Searching For Bearcat Motors Amphicars

[Mark Richardson]

Another Bearcat car found!

Yes, story to follow.........

 

[Mark Richardson]

Another Bearcat Car Found!

This time one of the Bearcat Amphicars with the distinctive bow railings has been found and a new member has been welcomed to our Amphicar owner community.

Dave Champion is the new owner, but the original purchaser was Dr. Byron Lutes, who bought 106 521 898 on August 11, 1967 for $2988.00. It was delivered to him at his home in Oxford, MI four days later by Yusif (Bearcat) Barakat himself. Dr. Lutes practiced medicine in the Detroit area for more than 50 years until his passing in 2016.

DR. BYRON B LUTES., M.D.,FACS, PhD

Much about the whereabouts and journey of the car has sadly been lost, but the condition of it today is very original. It still has most of the factory parts and systems intact including the original muffler, belts and hoses, Ceat tires, and rear seat base. Also, some Bearcat dealer accessories including cleats and the now infamous bow railing are still intact some 60 years later! I searched for evidence of the Bearcat sticker but none was found as it was removed sometime in the past quite successfully. No matter, the VIN tells me which Bearcat car this is, and Dave now has the original paperwork from the day it was sold and delivered in 1967.


This car was revealed to many of us on Facebook Marketplace several months ago but was located in a Detroit impound lot. It had been there for many years, seemingly forgotten and abandoned to the harsh Michigan weather in plain sight until Dave came along and through some luck and a great deal of perseverance was able to locate the owner and rescue it from this gritty prison for neglected vehicles. That is a shady story of intrigue and deceit itself that Dave himself can tell you over a beer someday.

Every part and system of this car will be removed and documented before full restoration is done. Dave is a very accomplished body man and mechanic so is up for the challenge once he becomes immersed in the unique world of these little cars and parts. The car will be used in the St. Clair River area north of Detroit with great enthusiasm becoming part of a swimming group of other cars nearby.

While visiting the car Dave revealed some papers found in the glove box that upon closer inspection revealed the name Johnny Henderson on a vehicle registration for a 1971 Lincoln. Recognizing the name, I found that Johnny Henderson is the same person that originally purchased the only other Bearcat car with a bow railing known to exist, the red demo Bearcat car owned by Dr. Craig Oiler Matt DeSano found! How did Johnny wind up with Dr. Lutes car four years after he bought it? Maybe the cocktail waitress Claire can tell us? She gave him 3 business cards which he kept in the glove box.


I look forward to seeing the car once done and hope to welcome Dave and his family with this newly discovered Bearcat car at swims in the near future!

 

[Mark Richardson]

Update:

I have found (sort of) 2 more BearCat cars recently and while still searching for their current location, have discovered a place and time where I am sure they were.

The first I only have a picture of but do not know the VIN number or year although it looks like a late car with raised lips and chrome vent window, but had a painted white dash rather than black. It was a white car located in Jackson, Michigan around 2001 and carried the marine number MC1801GA. I do not know the name of the seller but have narrowed it down to 7 or 8 possible cars from the total 18 white cars sold.

Here is a picture of it;
View attachment 3194
View attachment 3195

The other car I stumbled across is also a 1967 white car VIN number 106 522 496 originally purchased by Donald Williams on 4/14/1967 from BearCat Motors. I know it was sold in Boston to a school bus driver, but nothing else.

As you can see, finding and piecing together the history of these cars to find the current owners can be challenging due to the lack of records and the time that has elapsed. Many of the owners are no longer around or extremely difficult to find. The cars themselves may not exist any longer either, but searching goes on.

I have the starting information from 1967, and sometimes the ending current owner, or any point of time in between that 55 year time span. If anyone knows more about these 2 cars or would check your VIN records to see if your car matches the list above, I may be able to reunite the car with the original sales information. It will increase the value of your car!

Working on more updates on a couple other cars with a very interesting stories!

Update 1\5\2026 Found a couple pictures of this car in better condition. Still unknown but cool to have more history of it.

 

[Mark Richardson]

Another BEARCAT car found!

This blue 1967 Amphicar VIN# 106 523 041 was recently located not far from the original sale location in Detroit. It has survived all these years and at least 2 scrap yards, but here it is sitting in a pole barn in original condition. MC 9209 GF is safely stored indoors and is original condition showing no restoration efforts other than the engine cover and engine being removed. Marine sticker expired in 1974.

The car was originally sold on 10/13/1967 to Don O'Brien for $2,988.00 and delivered by Bearcat himself to the owner’s home in Farmington, Mi. Don traded in a 1962 Ford Galaxie 500 4 door which has was paid $675.64.

There are some records of the sale from Ranchero Motors to Bearcat Motors on May 15, 1967 for $1718.00. There are several service records to repair or replace parts over the next few months under warranty, but midway through October was late in the boating season and the life of Bearcat Motors itself. Ranchero Motors had already announced there would be no more cars other than some 1968 cars grandfathered into the country ahead of the new safety regulations.

The car was found with some of the original accessories and still has the Bearcat Motors decal on the back. It has the tell-tale cleats installed on each side of the cowl near the windshield and deck lid. Being one of the blue cars they sold, it is possible this car was used in the film for the Detroit Boat show at Cobo Hall. This footage can be seen on my YouTube page.

The car needs restoration and an engine rebuild to become useable again, a process many of us have endured in the past with cars that have survived intact but a little worse for wear given the years and conditions in Michigan, especially the winter.

You can see in the pictures that the radio shown on the invoice is gone as well as the tachometer, which was not installed in the glove box lid as others. It came with the marine distress kit and swim ladder, but I could not find either of these items in this initial inspection.

We could not remove the car from the building to take better pictures of the condition, but will try to check back on the progress of the restoration once it begins and provide an update.

This is the 16th car I have located out of 47 sold by Bearcat. I am still looking and need VIN codes so I can send you the paperwork!