The power of friendship and a love of cars

The late Jim Miller was a mentor to legendary Canadian car guy Peter Klutt

Peter Klutt’s favourite quote is “the harder you work the luckier you get”. No wonder.

The founder of Legendary Motorcar Company, who began in 1985 as a sole proprietor, has grown his business into one of North America’s leading collector car sales and restoration companies, selling cars to collectors all over the world that can cost up to tens-of-millions of dollars. Today, almost 40 years later, he has 20 people working with him (including his entire family) and a state-of-the-art 75,000-square-foot showroom just outside of Toronto, Ontario that holds 100 vehicles.

A glimpse inside Klutt’s 75,000-square-foot showroom. View more here.

He is now revamping that showroom and in the process selling some of the related “decorations” at Miller & Miller’s Dec. 7th and 8th Petroliana and Advertising sales.

Peter’s connection to the auction house goes back a generation to Ethan and Justin Miller’s late father, Jim Miller, a renowned dealer of quality antiques and classic cars whose life was cut short by cancer in 2010. Peter and Jim were close friends, travelled to car auctions together and did more than a few business deals. Peter considered Jim a mentor, especially in the early years when he was a young man out of his comfort zone.

“What I most admired about Jim was that he was a gentleman and his word meant everything to him. He had integrity,” Peter says. “But he was also quite the salesman and knew how to maximize profit and hone in on why somebody should own something. Sometimes those traits aren’t always compatible, but they were with Jim.”

Peter both buys and sells cars all over the world, but says he specializes in one thing exclusively: “quality”. “A lot of that came from Jim,” he says, quoting his late friend who advised him “buy the best you can afford and sometimes buy the best you can’t afford”.

For the past 20 years Peter has also been hosting car-related TV shows: starting with two seasons of Classic Car Restorations, followed by 11 seasons of Dream Car Garage (a loveseat used on the set is in the Dec. 7th sale, lot 144). Then there were three seasons of Sports Car Revolution and more recently five seasons of Legendary Motorcar. A few of Jim Miller’s own cars were featured on Dream Car Garage – with the stipulation that Jim himself was never to appear on camera.

This Corbin 1951 Mercury Leather Loveseat was used on the set of Dream Car Garage. It is offered as lot 144 in the December 7th sale. It is estimated at $2,000-$2,500CA.

These days Peter focuses more on YouTube productions and his son does the Gary Klutt Podcast. In one of those podcasts Gary interviews his father who tells a funny story about Jim Miller, a 1929 Stutz Dual Cowl Phaeton, and one of Jim’s classic sales methods called the “buy back” offer.

Peter shares insight into his relationship with Jim Miller in this episode of The Gary Klutt Podcast.

Klutt’s “decorations” in the upcoming December auctions span from Coca-Cola advertising to petroliana. On Dec. 7th, there are two rare 1940s Coca-Cola curb signs, lot 54 and 55, estimated at $700 to $900CA and $900 to $1,200CA respectively. There’s also his Coca-Cola Vendo 44, lot 203. Named for its modest 44-bottle capacity, this compact bottle vendor is prized by collectors for its slim proportions, but was cursed in the day by the attendants who had to constantly restock them.

On Dec. 8th, lot 553 features Klutt’s 1920s painted wood En-ar-co Motor Oil trade sign. It depicts a life-sized version of the firm’s “Slate Boy” mascot with outstretched arms holding a chalkboard. The chalkboard was to be updated with “epigrams” (funny slogans) provided to service station owners by the company. They engaged motorists with clever lines, such as “More accidents are caused by tight nuts than loose ones” and “A prominent woman’s club: The rolling pin”. It carries an estimate of $4,000 to $6,000CA, and is authenticated by TAC (The Authentication Company).

Peter chose to sell with Miller & Miller Auctions because he says he “likes what they do – they’re a lot like their dad. They have integrity.”

Peter admired Jim Miller and was both amused and impressed by the way he did business. Over the years, Peter also bought some fine antiques from Jim for his own enjoyment. He remembers one instance when he didn’t know much about what he was about to buy, to which Jim advised, “Peter, if you don’t know your antiques, know your dealer”.

Another time, Jim came to see Peter with his trailer in tow carrying a 1956 Crown Victoria. In typical Jim style, he gave Peter one price if he bought it sight unseen and then quoted him a price that was $5,000 higher if he wanted to see it first. “That guy had the ability to sell like nobody else,” he laughs.

But looking back over those memorable times is also poignant for Peter. “When you’re young, it’s funny how influential some people can be but you don’t know it at the time.”