to the 1954 listings and there is my tv (courtesy Antonio Gonzalez) that's me...

or here's my tv off of my site:
http://www.gbronline.com/mysterieux2/1954muntztv.jpg

I just bought the caps for my Muntz tv (38 caps I think it was) but it's on the second story of my house and I need someone to help me haul it down to the main floor so I can work on it but I think it will take a while to find someone who can heft the thing with me although it's not as heavy as my new 1948 motorola but still going down stairs can be tricky especially if you want the tv to be in one piece when you get to the bottom of the stairs LOL