After he had finished the restoration of his 1936 Stout Scarab, Ron Schneider took it to a prestigious car show in Michigan. Two suited Chrysler executives looked over the car. As they turned to go, one said to the other, “So, who’s going to tell Lee he didn’t invent the minivan?” There have been instances when the Scarab was likened to a minivan, but despite resemblances, it is far more innovative than a minivan.
William Stout – the man
The Scarab was the brainchild of William Bushnell Stout an aeronautical engineer, toymaker, industrial designer, president of the Society of Automotive Engineers, writer and editor. Born in Quincy, Illinois, in March 1880, he was credited with more innovations than Edison. He designed the Ford Trimotor airplane, an air-conditioned bed, improved theater seating, the Pullman Railplane (the first gasoline-powered streamlined train), and an incredible and influential—albeit not very successful—automobile.
Because of an abnormal intolerance for light, he spent much of his time inside whittling toys, which earned him the nickname “Jack Knife.” His whittling led him to write a column about toys, and that made him enough money to pay for his college education. After college and an unsuccessful attempt to build a cyclecar, he focused on journalism as a career, becoming the technical editor for the Chicago Tribune before shifting to the staffs of Motor Age and The Automobile and then founding Aerial Age magazine. During WWI, he became the chief engineer of Packard’s aircraft division, where he was an early proponent of all-metal airplanes. After the war, he established Stout Engineering Laboratories and built the first commercial American monoplane. A contract with the Navy to build the first all-metal airplane went badly when pilot error caused the plane to crash and put Stout’s company into insolvency.
His next company was the Stout Metal Airplane Company, and in a brash move, he sent letters to the richest men in Detroit saying, “Give me just $1,000—no more no less—and I’ll promise that you’ll lose your shirt. But you’ll get your money’s worth in fun.” The company issued 128 shares to investors, who included Ralph Budd, Walter Chrysler, Fred Fisher, Edsel Ford and Bunkie Knudsen. With their money, he began the development of the all-metal airplane that became the Ford Trimotor. Ford Motor Company bought the company in 1925, but Stout remained Vice President and General Manager while the airplane was developed. The sale was allowed by Stout’s investors on the condition that Stout use their profits in a new venture of his choosing. The new venture was Stout Air Services, the first exclusive passenger service planes in the U.S. The purchase of the company in 1929 by United Aircraft and Transport Company, now known as United Air Lines, funded the revival of Stout Engineering Laboratories to do aeronautical research and development.
William Stout and automobiles
Stout believed that “the current automobile is as obsolete . . . as the horse-drawn vehicle,” and he set out to build a modern automobile. He created the Stout Motor Car Corporation, in 1932, to build a fresh new car using aviation technology. Once again, he asked wealthy people to fund his project, and stakeholders included Willard Dow of Dow Chemical and Philip K. Wrigley of Wrigley Chewing Gum. Stout’s approach to the design was displayed in bold letters in the drafting room, where it said: “SIMPLICATE AND ADD LIGHTNESS.” This car would have a monocoque structure like an airplane and would eliminate anything on the outside that caused drag or that wasted space on the inside. He chose the name “Scarab” because it had an exoskeleton like the Egyptian Scarab beetle, which was held sacred by the Egyptians as a symbol of creativity.
The prototype debuted in January 1935, and Stout announced that 100 cars would be built for owners selected by Stout. They sold for $5,000, more than four times the cost of a Lincoln Zephyr. Counting the prototype, only nine were actually built, although a fiberglass Project Y was built in 1946. It was called Stout 46 or Scarab II, but at a projected price of $10,000, there were no orders and the project was abandoned. The car was noticeably different from the earlier Scarabs, but it included many of the innovations pioneered by Stout. Stout continued to use the Scarab II as his family car until 1951. The original prototype sat in a field behind the company’s facilities until the early 1940s, when it was hauled away and likely destroyed. Of the rest of Stout’s Scarabs, five production cars and the Project Y still exist. Numbers 2-6 are in private hands, and the Project Y now resides at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan.
The first production version of the Scarab was first shown in November 1935. Owners of the first few included Stout, Dow, Harvey Firestone, Robert Stranahan (Champion Spark Plugs) and Wrigley. All of the cars were driven extensively, except for Wrigley’s, which he kept at his summer home until 1964.
Ron Schneider’s Scarab
While he owns cars of a few other marques, Ron Schneider is a fan of Ford vehicles. His preference for Ford vehicles may have led him to own two of the existing Scarabs, since many of their parts were sourced from Ford. He already owned Scarab when he went looking for a parts car to complete the restoration of #3. A friend put him in touch with Dick Stamm, a collector in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, whose car had all the parts Schneider needed. Stamm’s Scarab was originally owned by Stranahan, who had it at least until the beginning of WWII. It was next reported in Jacksonville, Florida, where it was in poor condition, painted blue and white and covered with advertisements. Bill Harrah bought it in the 1960s. It was next sold in the first Harrah’s auction, and Stamm, who knew the car from when he was growing up, bought it.
Initially, Stamm wanted to keep and restore the car. He was very helpful during Schneider’s attempt to restore. Stamm’s car was complete while Schneider’s was not, so Stamm sent a seat to Schneider for replication, and he sent drawings and a video as well. When Stamm eventually decided to sell the car in 1987, Schneider bought it. Then Schneider discovered that too many of the parts he needed were different. For example, the door configurations were different—#3 was the only Scarab with a right front door, and #4 was the only one with a roll-down right front window. Schneider had a dilemma; he could not use #4 as a parts car, so he either needed to do nothing with it or do it all. After a week’s deliberation, he decided to do it all. As he worked on #4, he did the same work on #3. His goal was to have #4 in the Great American Race in 1988, but as usually happens with projects of this magnitude, #4 was finished four weeks before the 1989 race. In the race, the car encountered overheating problems in hot weather, solved by replacing a bad cylinder head. None of the unique features on the Scarab have ever proven to be a problem; the only problems are those that all cars of this era experience.
Scarab #4
Production Scarabs were different from the prototype in a number of ways, including their final production shape. Schneider related a story he had been told about how the final shape was selected. The story is that Dow was visiting Stout and looking over the design. He was not impressed with those designs. While they were meeting, Lester Johnson, who had done the interior design, brought a rendering he had prepared independently for Stout to see. When he realized Stout had a visitor, he left the drawing in the outer office. As Dow left the meeting, he saw the drawing and said he’d buy that car. It became the final design for the Scarab. Johnson’s drawing was also used in the only paid ad Stout ever placed for the car, and that was in Fortune magazine.
The exterior of the Scarab was uncommon for the time, as it had a monocoque chassis, common in aircraft design and increasingly popular for trains, but not commonly used for automobiles. The prototype had aluminum panels over a welded molybdenum tube frame. To save money, the production cars had all-steel bodies. Stout eliminated anything that would affect the car’s ability to slip through the air. There were no running boards or door handles, and it had a flat belly pan—nothing to interrupt its aerodynamics. Wheels were enclosed by the body, and lights were integrated into the fenders. It was shaped to make it easier to steer in all wind directions, a property to which Schneider attests. Windows were slanted inward both because of the car’s shape and to reduce reflections at night. Without running boards and separate fenders, the Scarab could be the same width as other cars but have increased interior space.
The shape of the car is incredible for its time. Automotive Industries magazine said its lines were “modernistic,” and they certainly were—modernistic and very Art Deco, although that was probably not foremost in Stout’s mind when he conceived the automobile. A tour of Schneider’s car shows just how much the car was ahead of its time. The nose of the car is emblazoned with a winged Scarab, its streamlined wings serving as fresh air intakes and stretching from the beetle’s body nearly to the grille-covered headlights. A line starts at the bumper and goes upward and under the beetle to form a pillar that separates the two parts of the slanted, double-V windshield. The body is contoured from its widest point at the lower part of the body to its rounded roof. On the driver’s side is a single lightweight, cast magnesium door with flush hinges that is opened by an electric pushbutton. The passenger side is clean back to the passenger door near the rear. This door is also lightweight, hingeless, and operated by an electric pushbutton. On both sides, behind the rear windows and at the rear wheels, are air scoops, over which Stout placed chrome speedlines. At the rear, a wonderful waterfall of grillwork covers the rear window and flows over the radiator opening to the rear bumper. The exterior details are smooth and beautiful.
All Scarabs were gray-green when they were produced. The story behind the color is that the painter was allergic to most paints except for this particular gray-green. Schneider’s #4 is the only remaining Scarab restored in that color, which adds to its exceptional provenance.
Stout intended the interior of the car to be incredibly versatile. For that reason, he moved the wheels to the corners, lowered the floorpan, and moved the engine and transmission to the rear. The result was a car of standard length and width with exceptional interior space—thus the suggestion that the Scarab may have been the first minivan.
Inside the car, only two seats were fixed—the driver’s seat and the rear bench seat, which was a folding berth on one of the cars. Two passenger seats were moveable, as was the folding table that could be used for games or as a desk—Stout having wanted the car to be a mobile office for its owners. All of the seats reclined, and the driver’s seat is on an adjustable track; all seat frames were cast magnesium. Schneider’s #4 has all of these amenities except for the folding berth—his rear seat is fixed. The seat cushion material is comfortable foam rubber. Ventilation is excellent—air flows in from the louvers in the nose and out through the backlite, which rolls down. With three cigar lighters, flow-through ventilation was probably important when the car was built. The Scarab also came with a radio, two glove boxes and center-mounted instruments. For climate control, it had a hot water heater under the rear seat and a Southwind gas heater in the front. An optional defroster could be ordered, but it wasn’t popular, since it got so hot it cracked the windshield glass.
The most interesting interior feature is the woven wicker headliner. During the restoration, Schneider found a woman who was a chair caner and convinced her to weave a new headliner. Delayed briefly when her pet rabbit chewed a corner of it, it was finally installed in the car. Schneider suspects that there were a couple reasons for a wicker headliner. First, it was a familiar material used on aircraft seats, and second, it conforms very well to the curves of the interior of the roof. Whatever the reason, it is quite attractive and feels appropriate for this car.
Stout’s relationship with Ford during the development of the Trimotor was good, so he used many Ford components in the Scarab. The most important assembly he used on the car was an 85 hp, approximately 221- cid Ford L-head V8 engine, which he mounted backward in the rear of the car. Stout wanted weight over the drive wheels, and the resultant weight distribution was 1/3rd front and 2/3rd rear. In the prototype, the engine and transmission were mounted ahead of the differential, but in the production cars, the engine is over the differential, which is driven by a six-row chain that transmits the power from the three-speed transmission to the differential. The transmission is a Ford three-speed, slightly modified to fit. The drivetrain is mounted on its own subframe, so it can be removed with the rear axles. Since it is all Ford, it had the advantage that it could be maintained at any Ford shop.
Scarabs had four-wheel independent suspension, but they were far from sports cars. It was designed for a smooth ride rather than handling. The front suspension was a Stout-designed A-arm with a coilover strut. The top mounts were just under the windshield, so the center of gravity is lower than the supporting points. Rear suspension consisted of single trailing arms and two transverse leaf springs, one on top of the other. The car handles fairly flat, but Schneider says “if pushed hard, it starts with severe understeer, then severe oversteer.” Stout touted the smooth ride and claimed to have driven from Detroit to California without spilling a drop of water from a glass of water on the dashboard. Stopping was typical of the era, using mechanical, cable-operated Bendix brakes, the same ones as used on the 1936-’38 Lincoln Zephyrs.
Driving impressions
Make no mistake, this is a big car, but it seems amazingly light when moving. Starting requires adjusting the driver’s seat, putting the gear lever in neutral, pulling out the choke, and turning the key. The car is equipped with “Startix” by Bendixm which cranks the engine when the key is turned and automatically disengages the starter when the car starts. The car also has a starter button in the rear so the car can be started when being maintained.
The clutch is smooth and easy—standard Ford of the time. The shifter has the standard pattern, but the throws are long side-to-side, and it is a little stiff to shift. It doesn’t take long to get used to the shifter, though, and Schneider, amazingly calm in the passenger seat, and I were soon moving down the street for a fun drive. The steering is surprisingly light, but the car has a very wide turning circle. That’s not much of a problem, though, once out of tight quarters and onto the open road.
Acceleration is good—again a bit of a surprise for a car that seems so big. It’s really not much bigger than a Ford or Chevy of the time, but with its enormous interior and considerable headroom it’s hard to get over the impression that it is just very big. Stops are without drama. The brakes work well for a ’30s car, and the pedal effort is reasonable.
This car rolls down the road very well. Schneider has put 16,000 miles on it since its restoration and recently did a 250-mile round trip in it. The car really has no vices. It still does everything Stout said it would and still does it all well. It is comfortable to ride in and to drive. The faster it goes, the better it feels, although I did not try to achieve its 80 mph top speed, nor test its penchant for understeer/oversteer when pushed in corners. It is just a very nice highway cruiser, as it was designed to be. There is nearly no wind noise because of Stout’s expertise in aerodynamic design. Even at highway speeds, a normal-level conversation is possible without raising your voice.
When driving someone else’s rare automobile, there is always a bit of anxiety. In the Scarab, that anxiety quickly went away. The car almost felt familiar after a few minutes of driving. I hated to give it up when we returned to the shop, but I set the parking brake, which sets all four brakes, and turned off the engine. That was fun, and I was pleased to have had that opportunity.
The Stout Scarab is an incredible automobile. It was not successful in the marketplace because it was very expensive and very different. It is an example of a car that violated Raymond Loewy’s motto: “MAYA, Most Advanced Yet Acceptable.” It was very advanced, but it was a car only a few people could afford and even fewer would consider. “It has a lot of neat things for the day,” said Schneider. “It even has some things we don’t have today.”
SPECIFICATIONS
Body/Chassis: Monocoque steel
Length: 194-inches
Wheelbase: 135-inches
Width: 71-inches (width of interior 67 inches)
Height: 69-inches
Weight: Approximately 3500 pounds
Suspension: Front – independent, A-arms, coil springs, hydraulic shock absorbers. Rear – independent, single trailing arm, two transverse leaf springs, hydraulic shock absorbers
Engine: L-head V8
Displacement: Believed to be 221-cid
Power: 85 hp
Fuel Consumption: 18 mpg
Transmission: Ford column-mounted, three-speed
Clutch: Standard Ford
Differential: Standard Ford
Brakes: Bendix four-wheel cable-operated mechanical
Wheels: Ford 16 x 4 inches pressed steel
Tires: 6.25 x 16-inches
