Finding a 30 year old car that is all original and in decent shape is a challenge, but finding a 94 year old car in original condition is nearly unheard of! It’s absolutely incredible to think that this 1923 Stutz Speedway 4 Touring is almost exactly the same today as it was all those years ago! It has some interesting history, having spent 40 year in one of A.K. Miller’s sheds in Vermont. It then traveled to a collection in Florida, where it spent another 13 years in storage. From there, it ended up in the Black Hawk Museum for several years. It has spent the last few years in Oregon, but is now up for grabs here on eBay.
Stutz built some amazing cars, especially for the times. It’s 365 cui inline 4 was producing an impressive 88 horsepower, for comparison the Model T’s 4 cylinder was barely generating 20 horsepower and Packard’s big V12 topped out at 90 horsepower. While it’s a fairly large 4 cylinder, the power really comes from the T-head with its 16 valves and twin ignition system. The seller provides a video of the engine running and they show the dual distributors, it’s really a fascinating system, so be sure to check it out!
The interior isn’t perfect, but considering its age, it’s surprisingly intact. There are some rips and missing pieces of leather and the top is missing it’s rear window. These issues could all be addressed, but personally, I’d leave it alone. Like they say, they are only original once and I highly doubt you will ever come across another ’23 Stutz Speedway that is all original.
While it isn’t a Bearcat, this Speedway sure would be amazing to have! The seller claims it can do 80 miles per hour, but I would be terrified to even come close to that kind of speed given the rear wheel only mechanical brakes. If it had better brakes, it would actually be an amazing car to take on touring rallies and long distance drives. If you are brave, those type of events might still be an option and if left as it, I could see this car being invited to attend Pebble Beach for the preservation class! I doubt it will go cheap, but it will likely be far more affordable than any original Duesenberg ever would.
I love it. Coolest engine side covers ever.
I know relatively little about automobiles from this era of the 20th century. However, the same Stutz is synonymous with quality, class, and speed. That 4 cylinder is something to look at and 88 hp in 23! I absolutely love it as is. I wouldn’t get anything done if I owned this special car because I would be talking to the everyone about that saw it!
(1) Firstly, the second photo shows the engine running as you can’t see the radiator fan blades.
(2) Note the twin distributor caps on the distributor – one each for the twin spark plug ignition system. On the bottom of caps there is a clamp. I presume to get the timing offsets between the twin plugs the caps have to be rotated rather than the whole distributor body, as is done with most likely every other ignition system made.
(3) Note there is a lever on the side of the distributor body operated by a long rod coming from the firewall. I presume this is for retarding the ignition for starting plus that long rod also has another rod travelling to the top of the carburettor which might operate the choke at the same time. Interestingly, the lever on the side of the distributor must move an intermediate gear to the rotate the distributor shaft to change the timing. It’s possible it only does that for one of the distributor caps.
(4) The boffins that designed that distributor must have had a lot of late nights as I would have thought it much easier to just use two standard distributors laid horizontal around one central gear.
Does anyone know the brand of the distributor or direct me to a web link as I would like to learn more about it.
BBC nar’d Rear,…. Joking! Anyone’s pulse spike for a second. Clean it,keep as is. What a machine for time.