1928 Stutz BB Boattail Speedster

For your consideration and our consignment, we have a 1928 Stutz BB Boattail Speedster. With its minimalist body said to be the work of Gordon Buehrig, in its day it cost $5,000.00. This car features several Art Deco details, including a \"Ra\" sun god hood ornament and an elaborate Egyptian design on the instrument cluster. And of course, the boat tail back of the car which had this sports car of the day nearly 1,500 lbs. lighter than its predecessor the Bearcat. At this time, it was indeed the fastest production car in the world and nearly won the LeMans world title finishing 2nd to a Bentley that year.

Exterior
Formally known and referred to as the Blackhawk speedster, this beautiful 2 door coupe convertible is bathed in a light coffee, (tan), steel body and dark coffee, (brown), fenders and the lack of a running board for weight saving. The rockers are wide and also present in dark coffee. Upfront a chromed grille covering wraps the radiator behind and sports the \"Ra\" Sun god hood ornament/radiator cap. Big round headlights along with smaller high beam running lights just below appear to float in front of the grille and just above the dual flat bar chromed bumper below. A long cowled hood runs to the driver and passenger compartment which has a tan canvas convertible top protecting the seats from the elements. On the rectangular angled rearward front windshield surround is a searchlight, and on either side of the firewall cowl are chromed rear view mirrors. Also attached to the hood cowling is a red painted steel wire spare tire and wheel which is on both sides, and these are belted on to this car. Under the doors is a step to aid in getting what was considered at the time a low slung car! On back is the iconic boattail trunk which has panels on either side that curve downward and help support the boat tail as well as the dark coffee rear rounded fenders. This boattail contains a single seat, but the view is obscured by the trunk lid which opens up from rear to front, so this passenger is not provided with a room with a view. Another dual flat chromed bar bumper is on back and a single flared tip exhaust pipe is peeking out from underneath this bumper. For the wire wheels which are on all 4 corners and painted in a beautiful blazing red are 19-inch steel wires and rims are wrapped on thin treaded tires. Overall paint is still shiny and does show some chips mostly at the seams. This car was completed on its restoration journey in 2011 which is when the painting happened.

Interior
A swing of the low profile doors shows a brown leather stitched panel housing the door actuator lever and a pull bar. This car has no windows so there are no cranks. A small clasped storage area on the bottom of this panel is on, and offers some extra space. Inside an overstuffed smooth supple leather bench seat runs from door to door, and it has seat belts installed which are obviously aftermarket. A beautiful total wood steering wheel with a metal center hub fronts the restored true wood dash with a light coffee dash top. Within the instrument cluster in the center, which is brass with carved ivy leaves embossed within its confines, and an Art Deco Egyptian goddess profile if you look closely between the leaves. Round white faced gauges which have aged gracefully show nicely and are embedded onto this brass plate. Just below this squared off oval is a Stutz winged badge with the number 8 underneath the wings. Nice thick pile brown carpeting is covering the floors and within this brown field is a leather booted long shift lever and chromed handbrake. Looking upward we see a wood frame for the convertible top, with some metal hinges which help the top operate smoothly, although manually.

Drivetrain
A lift of either side of the long front cowl, reveals a machinists dream with an all polished metal valve cover, stainless steel exhaust manifold and some brass piping running about for the brake fluid. This is a 298.64 ci Inline 8-cylinder with a single overhead cam. This old mill produces 115hp @ 3,600rpm. On back is a 3-speed non synchro gearbox, and there is a 1.5 inch dual choked 1-barrel bronze Shebler carburetor. Also on is twin coil dual plug ignition which can be used as a backup if the first system should fail in any way.

Undercarriage
The completed restoration took place in 2011 and was performed by Lee Duran. Within this 131 inch wheelbase are nicely painted brown components: tank, suspension, rear axle, and framing arches. Wood floor pans are in beautiful condition not even showing any contact with water. Leaf spring suspension is all around as well as drum brakes which are Lockheed hydraulic. A worm gear rear drive is on to spin the back tires.

Drive-Ability
This car fired up and idled smoothly once warmed up. Performance was as expected from the inline 8. All functions were simplistic and working perfectly.

Plenty of ohhhhh's and ahhhhh's were coming from gaping mouths when this one pulled into the mall. Not often seen, this record holding car for speed, with the boattail rear, and big steel spoke wire wheels is a winner. BB Blackhawk Speedster was THE sports car of the day back in 1928, still holding onto its charm and will never let go of that racing heritage.