For those folks on Route 66 who wish to acquire a genuine, one-of-a-kind Muffler Man, you have the opportunity for a few hours to bid on one in Maine.
Joel Baker, a Muffler Man fan and creator of the “American Giants” video series, is helping sell one in Winslow, Maine. As of this writing, the bids were up to $12,500. Bidding ends after 8 p.m. Eastern time tonight.
More about the history of this particular Muffler Man:
This particular one was probably manufactured sometime after 1966, and is one of the rare bow tie versions. He is unique in that he is a one of a kind custom job done by International Fiberglass and has a unique hat. It is not known who ordered him originally or where he stood . It is speculated that he originally was from Oakland, Manchester or Winslow, Maine with a few others remembering him as being out of state. He was purchased used 1976-1978 by Marden’s Surplus and Salvage Company and named “Howard Huge”. The giant was used outside a few different store fronts, primarily Waterville and Bangor in the 70s and 80s. When the company continued to grow and open more stores, the use of the giant was discontinued and he was put in storage sometime in the early 1990s. He has been stored indoors since that time. His existence has been unknown until American Giants became aware of him in August, 2017. […]
Howard is an original International Fiberglass Muffler Man. He is a rare Bow Tie version that were often used at Gas Stations. He has a unique hat that is also very rare. He stands 19′ 6″ tall and has a head that is fiberglassed on unlike almost all the other Muffler Men. This provides much more strength, but the head cannot be removed. The hat arms and legs can all be unbolted and removed. The giant has only minor damage for his age. A few scuff and scrape marks with some very minor fiberglass damage on his fingers. Very small cracks appear under his arms. Also his butt was damaged and patched at some point leaving a rougher surface than he had originally. Overall, what damage he has is very fixable and he comes with standard eye bolts in his shoulders that will support his weight for lifting and moving. He also has brackets in his feet for bolting down and securing, One bracket has come off but will be included in the purchase.
Instructions on how to bid are at the website. The Muffler Man must be picked up by the winning bidder by Dec. 29.
Roadside America’s Muffler Man map indicates about 10 Muffler Men exist on or very near Route 66.
(Image via American Giants website)
Sold for $16k+. Wonder where he’ll end up?
They are available made to order from bellplastics.com, by the way.