Tulsa Oil Muffler Man – Sold!

Once again American Giants has found a good home for a vintage Muffler Man. The sale ended on Oct 26 for this vintage original Tulsa Oil giant that also spent time as a Bunyan for Rex Trailer’s Boom Town show. His history continues, doing time at Sea Crest in Lyn MA in the 70s. We are excited to announce that the Uranus Fudge Factory had the high offer and he will be restored by Re-Giant. Check out the video below to see when we discovered him and pulled him out of a junk yard.

Tulsa Oil Muffler Man High Offer = Uranus Fudge Factory

High Offer Status =Sale Ended – Offer Accepted

Send questions or comments to usagiants.com

UPDATE!! – Logo discovered on chest reveals that this was no standard Bunyan but an oil giant made for Tulsa Oil in New England (not to be confused with Tulsa, OK). The giant originally had a white shirt and was one of three known giants used by Tulsa OIL and parent company Gibbs Oil in Revere, MA. The logo is still visible under the red paint on the chest of the giant linking him to the oil industry and making him a very rare survivor for the Tulsa gas stations. Full story and update can be found here with pictures. Special thank to Josh Sanders for historical research and discovery.

HISTORY  This rare Tulsa Oil muffler man has deep New England roots and a fascinating backstory that makes him one of the most historically significant giants around. He was originally ordered by Tulsa Oil and eventually owned by Gibbs Oil in Revere Mass. The company had a at least 3 of these oil advertising giants in the mid to late 60s and early 70s. He possibly was loaned to Boston’s channel 4 for promotional use and appeared on Rex Trailer’s famous kids western show “Boom Town,” but this is unconfirmed. From there he most likely spent some time on his back at Gibbs in Revere and was eventually moved to Lynn, MA, and set up at Seacrest auto dealership. At Seacrest, he stood alongside a chief muffler man, both attracting customers to the lot, and during this time the Bunyan lost his head either from a storm or vandalism, though the dealership preserved it indoors and later reinstalled it. Both giants eventually came down in the 1980s, with the chief moving to North Carolina and the Bunyan spending several years at the Topsfield fair before landing in a salvage yard. By the 1990s, he was moved again to another salvage yard in Amesbury, where he remained in storage for about 30 years. In 2019, American Giants documented and visited him for the first time, and in 2025 he was purchased and moved to Re-Giant’s restoration shop in Illinois. This is a true piece of Americana with proven Boston oil history, a rare opportunity to own an authentic Muffler Man with many stories behind him and a new life ahead. The old Tulsa logo is still visible on his chest. Special thank to Josh Sanders for historical research.

INFO  Statue is roughly 20ft tall with an estimated weight of 350 pounds (could be more). Statue has a broken foot and needs a restoration and is sold as is. All pieces are included in the sale and the giant is complete. Buyer is responsible for transport from Southern Illinois and Re-Giant can also be contacted for a restoration quote since the giant is currently being stored at the restoration facility. Giant is avaialble for emediate pickup after the sale but American Giants will give up to 6 months for buyer to come get the giant or transfer work to Re-Giant. This is considered a Bunyan version of Muffler Man but is one of about 6 that have the longer pant legs therefore making him one of a rare breed of Muffler Men. Statue is located near Marion, IL

International Fiberglass Santa Sold

Once again American Giants assisted a seller with the sale of their giant. The Santa statues are pretty rare and this is the first one we have had hit our site. If you have a giant you’d like to sell, we use our platform to reach your target audience and help you find the right buyer for the best price. We help you find the highest offer and we also help those who are looking for giants find the right seller. Keep an eye on this page for more sales and if you have a giant you’d like to sell please contact us. Also visit our Patreon page for much more information on these giants.

International Fiberglass Santa High Offer = ENDED

High Offer Status =Sale Ended

Send inquiries to info@usagiants.com

HISTORY  This original Santa was either made by Bob Prewitt in Lawndale, CA or possibly by International Fiberglass in Venice, CA after they purchased the mold from Bob. This particular one has unknown history of where he first went when he was made but we do know that he ended up in the Irvine, CA area by the 90s. He stood annually at Santa’s Garden a local seasonal Christmas garden center that sold trees and wreaths. In the early days he rotated between a few different shops but the last 10 years has only been located at the Irvine location. In the 90s he was stolen by some guys that had to much to drink at a nearby bar called Lucky John’s. The police were told to be on the lookout for the missing Santa. When an SUV went by with a Santa strapped to the roof the police gave chase. The Santa was recovered and even got his picture in the paper. The Santa was recently sold to a collector in Arizona who did not know what it was and discovered our Santa Video shortly after. Realizing there are collectors out there who like these freaky Santa’s he has decided to make it available in time for the Christmas season.

INFO  Statue is roughly 11ft tall with an estimated weight of 130 pounds (could be more). Statue has a missing foot and has some scuffs and scapes and is sold as is. Buyer is responsible for take down and transport. Seller will give up to a month for buyer to come get the giant. American Giants is available to help make a copy of the missing foot if needed. Statue is located near Phoenix, AZ

#63 Lake Luzerne, NY – Bunyan

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IMG_20120709_145251The Lake Luzerne Muffler Man statue has always been one of my favorites. Ever since I saw a photo at RoadsideAmerica.com of this Paul Bunyan standing in the woods without a head and coming apart at the waist, this unfortunate statue has intrigued me. It is located near Lake George, NY where there are five other Muffler Men.  Among them is the statue from the 1964 World’s Fair in New York now standing at Around the World Mini Golf in downtown Lake George. The rest of the area’s Muffler Men are located at Magic Forest, a recreational park for children.

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It is not known when the Lake Luzerne statue arrived. The earliest report is that it was already installed at the Swiss Campsites entrance in 1976 when the parents of Lynn Kinsman purchased the property.  Her parents changed the name of the campground to the Swiss Trail Campground and repainted the statue’s shirt to reflect the new name. After they sold the campground in 1985, the statue began falling apart and vegetation began obscuring it from view.

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Photo Credit Debra Jane Seltzer

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#62 Stony Point, NY – Bunyan

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IMG_20120704_131116In early 2012, I visited the Muffler Man in Stony Point, NY.  This statue is located at Camp Bullowa which is used for Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts activities.  It appears to be one of the early Paul Bunyans produced in the mid-1960s by International Fiberglass.  While I was at the Camp, I met Ranger Joe Langdon and spoke with him about the statue.  It is not known where this Muffler Man was located before it arrived at the Camp in the mid-1990s.  It stands next to the parking lot near the main entrance.

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#61 Elmsford, NY – Bunyan

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Picture Credit: Debra Jane Seltzer RoadsideArchitecture.com

Picture Credit: Debra Jane Seltzer RoadsideArchitecture.com

In July 2012, I had the opportunity to go to New York to visit some Muffler Men that I had not seen before.  My first stop was the Orange County Fairgrounds in Middletown to see “Chief Towaco”. This was an Indian Chief model that had been there since the 1970s.  Originally, this statue was one of three Indian models installed at the Danbury Fair in Danbury, CT.  Vintage photos show that this statue always had this strange looking, duct taped body.  At that point, his head was in normal condition and stayed that way until the giant was taken down.

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I arrived at the Orange County Fairgrounds on the 4th of July only to find out that the statue had been removed and trashed just two days earlier! I was told that the head was saved by one of the men who helped take the statue down. The rest of the body was hauled off to the dump. While I was at the Fairgrounds, I checked out the giant fiberglass cow head and some neat lights which came from the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

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#55 Libertyville, IL – Lumberjack

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Because they are rare it is always nice to come upon one of the 15 ft versions of muffler men. As I mentioned in AG Episode #1 after a few years of turning out the full size version of muffler men with great success, Steve Dashew owner of International Fiberglass wanted to offer customers more. He came up with the idea to make these shorter and lighter IMG_8770lumberjack versions in hopes of getting those customers that were put off by size or price when considering the 21 ft full size versions. They started making these guys around 1965 but unfortunately they were not all that popular and they stopped making them within a few years. They sold at least 20 of these guys however and many of them can still be found all across the 48 states today. The history of this one here at Lambs farm in Libertyville is a bit hazy but as far as I can tell he has been here since the mid or late 60’s and probably was ordered right from International Fiberglass. The story behind that started in 1961 when Bob Terese and Corinne Owen opened a pet store on Chicago’s State Street with 12 employees, the difference was that their employees all had developmental disabilities. Bob and Corinne’s mission was to help people with Screen Shot 2013-09-15 at 11.26.57 AMdevelopmental disabilities lead productive and happy lives. They quickly received support and growing recognition from the Chicago community and in 1965 they relocated 35 miles to the north near Libertyville where Philanthropist W. Clement Stone had purchased and donated a 70 acre farm. They restored the century old bard into the area’s largest pet stores and with the extra space they made new businesses to bring in more adults with disabilities into their program.

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#53 Crystal Lake, IL – Indian

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IMG_0346My #53 sighting of a muffler man stands not far from the service man also located at the Greenhouse in Crystal Lake, IL. The establishment is impressive with a wide variety of plants, tree’s and everything your lawn or garden could need. The grounds are also nicely lade out and in addition to their two muffler men they have many other statues and yard art that is available for purchase (the muffler men however are not for sale). The pair of muffler men were first reported on Roadside America in 1999 when they stood at the now gone Ozzies Waterpark that was IMG_0266located at 20263 Rand Road between Long Grove Road and Lake Cook Road. They stood close to each other and had different paint schemes at the time.

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#50 Wilmington, IL – Gemini Giant

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IMG_0105Probably the most famous muffler man standing today is the Gemini Giant in Wilmington, IL. He stands in the parking lot of the Launching Pad Restaurant and has been for the last 48 years. I’ve covered the different versions of muffler men on this blog and in my youtube series “American Giants” and the gemini giant belongs the rarest version, the spaceman. In the mid 60’s we were in them middle of the space race and in June of that year Gemini 4 was launched, it was the second manned space flight in NASA’s project Gemini. As these events were unfolding in Cape Canaveral the guys at international fiberglass in California decided to keep up with the times and make a new variation to their muffler man line. And so the space man was born.

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#48 Atlanta, IL – Bunyons Giant

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IMG_9739The little town of Atlanta IL has become a big stop for motorists traveling old route 66. With a population of just 1,700 it boasts a very unique old route 66 downtown on Arch Street that also includes the towns very own muffler man named Tall Paul. The area also includes an old diner, clock tower, route 66 antique store as well as other quant businesses. The muffler man is one of most iconic muffler men that exist today and the only one I know of to hold a giant hot dog. He appears to be a Bunyan version except for his clean shaven face and the lack of a knit cap. IMG_9707International fiberglass customized many of their giants to meet the customers needs so he is a bit of a cross breed with a cowboy head but with bunyan pants. He also appears to be made in the early days of International Fiberglass and is one of the few muffler men left to hold a custom accessory. I spotted him on our muffler man road trip last summer and he is a part of the first season of American Giants (episode #3).

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#47 Springfield, IL – Bunyan

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Standing tall in Springfield, IL the Lauterbach muffler man is one of the better known muffler men out there. He owes this mostly to his popular location standing on historic route 66 in west central Illinois. He appears across the internet in many pictures taken by visitors as well as in Gabriel Aldaz’s book. IMG_9657He is a classic bunyan version and is actually one of the first one’s made judging by the way his arms are connected to his body. This muffler man was featured in American Giants 2nd episode and myself and the guys visited him in the summer of 2012 and were able to get his story and history. In 1952 Russ Lewis started Midtown Tire where the Hilton hotel now stands. Business was good and in 1961 he opened up a second store at the corner of State and Laurel and in 1962 purchased what at the time was a brand new Bunyan giant from International Fiberglass in Venice, CA. IMG_9688In todays money a muffler man in 1962 sold for about $13,600, at the time that was about $1,300. Sadly that store only stayed open another year and when it closed the giant was sold to the Round up Cafe 24 miles to the south in Farmersville, IL. The giant stood there for the next 15 years until 1978 when I-55 was put in and the giant was sold back to the Lewis family. That same year the giant was set up on Wabash Ave at it’s current location and has now been there for 25 years. In 1962 he held a tire in his right hand and today he IMG_9691holds a flag pole, I have yet to see a picture from his days at the Roundup Cafe and I am not sure what he held during that time.

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