How much would you pay to look dumb and/or dumber? Come on, that’s a serious question, and it’s not derogatory in any way. The Mutt Cutts van from “Dumb and Dumber” is one seriously underrated film car, and you could own a rather convincing replica. This slice of nostalgia is up for auction on Cars & Bids, and it’s sure to set a record for 1993 Ford E-150s. After all, how much are these things normally worth? Twenty dollars?
Welcome back to Gavel Gazing, a regular series where we share what’s piqued our interests on the online auction block. Friday’s “MacGruber” Miata pulled an incredible $55,000, which means whoever bought it will have it personally delivered by Will Forte. It turns out, film provenance can add a hell of a lot of value. Who knew?
In case you haven’t watched “Dumb and Dumber,” Jeff Daniels’ character drives a carpet-wrapped cargo van previously used for a dog grooming business that takes main characters Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne most of the way to Aspen on a mission to return a briefcase to its owner, blissfully unaware that it contains ransom money.
Unsurprisingly for a film that grossed $247,275,374 worldwide, “Dumb and Dumber” is seared into the childhoods of ’90s kids like a brand on a steer, and any replica of the iconic Mutt Cutts van is sure to attract a crowd. Sure, you could buy enough carpet for a postwar bungalow and build you own, but this one’s ready to go.
According to the seller, this E-150 was converted into a film tribute by a company called Lawyer Garage in 2020, and taking a quick look around, this doesn’t seem to be the only film tribute vehicle Lawyer Garage has done. From a nicely-done replica of Mater from “Cars” to the Mirthmobile from “Wayne’s World,” this is one collection that has a little bit of everything. Anyway, I’m getting distracted here.
This Mutt Cutts van is much like any other Econoline van, save for the minor detail of, erm, detailing. Keeping externally-mounted Berber carpet clean sounds like a nightmare, but what do I know? Maybe you just hose the whole vehicle down with Scotchgard every so often and call it good. Still, this van is more practical as it seems upon first glance as it comes with three rows of seating, a nice-looking conversion van interior, and an opening hood. Alright, the last feature is a low bar to clear, but art cars aren’t often this thought-out.
Speaking of good ideas, the seller claims that “An auxiliary fan has been installed to prevent overheating. I’ve been stuck in traffic numerous times with no issues.” While we’re on the subject of powertrain stuff, this Econoline is fitted with Ford’s iconic 300 cubic-inch inline-six hitched to a three-speed automatic transmission, so while nobody could describe this van as quick, it’ll keep going forever.
Oh, and there’s something included in this auction for two-wheeler fans — a matching minibike like the one from the film. Featuring the requisite patched banana seat and red paint job, it should get you to Aspen, so long as you don’t get caught.
With three days left to go on the auction, this Mutt Cutts van is already commanding a strong high bid of $23,000, but if you’ve got $25,000 we’re saying there’s a chance you could win it. That’s big money for a statement piece, but if you’ve seen what DeLoreans are going for these days, this van’s high bid certainly isn’t outrageous. Here’s hoping whoever wins it makes the most annoying sound in the world as soon as they get the keys.
(Photo credits: Cars & Bids)
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The mini-bike seems like the better buy.
The chance of me buying this is more like 1 in a million.
OUR PETS HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!!!
Seems like there are a lot of these actually. I think the one in Branson that was sold as a movie prop version was proven to be a replica as well.
Oh, that’s wonderful! Want it 😎
This is awesome! One of my favorite movies…I’ll take it!
Haven’t seen the movie, not my thing.
What’s under the fuzz? Padding? Don’t have to worry much about small dings.
When I saw the first picture, the way the second set of T’s is inverted, I thought it said Mutt Cums.
I think for future we need an Adobe.
As long as it does not come with the most annoying sound
https://youtu.be/S4AmLcBLZWY?si=J2TIkz0aul8fg1GH&t=53
Craptastic. I will offer $3.50. It is not the film van so a carpet van which we know nothing.
Yeah, I guess it’s an OK idea, but all the little details that aren’t quiiiiiite right throw off the whole thing and make if feel…I dunno, bad or something. I never would have thought so before seeing the reality of this, but now I’m thinking if you can’t get it perfect, don’t bother trying.
Yeah, that’s the danger with replicas. There’s almost always something just a little off. (This one feels like it’s a little farther off than some, but I’m sure it’s hard to work with carpet and get it right. No idea why they did the nose differently, though.)
it’s the leg covering the rear wheel mostly I think. Not even close. Seems like it would have been easy to match the movie prop on that.
The nose is wrong, too. And the movie version had a bit of extra pile in kind of a ridge on the hood. There’s a lot that’s a little wrong. But, yeah, the leg kind of stands out.
I hope the buyer really enjoys it, but I do not see that much value.
¯\_ȌᴥȌ_/¯