Restoration

The Stutz Story

This is a story of a Stutz Speedster that my father once owned. I found the car in Ashfield, MA in 1953 with a friend Herbert Foster as we explored the backroads of Western Massachusetts that summer. 

The car picture is as it was purchased by its present owner in 2018. The picture is one that I painted for the current owner of the car in Feb 2019. The car has  documented ownership since 1949. Together we are trying to close the gap back to its production in 1929. We may never succeed, but the hunt keeps the adrenaline flowing with each new tidbit we find. 

The pictures itself is a story in a story. The farmhouse has a broken window, The barn on the right has another old car, the name Miller on the house means something. The Le Mans poster tells yet another story. The owner received the picture and it added to the excitement of him restoring the car. First you get a painting of the car in all its glory. After that they'll be pictures of the disassembled car. It's going to take a while to finish this story. Check back now and then to get an update. 

Le Mans Stutz Dash

Stutz had a fantastic history of racing early in its inception and towards the end of its production. Cars were entered in the Le Mans 24 hour race in France for the years 1928, 29 and 30. They featured supercharged SV-16 engines, the standard engine produced for those years. It had a Roots type supercharger on front of the engine. When engaged it ran all the time through the RPM ranges. The car placed 2nd in the 1928 with a Bentley winning the race. The fuel tanks leaking in 1929 led to one car finishing 5th. Once again, Bentley's were ahead of the Stutz cars.

In the 1930 race both cars had failures and did not finish. One car caught fire and the other car had a broken axle. Nevertheless, it was an American success and the 1928 2nd place was the best American finish until a Ford won in 1966.

The picture is a painting I did showing the dash and its modifications from a 1929 car. Additional instruments were added to the dash for the driver. All the cars were right hand drive. To engage the supercharger the lever to the left of the steering wheel was pulled pulled out. While doing the painting I imagined being at those races hearing the sounds and smelling the fumes of fuel and oil. Being in the pit crew had to be exciting.