Much Modified Stutz Two Passenger Torpedo

The vehicle has a 134 1/2-inch wheelbase and is a late 1931 or early 1932 Stutz Bearcat. The Super Bearcat, which had a shorter 116-inch wheelbase, is completely unlike this vehicle. Although the automobile appears to be very new in the picture , it really has the improper front bumper and the wrong external door handle on the passenger side. If we can determine whether or not this one is still around, I'll let you know.

Interesting observations by everybody. I believe the ownership history of the questioned vehicle has been quite continuous. If there is, I would expect a lot of hammering and updates throughout the years to fix the differences (and there are quite a few) between the various photographs of the automobile . Although I tend to be pessimistic, this particular car does have scattered historical evidence.

dryesandno wrote:

here is the car from the brockman collection pictures that jason gehring so eloquently described in his above post. thanks so much for the detailed description jason. its really cool to put your words to the picture.

Yes, his words add magic to the photograph.

This car was recently purchased and the new owner has done quite a bit of research on it. There is an interesting thread going on here: forums.aaca.org/topic/260445-stu ... s-numbers/

It looks like this car was the factory test mule for the supercharger. An interesting development.

Interesting observations by all. I think there is a fairly contiguous ownership history for the car in question. If there is then I would subscribe the differences (and there are quite a few) between the various pictures of the car to lots of hammering and updates over the years. I'm generally skeptical but this particular car does have period documentation sprinkled through the years.

To Whom It May Concern: [ Hopefully not too many are crazy enought to
be very concerned ]
It is great to see a post last evening to this forum topic of long standing
, once again by Jason Gehring of Ohio. Jason is very observant, indeed, in
noticing the presence/absence of the trans-cowl moulding on the various
photo images of a Stutz Torpedo we have been viewing. Please refer to
the post dated 5-19-10 by Alphonse J. San Clemente of Massachusetts and
click on the link to the Blackhawk auction material and photos he supplied.
Scroll down to the two Black & White photo images of the left side of what
Blackhawk calls a "production road car" Stutz torpedo reportedly taken in
1938 and 1940. One has a trunk in place, the other does not. Both of these
views clearly shows the trans-cowl contrasting colored moulding to which
Jason has called our attention. Both of these B&W photo images appear to
show a car with cowl lights or lamps as well. Argueably the trans-cowl
moulding may have been removed when Mr. Jones modified the factory
stock vehicle for the racing endeavour at the Brick Yard in 1930 , in order
to install the cowl wind screen or deflector on the race car BUT, why would
it have been replaced when the car was converted back to road use as it
appears in the 1938 and 1940 photo images from Blackhawn and as shown
in the 1947 view at the Akron Rubber Bowl ???? and then NOT appear on
the beautifully restored "race car" offered by Blackhawk as the " Jones
Stutz Special ". I really wish I could have an opportunity to conduct a very
detailed inspection of the restored vehicle offered. Such an inspection would allow for the possibility of some clarificatiion based on the car as it
is today. We may never be able to know with absolute certainty if the car
which placed 10th in the running of the 1930 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race
has been preserved.
Oh, yes , and where on the restored vehicle is the rudimentary "hand
hold" appendage behind the driver's ( L.L. Corum ) and riding mechanic's
( car owner Milton Jones ) seats as shown in the B&W view of the two of
them "in situ" with the car at what appears to be the "Brick Yard"?? The
driver could hold onto the large steering wheel as the centrifugal force
G-forces from negotiating the contrantly repeating left hand turns during
the race were experienced , but the poor riding mechanic could only hold
onto the hand hold with his left hand and pray a lot. You know, no safety
helmets and no seat belts and low cut doors. How would you feel? Sitting
on that flat leather seat with no side support I would have felt imperiled.
Brave men or fools, the jury is still out.
Keep studying and enjoying the photos and exchange of opinions and
the speculative trip into automotive history. Jonathan Richards in Iowa
aka <a href="mailto:[email protected]][email protected][/url]
P.S. -- I still believe the numerals 27 on the Indy pit photo on the east
side of the main straight are "touched" onto the image. jr

I see something that merits further investigation. In the 1947 photo with the car painted white, there is a body moulding that goes across the top of the cowl. It's very obvious to see as it is painted the darker color. In the newer photos of the car, now painted black with red mouldings, it looks like that same moulding is not there going across the top of the cowl. If it were there, it would be painted red would it not? Even if that wind deflecter they installed covered most of it up, wouldn't we see some of it coming off the side of the body?

now for one more bit of very interesting and timely information on this thread. take a close look at this link from the stutz club

www.stutzclub.org/Pages/main.html

click on the october 2010 newsletter when you get there......

and you will read all about the 1930 stutz milt jones special car #27 placing 10th in the 1930 indianapolis 500. one better placing than the 11th place finish of the original stutz that coined the phrase "The Car That Made Good in a Day".

continue to click on the pages and you will see some original pictures of the 1930 stutz jones special in original race configuration at the indianapolis speedway in 1930.

you will also learn of the unfortunate tragedy the following year where Jones was killed in a practice lap when preparing for the 1932 indianapolis 500 at the tender age of 37.

apparently all of his racing was funded from his own pocket......quite an accomplishment at that age in the depths of the depression.

interestingly, you will see a picture from the march 1973 article pg 13 from Cars and Parts where the car is apparently part of an advertisement for sale and is in configuration similar to Brockman pictures. owned apparently at that time by Dr. Art Burichter, Boca Raton Florida according to this article (interestingly he is not mentioned in the blackhawk write up as a previous owner).

Burichter's advertisment says the car has a DV32 engine in it. those of you who know about stutz know that the DV32 came out in 1931 and not 1930. and that it had four valves per cylinder.

further in the article it states that for 1930 the indianapolis race committee changed the rules to allow engines of up to 366 cubic inches and two valves per cylinder.

the article seems to indicate that the Jones Stutz special ran with an unmodified engine. if this is the case....then it had to have only two valves per cylinder to be in compliance with the rules of 1930.

the stutz SV 16 engine of 1930 was 322 cu inches with only two valves per cylinder. consequently, i think the advertisement is either wrong, in suggesting the car was a DV 32 or else we are looking at a different car in the road version pictures than the car which actually ran the indy 500 in 1930......

any thoughts?

i am taking the liberty of posting the two brockman pictures again so that we can have a closer look.

here is the first one i posted but in larger format. clearly the radiator shell on this car is much more rounded than on the current configuration of the stutz special. in fact it does not look to me like a stutz radiator shell at all...maybe from a mercedes or something.

but you would agree this picture and the one that a. j. alphonse posted are likely the same pictures? pretty interesting. i wonder how jim brockman came across this picture?



and here is another picture that i found in the brockman auburn collection on the third page, JBA 91



looks to me like the same car.....from a different angle.

now take a look at the link to the blackhawk collection in the above posts. unfortunately they are protected and i can't post them here.

but there are two more pictures of a smiliar car in that post. claimed to be the road version of the 1930 jones stutz special.

take a close look at the radiator. i would say the jones special either has a new radiator cover, different from our brockman car.

and what about their road version. the radiator looks more like the square one on the jones special than the one in these brockman photos. too bad they did'nt post a front shot of the car. but maybe this is why.....

what are your thoughts?

well boys.

a j alphonse, sure seems to have it right on this one.

nice work a.j.

if you look closely at the blackhawk link that he posted you will see the jones special as it is now and the way it was in street version back when tommy wolfe from california owned it.

you can see that tommy wolfe is listed as a previous owner.

the street version looks very close to the picture in the brockman collection. i think the brockman picture and those street pictures on the blackhawk site are the same car....hope you agree.

just to keep things on topic. here is a front view picture of it back in racing configuration in front of none other than......the ACD musuem. isn't that interesting eh.

so don't be saying that us boys in the forum here talking about this jones stutz are off topic. ha ha ha.



and another with the rear boattail view......just like the 35 auburn speedster.....well....sort of!!!!!

A little further research revealed that L.L. Corum failed to qualifiy in his Stutz Bearcat. What is funny, is that the previous year's car was a mostly stock SV16 while this car was supposed to be a modified DV32.

An interesting tidbit from the Wisconsin State Journal May 31st 1931. If I read this correctly, the back up driver from the Jones Special was planning on coming back to Indy with a DV32 Stutz.

Another interestins Indianapolis
entry will be the Stutz Bearcat
which will be as near stock as racing
rules and practice will permit.
The Stutz will have the new DV-32
engine, which takes its name from
the four valves per cylinder in the
eight-cylinder engine, The double
overhead chamshafts actuate the
valve mechanism that gives approximately
60 per cent increase in
volumetric efficiency and assures
better distribution of the gas to the
combustion chambers. Bert Dingley,
former champion racing driver
who now is production manager for
Stutz, is overseeing the building of
the racing car and L. L. Corum, who
I won the 1924 Indianapolis race and
is now a member of the experiment-
engineering staff for Stutz, will
! drive the car,

yes, the black DV Bearcat exists. Harrah's ended up with it and it was sodl at one of the auctions in teh early 1980's. It is now in a private collection and still largely original.

dryesandno wrote:

jason....i think this one is a 31/32 stutz bearcat with the DV32 engine? would you have any information on this car that might help us identify the location of the picture and possible owners?

I have a picture of this car indicating that it was also owned by Tommy Wolfe in the late 1950s.

Check out the Mercedes (500K?) grille on the Rubber Bowl car.

After reading the two posts by A. J. San Clemente this afternoon and the
post by Mike Huffman yesterday afternoon it occurs to me that Mike may
have been questioning whether the Jones' Stutz Special offered by the
Blackhawk people is the same car as that shown in the black &amp; white
photo next to the Rubber Bowl at Akron, Ohio. Who knows? The notes
on the back of the "scrap book" picture as sent by A.J. seems to indicate
it is BUT the black &amp; white photo of the actual Indy prepared car parked
in the pits along the east side of the main straight of the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway looks far more like the Akron car than the one for sale.
It appears that this Stutz had an historic as well as a checkered career.
What thoughts do the rest of you have on this question? Richards in Iowa

I stand corrected as my image is the same as the one posted above. Here it is with the writing from the back. The pictures comes from a scrap book which indicates that in 1959 the car was owned by Tommy Wolfe of Maywood Calif.

Hi Jonathan,

I'm A.J. (Alphonse J.) my dad, Alphonse P. at 84 is not really computer literate! I will scan and post my image today for comparison. Where are you seeing the engine shot that shows the Jones Special with a DV32 engine?

regards,

A.J.

Greetings to all you readers of this obscure post to the MISC ARCHIVE
forum. Since reading the post of earlier this afternoon by Alphonse P
San Clemente ( aka Alsancle ) I have been studying the color photo
images of the Jones' Stutz Special offered by the Blackhawk Collection
and comparing those images with the black and white images we have
of both the modified race car in retirement ( about 1947 ) and parked at the Rubber Bowl at Akron ( supplied by Jason Gehring ) AND the DV32
torpedo of 1931-1932 from the Brockman Collection. It is pretty obvious
that the engine in the Jones' Stutz Special ( apparently a 1930 Model M )
is the 322 cid engine Stutz referred to as the SV-16. It produced 115 bhp
@ 3600 rpm from B &amp; S of 3 3/8 x 4 1/2. Valve train was direct with an
overhead camshaft and valves in head. The cam cover is painted black
in the restored racing machine. Also obvious in the photos are the two
ignition coils adjacent to the starter, the large twin ignition Delco distribu-tor and the rams horn exhaust manifold on the right side of the engine.
On the other hand, when you look at the black and white photo of the
DV-32 powered "torpedo" bodied open car ( posted by Brent Merrill on
03-04-10 and from the Brockman Collection ) the twin cast aluminum cam
covers of the DV-32 engine are readily seen. This car does NOT have an
SV-16 engine. Note also that the road wheels on the retired race car and
on the restored Jones' Stutz Special have a threaded attachment such as
employed by Buffalo whereas the DV-32 wheels have a larger hubcap
( on which the cloisonette DV-32 emblems were displayed ) and may
have been bolt on wheels. I cannot say about attachment method but
they are definitely different road wheels.
In response to Mike Huffman's question " Are you sure this is the same car ? " I say NO, these are distinctly different cars. By the way, Jason, have you found any more information about the fate of the Stutz DV-32
torpedo shown in the black and white photo image? Comments , please.
Best Regards, Jonathan (Jack) Richards at Red Oak, Iowa, U.S.A. aka
<a href="mailto:[email protected]][email protected][/url]

What happened to the DV32. Are you sure this is the same car?
CORDially Mike

k8096 wrote: The picture was taken in 1947 per the Ohio license plate. The location of the picture is outside the Akron Rubber Bowl where the University of Akron played it's football games. The university just opened a new stadium this past year, but the old Rubber Bowl still stands. This car was the Stutz that ran at the Indy 500 in 1930 as the "Jones Special." After it's racing days were over, it was made into a street car with fenders, lights, and a windshield. At the time this photo was taken, the car was owned by Ralph Palichek, who owned a tune up shop called Automotive Electric Co. in Akron. I don't know how long he owned it or when he sold it. The car has since been returned back to it's race car configuration. You've probably seen it in some recent auction catalogs painted black with a red chassis and "Jones Special" painted in gold on the frame. This particular photo was in a book or magazine from the 1950's or 60's as I've seen it before. Ralph Palichek had two sons. One of them drove a nice 1934 Auburn Six convertible sedan to Cuyahoga Falls High School (suburb of Akron) in the early 1950's. The tune up shop Palichek owned still stands, but all of the old equipment is long gone. It is located down a hill behind Dave Towell Cadillac just West of downtown Akron.

To add a bit of history to the car, I have a similar photo of it taken in the late 1950s. It is labeled 1930 Stutz Bearcat Speedster , owned by Tommy Wolfe of Maywood California. The car is currently offered for sale here:

www.blackhawkcollection.com/inde ... ar%20f.JPG

The car is a late 1931 or 1932 Stutz Bearcat on the 134 1/2 inch wheelbase. The Super Bearcat was on the shortened 116 inch wheelbase and looks nothing like this car. The car looks relatively new in the photo, but it does have the wrong front bumper and the wrong passanger side exterior door handle on it. I'll let you know if we can figure out if this one still exists or not.

Good Evening, Gentlemen;
We are, in fact, straying a bit from the original subject matter of this
thread. We are at least staying within the category of STUTZ and are
still discussing photo images which appear in the galleries of The Jim
Brockman Collection.
I think it might be helpful to identify the photo image of the Stutz
DV32 that Brent has posted this morning. It is #JBA 96 and is found at
Page 2 of the Jim Brockman Misc. Archives. There is also another photo
image in the Brockman Collection which I believe is the same or a similar
vehicle. This is a left side and rear view and the vehicle is parked in front
of a business place. This is photo image #JBA 100 which is found at Page
1 of the Jim Brockman Auburn Archives.
I hope that the informed Stutz contributor Jason Gehring will respond
to our inquiries about this rare DV32 model. Was it referred to as a Super
Bearcat model in Stutz catalogues or was it a " Two Passenger Torpedo " as it was called in the earlier Model M series? Educate us, Jason. Thanks,
Jonathan Richards at Red Oak, Iowa aka <a href="mailto:[email protected]][email protected][/url]

jason....i think this one is a 31/32 stutz bearcat with the DV32 engine? would you have any information on this car that might help us identify the location of the picture and possible owners?

here is the car from the brockman collection pictures that jason gehring so eloquently described in his above post. thanks so much for the detailed description jason. its really cool to put your words to the picture.

Thanks so much to Jason Gehring , ACD Club member from Bath, Ohio.
It took almost three months for an authoritative response from a Stutz
enthusiast but this morning's post answers the questions raised in my
post of 12-4-2009. This is a perfect example of how this ACD Club
website can serve as an excellent communications media and enables
the exchange of information about our exciting hobby. Sorry that I was
responsible for a detour into the world of STUTZ but The Jim Brockman
Collection goes beyond ACD in terms of preservation of automotive
history. Thanks again Jason for filling in the blanks of this Stutz.
Jonathan Richards at Red Oak, Iowa aka <a href="mailto:[email protected]][email protected][/url]

The picture was taken in 1947 per the Ohio license plate. The location of the picture is outside the Akron Rubber Bowl where the University of Akron played it's football games. The university just opened a new stadium this past year, but the old Rubber Bowl still stands. This car was the Stutz that ran at the Indy 500 in 1930 as the "Jones Special." After it's racing days were over, it was made into a street car with fenders, lights, and a windshield. At the time this photo was taken, the car was owned by Ralph Palichek, who owned a tune up shop called Automotive Electric Co. in Akron. I don't know how long he owned it or when he sold it. The car has since been returned back to it's race car configuration. You've probably seen it in some recent auction catalogs painted black with a red chassis and "Jones Special" painted in gold on the frame. This particular photo was in a book or magazine from the 1950's or 60's as I've seen it before. Ralph Palichek had two sons. One of them drove a nice 1934 Auburn Six convertible sedan to Cuyahoga Falls High School (suburb of Akron) in the early 1950's. The tune up shop Palichek owned still stands, but all of the old equipment is long gone. It is located down a hill behind Dave Towell Cadillac just West of downtown Akron.

Thanks to Chris for his comment to my "blog" or comment of last evening.
Chris has referenced the later ( 1932 and 1933 I think ) DV32 Stutz autos
with the eight cylinder in line with dual overhead camshafts. These were
manufactured contemporaneously with the SV 16 which was essentially
the earlier engine used in the Series M model of 1929 and 1930. I wish to
call the readers' attention to two photo images in the Brockman collection
which show just such a vehicle. At page 2 of Misc. Archive see image JBA96 and at page 1 of the Auburn Archive see image JBA100. I believe
these are views of the same vehicle. Note that the body is a torpedo form
similar to that discussed earlier in this commentary, a 1929 or 1930 model
M , but the DV32 us a full fender version with conventional running boards.
The body has the cut down doors but not the cycle front fenders and is
similar but not the same . Who among us is knowledgeable about Stutz
and could inform us more completely about these remarkable units? I
look forward to comments. Richards in Iowa aka <a href="mailto:[email protected]][email protected][/url]

I have also seen that same style of body, with the boattail, low-cut doors, and "outline" body moldings, identified as a Bearcat on the later DV32 chassis. I don't know if that's hyperbole or not.

JBA (830) depicts the infamous Stutzenberg, powered by Model J engine J-105.

Have a look at photo image JBA 89 at Page 2 of the Misc Archives. I think
this is a much modified 1929 or 1930 Stutz Model M Two Passenger
Torpedo on the 134 1/2 inch wheelbase. The radiator shell is modified as
well as the hood ornament ( gone is the Egyptian deity Ra and a M-B tri-
star pokes up ), the solid front bumper is wrong, the rear fender leading
edge seems dolled up with chrome strips and the rear body contour of
the torpedo body may have bee changed. The following items remain as
identification guides: the free standing side mounted spare tire/wheel,
the aluminum step plate under the door, the cycle front fenders with the
mud flap, the Stutz fold down cast windshield , the low lying horizontal
hood louvres and the unique body mouldings on the cowl and body side.
These were painted in contrasting color to add artistic emphasis. The
sales catalogue for the Model M shows this car in light gray with red
wire wheels and leather seat. The Four Passenger Speedster had the
same cut down front door but the rear compartment entry doors had
horizontal top even with the belt line. It was available with or without
a tonneau cowl and windshield. These were very low production cars
but my most recent copy of the CCCA Handbook (2007) shows seven
(7) members with "speedster" models of the Model M of 1929 / 1930.
Some indicate Weymann bodies, others LeBaron . None specify the
"torpedo" body. Perhaps none exist except as this photo image and the
representations in the Stutz sales catalogue. Comments are welcome.
Sincerely, Jonathan Richards at Red Oak, Iowa aka <a href="mailto:[email protected]][email protected][/url]
P.S. -- Note the photo was taken at what appears to be a sports venue,
possibly an auto race track , and the car displays a front license plate
for OHIO for the year 1941 or 1947. jr