Description
1929 STUTZ TYPE M VERTICAL EIGHT LANCEFIELD SALOON
Chassis number: 40804
Registration number: UX5747
A very rare & desirable car; This Stutz was displayed on the Stutz stand at Olympia in 1929. The body is fabric covered in the weyman manner but was built by Lancefield & differentiates from Weymann in having four door hinges as opposed to two. It was displayed next to a supercharged two door coupe an example of which recently sold at RM auctions for US Dollars 1. 7 Million!!! It is interesting to note that the 1928 Stutz LeMans entry ran out in first place for most of the race ahead of the Bentley boys & would have won had it not lost third gear & been forced to limp home in second gear during which the Benleys passed the Stutz whilst breating a sigh of relief.
An advanced car for its day, it was fitted from new with lockheed hydraulic brakes with a bendix variable vacuum brake booster with dash mounted adjustment.
The Chassis is a Safety Stutz 145" wheelbase double drop chassis with 7 cross members & a weight of 3 1/ 2 Cwts. Crome Vanadium springs are fitted fore & aft along with Bijur automatic chassis lubrication. Ross Cam & Lever variable pitch thread steering gear is also fitted along with Delco-Lovejoy double acting shock absorbers.
This Sports Sedan by Lancefield Coachworks complete, given the registration number UX5747 was retailed by Warwick Wright of New Bond St, (who are still extant as car dealers to this day) for the sum of £1, 495. 00 The first owner was Miss Mary Moss of Church Stretton in Shropshire. The annual road tax for this 36. 4hp car was £37. 00
All Stutz Vertical eight cars carry the famous radiator mascot of the Egyptian Sun God, "Ra".
In the late 1980's / early 1990's this Stutz had a painstaking nut & bolt restoration undertaken upon it by an assortment of UK specialists resulting in the car we find today. All ash wood was removed & renewed using the old rotted pieces as templates. The car has since then covered over 20, 000 trobule free miles ranging through various corners of Europe.
The fabulous & advanced vertical Eight cylinder engine dispalces some 5. 2 litres & was designed by Charles Greuter in 1925. Introduced in 1926 the Vertical Eight was an outstanding success & continued in production until 1934. The block & crank case are cast Iron with the crank case line 2 1/ 4" below the centre of the crankshaft to ensure a very rigid block. The engine is dual ignition with 9 main bearings displacing 322 cubic inches or 5274cc. 113BHP are generated at 3300 RPM along with 238 lbs ft of torque.
The Gear box is an advanced 4 speed unit by the Detroit Gear Box Company with silent third gear & a "No Back" hill holder. A full photographic record of the restoration comes with the car. It has been owned for the last few decades by a noted Stutz expert who had no less then 4 of these magnificant beasts in his stable & is now moving the last one on due to his advancing years.
The car is finished inside in Tan Leather throughout with beige carpets edge bound in tan hide all in lovely condition. The dash board carries the full quotient of original instrumentation as when new. The original Stutz Series M information book also comes with the car. The front windshiled hinges open fro ventialtion & this may be further augmented by opening the roof mounted smokers hatch.
Make no mistake, this is a powerful smooth advanced & fast car every bit a match for any derby Bentley & considerably faster then most. Some 400 plus examples were sold in the late 1920's & early 1930's in the UK but only a handful survive. The car was featured in an extensive article upon completion in The Automobile of January 1992.
Having had the pleasure of driving this wonderful car I can say that it reeks of quality & performs in a manner more befitting of a post war rather then a pre war car.
