Sun Jan 03, 2010 Lumberton man owns rare Scarab auto
By Michael Futch
Staff writer
http://www.fayobserver.com/Articles/2010/01/03/963373
LUMBERTON - Dick Taylor doesn't drive his 1936 Stout Scarab around Lumberton much.
But it's hard to miss when he does.
The eccentric and visionary Stout Scarab - with its short, stubby nose and streamlined shape - has been called a predecessor of the minivan.
But back in the 1930s, pioneering aircraft designer William Bushnell Stout wasn't thinking about soccer moms or family transportation. Stout envisioned the car as an office-on-wheels, complete with fold-out table.
The 16-foot-long Scarab is a sight to behold. Picture the tear-drop shape of an old Greyhound bus, or the body of a postwar airplane on wheels. Or a stretched-out Volkswagen bug, an unsurprising comparison since the Scarab is also named for a beetle.
"It's funky looking. There's a lot of aircraft design in it," said Peter Curtis of the Owls Head Transportation Museum in Owls Head, Maine. The museum owns one of the world's few Scarabs.
Only eight or nine of the vehicles - the jury is out on just how many units were produced - were built from 1934 to 1939.
And Taylor, an 81-year-old life insurance salesman who lives in Lumberton, owns one of them.
He's a collector.
His fleet of vintage automobiles includes a 1941 Mercedes Benz custom-built for Nazi leader Hermann Goering; a 1948 Davis three-wheeler; and a 1949 Chevrolet convertible. Among his prized 33 vehicles, Taylor calls the Scarab the most fascinating.
"It was so revolutionary," he said. "That's the thing about the Scarab. It's just an aerodynamically designed automobile ahead of its time."
Curtis, the museum director, said the Scarab featured several innovations. "It was one of the first vehicles made for the public with four-wheel independent suspension, rear-engine drive. Ground effect. It was all-clad underneath, like a race car. The thing actually handles wonderfully."
The Stout Scarab was the first car without running boards. It was built with electric door locks. The interior is comfortable and roomy, with a table and movable chairs.
And since it was built of aluminum - making it lighter than most cars - the Scarab gets a creditable 18.8mpg from its Ford flathead V-8 motor.
Taylor keeps his fully restored automobile in storage in a warehouse. "Very seldom," he noted, has he driven it. And then only for tooling around Lumberton.
He bought the Scarab from Bill Harrah's estate in the 1980s, after the casino entrepreneur died. Taylor paid $20,000 for it.
"It was all there," he said. "It was just raggedy."
Over the years, he has sunk another $300,000 or so into its restoration.
His vintage Scarab is a dazzling mint green with Firestone whitewall tires, elegantly fanned rear grillwork, extended fenders, 11 windows and six scoops on the side.
"It was very innovative," Taylor said. "You didn't have any American automobiles with the motor in the rear. It was revolutionary that it didn't have running boards. It has one really big bucket seat."
He won't speculate on how much the car is worth. "I don't know," he said. "None have been sold."
Since only half-a-dozen Stout Scarabs are known to exist, Curtis said these rare vehicles are "worth what anybody would want it to be worth. Whatever anybody is willing to pay for them."
Initially, that would have been $5,000, a large sum in the desperate days of the Depression. By contrast, Fords and Chevrolets cost $500 to $900 during that same era.
Deep-pocketed buyers such as chewing gum tycoon Philip Wrigley, tire-maker Harvey Firestone and chemical manufacturer Willard Dow were among the original owners.
Taylor said his Scarab did not come with any of the initial paperwork, but rumor was that Dan Topping - who became an owner of the New York Yankees in 1945 - was the first buyer.
The automobiles were hand-built, and no two Scarabs were alike.
Stout headed up Stout Engineering Laboratories in Dearborn, Mich. In aviation circles, he is best remembered for his part in designing and building what would become Henry Ford's Tri-Motor airplane, known as the "Tin Goose."
Including prototypes, a total of nine Scarabs were built under his supervision, according to Curtis.
"He thought it would be a great thing to sell for businessmen to have meetings on the road," Curtis said. "That was his target audience. It wasn't built as a minivan. But starting production in the Depression was a chancy thing at best."
The Stout Scarab failed to capture America's imagination. Curtis said timing played a significant role in the failure. "It was like a custom-built car. Very expensive," he said. "But it wasn't anything that movie stars really wanted."
Taylor's Scarab has been shown at three car shows, earning Best of Class and People's Choice at a show in Hilton Head, S.C. In March, he plans to enter it at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance in Florida.
"Oh," he said, "it's a very fascinating automobile. You have some people say it's pretty, and some say it's the ugliest thing they ever saw."
Staff writer Michael Futch can be reached at futchm@fayobserver.com or 486-3529.
By Michael Futch
Staff writer
http://www.fayobserver.com/Articles/2010/01/03/963373
LUMBERTON - Dick Taylor doesn't drive his 1936 Stout Scarab around Lumberton much.
But it's hard to miss when he does.
The eccentric and visionary Stout Scarab - with its short, stubby nose and streamlined shape - has been called a predecessor of the minivan.
But back in the 1930s, pioneering aircraft designer William Bushnell Stout wasn't thinking about soccer moms or family transportation. Stout envisioned the car as an office-on-wheels, complete with fold-out table.
The 16-foot-long Scarab is a sight to behold. Picture the tear-drop shape of an old Greyhound bus, or the body of a postwar airplane on wheels. Or a stretched-out Volkswagen bug, an unsurprising comparison since the Scarab is also named for a beetle.
"It's funky looking. There's a lot of aircraft design in it," said Peter Curtis of the Owls Head Transportation Museum in Owls Head, Maine. The museum owns one of the world's few Scarabs.
Only eight or nine of the vehicles - the jury is out on just how many units were produced - were built from 1934 to 1939.
And Taylor, an 81-year-old life insurance salesman who lives in Lumberton, owns one of them.
He's a collector.
His fleet of vintage automobiles includes a 1941 Mercedes Benz custom-built for Nazi leader Hermann Goering; a 1948 Davis three-wheeler; and a 1949 Chevrolet convertible. Among his prized 33 vehicles, Taylor calls the Scarab the most fascinating.
"It was so revolutionary," he said. "That's the thing about the Scarab. It's just an aerodynamically designed automobile ahead of its time."
Curtis, the museum director, said the Scarab featured several innovations. "It was one of the first vehicles made for the public with four-wheel independent suspension, rear-engine drive. Ground effect. It was all-clad underneath, like a race car. The thing actually handles wonderfully."
The Stout Scarab was the first car without running boards. It was built with electric door locks. The interior is comfortable and roomy, with a table and movable chairs.
And since it was built of aluminum - making it lighter than most cars - the Scarab gets a creditable 18.8mpg from its Ford flathead V-8 motor.
Taylor keeps his fully restored automobile in storage in a warehouse. "Very seldom," he noted, has he driven it. And then only for tooling around Lumberton.
He bought the Scarab from Bill Harrah's estate in the 1980s, after the casino entrepreneur died. Taylor paid $20,000 for it.
"It was all there," he said. "It was just raggedy."
Over the years, he has sunk another $300,000 or so into its restoration.
His vintage Scarab is a dazzling mint green with Firestone whitewall tires, elegantly fanned rear grillwork, extended fenders, 11 windows and six scoops on the side.
"It was very innovative," Taylor said. "You didn't have any American automobiles with the motor in the rear. It was revolutionary that it didn't have running boards. It has one really big bucket seat."
He won't speculate on how much the car is worth. "I don't know," he said. "None have been sold."
Since only half-a-dozen Stout Scarabs are known to exist, Curtis said these rare vehicles are "worth what anybody would want it to be worth. Whatever anybody is willing to pay for them."
Initially, that would have been $5,000, a large sum in the desperate days of the Depression. By contrast, Fords and Chevrolets cost $500 to $900 during that same era.
Deep-pocketed buyers such as chewing gum tycoon Philip Wrigley, tire-maker Harvey Firestone and chemical manufacturer Willard Dow were among the original owners.
Taylor said his Scarab did not come with any of the initial paperwork, but rumor was that Dan Topping - who became an owner of the New York Yankees in 1945 - was the first buyer.
The automobiles were hand-built, and no two Scarabs were alike.
Stout headed up Stout Engineering Laboratories in Dearborn, Mich. In aviation circles, he is best remembered for his part in designing and building what would become Henry Ford's Tri-Motor airplane, known as the "Tin Goose."
Including prototypes, a total of nine Scarabs were built under his supervision, according to Curtis.
"He thought it would be a great thing to sell for businessmen to have meetings on the road," Curtis said. "That was his target audience. It wasn't built as a minivan. But starting production in the Depression was a chancy thing at best."
The Stout Scarab failed to capture America's imagination. Curtis said timing played a significant role in the failure. "It was like a custom-built car. Very expensive," he said. "But it wasn't anything that movie stars really wanted."
Taylor's Scarab has been shown at three car shows, earning Best of Class and People's Choice at a show in Hilton Head, S.C. In March, he plans to enter it at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance in Florida.
"Oh," he said, "it's a very fascinating automobile. You have some people say it's pretty, and some say it's the ugliest thing they ever saw."
Staff writer Michael Futch can be reached at futchm@fayobserver.com or 486-3529.
