Engine out, 1st time in 79 years. Stolen from another board.

I'd just post the link but you have to be registered to view it so here ya go.

"Yesterday I helped my friend Carl pull the engine from his 1930 Stutz Speedster. The car is one of three made that year and has had a pretty easy life. By the ownership chain going back almost 60 years, and folks who are still living, he believes the engine has never been out of the car. The restoration on the car was done in the early 1950's. But the engine has had some bottom end noise for some time, and he wants it right. So out it came."


We've just pulled the massive hood off a couple weeks ago. Carl will continue disassembling the front of the car. The body on this car was built by Lebaron and is aluminum.



With the front end of the car removed, Dave and Carl are manning the hois


The engine is 322 CI, a straight 8 with a single overhead cam, and twin plug ignition. There was also a 32 valve DOHC option available. There are no belts, but the fan and other accessories are driven off a massive chain behind the front cover. The engine is going over to a builder in the Detroit area and will be back in the spring.


Check out the finned aluminum sump pan.


The hoist did not like the weight of the engine.


Check out the size of the input shaft. It must be 1 1/4" in diameter. The black reservoir above is part of a lubrication system that sends grease to all four corners of the car when a pedal is depressed.


The engine turned dash was originally silver plated.


A lonely engine bay.


Intake and steering column.




Exhaust manifolds.


The windshield always stays in the down position which makes goggles on the road a must


Clutch end, a lot of metal back there. The water pump is driven off the generator.

 

Very cool. The old Stutz factory in Indy is a good place to visit, it is office space now. They have several on display.

 

thats some pretty amazing enginering. would cost a fortune to build something that nice now. oh i guess you could make everything out of plastic, bet it wouldn't last 70 + years though.

 

TURK...what a beauty, thanks for sharing. yea after 79 yrs. she could probably use a n overhauel! HA! that may well be the most expensive car i've seen on H.A.M.B. and if not, it will be when he get's the overhaul bill! HA!...POP.

 

If I'm not mistaken, the automatic lube system was made by a company called "Bijur" and was quite a popular accessory on the high end cars of that era. What a system compared to the new cars that don't have a single point that requires lubrication! No matter what anyone says, you cannot convince me that cars that live in salty climate like upstate NY or a dusty one like Arizona doesn't need a system that can be lubed. And what better way to do that than simply push a button or tromp a pedal?

Progress marches on, I guess...

 

You are exactly right, that is the name of the system.

 

Bijur system is commonly used on all types of machine tools to lube the ways.

 

Thanks for that.
Didja notice red rims and dog dish? uuuuh hhhuuu.

 

Wonder where they found that Cal Custom finned aluminum oil pan... VERY cool car. Parts that aren't made to be lubed is all part of "progress" I once asked a GM engineer why they couldn't make a car that would last a million miles. His response was that it was easy and that I clearly didn't understand what his job was. His job was to make cars that fall apart just after the warranty runs out but not before... True story.

 

wow! that is some kinda sweet ride!

 

That is one of the most beautiful American made cars ever. I was invited for the Leno Garage Tour this year and it was one of the first places I've seen some other beautiful American Classics. I've always been a Ford and Chevrolet owner because of finances but those cars can't compare to the high end automobiles of that era. Thanks for posting

 

Interesting car. I'll be following, I'm curious as to what you're gonna find.

Yeah, nothing is grease-able these days. They wouldn't sell many parts if they built 'em to last.

 

wow ! very cool to see that thing all apart and the old school technologie

 

Why is it driven with the windshield always down?

 

Cool stuff guys. I do that type of stuff every day. I probably know who's doing the motor and you'll all be happy. I think it's great to have samples of that type and era here. Many a hot rod emulates the big and fast cars of their day. When you step back from them and look at the proportions try to imagine how much custom surgury you'd do to make a Model A or a Deuce flow like that. That's a pretty sexy car as it sits, nice low beltline, short top and windshield, and the fender hgt in relation to the rest. If that doesn't inspire you ain't lookin close enough.

 

Because it's racy and a good excuse to use goggles and get bugs in your teeth. Kind of like these guys at Indy in 1930. Now the car in the race photo has the same frame and running gear. It has a boat tail body with the doors cut down, and the fenders removed - but that is about it.

The main goal of the rebuild is that he really likes driving the car. He wants to use it and lean on it hard now and then.

 

Saw a Stutz DV-32 (the DOHC version mentioned) at the Boca Raton Concours two years ago. "32" stands for 32 valves, 4 per cylinder. What a beautiful peice of work that engine was. It was the Stutz swan song.

 

Here is the assembled car with hood and sidemounts at a show a couple years ago. The Cobra in the background will give you some reference of the size. The Cobra was a real 427 car.

 

I had a '55 Mercury Montclair that had a push button lube system in it. I don't think it ever worked and I didn't know how it worked at the time but there was a chrome button the dash that said "lube" and there were tubes that went to the lube joints.

 

Just looking at the pictures shows such great craftsmanship of the very fine well made automobiles of years gone buy . I have seen them on TV and books but have never seen one in person . I would love to see one and even get a chance to take a ride in one as long as I can borrow a pair of goggles !

RetroJim

 

Nice to see you joined here Doug. Great board and great bunch of guys.

 

Very interesting post. I can't recall ever seeing this model before. The motor is impressive and looks very heavy and it was stated the hoist didn't like it. Appreciate the time you spent on posting with information. Thanks

 

Truly beautiful car. Keep us updated.

 

Newbomb,
Just curious if your friend has had the rear axle checked/rebuilt? I used to work for a guy who had a few of those Stutzes, and they use a worm drive instead of a modern hypoid gear. The worm gear is on the very bottom, and if any moisture gets in the housing it will start to eat the shaft and bearings pretty quick. The worm gear itself is bronze.

Thought I'd point that out in case the prior restoration was cosmetic.

 

That is a great car. Which board did you steal it from? I would like to go there and see what other cool threads they might have.

There are Stutz threads all over the board, here are a few good ones:

General Stutz Thread:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=301695

Schumacher Special Thread:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82304

Stutz Supercharger Thread:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=222832

 

Thanks, I've been over here now and then, most of the time I just lurk. Lots of diverse and neat stuff...

 

Exwest, is that a Lola T163 in your Avatar? Love the Can-Am stuff...

Carl who owns the Stutz says that "you know your stuff". Here is what he said about the rear axle...

"The first key is that only a special lube can be used, because of exactly what he said, the bronze worm; this is essential. Moisture can also be an issue if it gets in there. When the previous owner purchased the car, he went into it and did what many people do, “flip the worm” as it is the same on both sides and offers twice the life. He said that in general it all looked good and of course it has been in a heated garage with very few miles since. The worm gear was used specifically to drop the chassis for a lower center of gravity and can take a lot of racing abuse, but as he said, it needs to be cared for correctly or big problems."

 

Believe it or not it's a Mopar board. Not much Stutz action happening.

http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?Cat=0