More on the 1970s Stutz
One of the great things about the Car Lust blog is the comments we get from our readers.
My recent "Car Disgust" posting on the Stutz "revival" cars of the 1970s drew some interesting comments from reader Jim Milliken. Several of Jim's photos were used to illustrate my original article.
Jim and I had a very pleasant conversation in the comments thread which continued by e-mail. While we disagree on the merits of the Stutz, we both agree that they are fascinating vehicles.
By the way, Jim isn't just a Stutz fan. He owns five revival-era Stutzes--just like Elvis! (I've linked to photos of his cars in the text below the fold.) Between the Stutz cars he owns and the others he has encountered in his travels, he may well have seen more Stutzes in more places than anyone else now living.
I thought our readers would enjoy learning a little more about these interesting vehicles from someone who knows them well.
Technical details: I wrote that the Stutzes were built in Italy by Ghia, a mistaken impression I'd gotten from not reading one of my sources closely enough. Jim corrected me: while Ghia built the prototype Blackhawk, production models were assembled by two other Italian coachbuilding firms: Padane for the first year, and Carrozeria Saturno ("Saturn Coachworks") for the rest of the production run.
Jim also advises that all Stutzes have rear air shocks to help take up the increased weight of the custom bodywork.
Driving experience: In my original article, I speculated (based on my own experiences with 1970s-vintage personal luxury cars) that the Stutz was underpowered and probably not the sort of vehicle you'd want to fling down a winding back road. According to Jim, I wasn't too far off:
"For the driving experience which you asked about, I can say that the handling and performance is about as uninspiring as you might expect. It isn't for handling and I pushed my 75 with the 455 to the max and couldn't get it over 100 mph. It is not very aerodynamic to put it mildly."
There is, however, a factor beyond 0-60 times,top speed, and lateral acceleration that I did not completely appreciate:
"However what did impress me is that when driving it I felt like I 'built' the road. I mean the close cockpit feel, especially on the '71, the smell of the leather was like being in a library, the wood paneling surrounding you and looking out over that long hood with the headlights piercing the visual plane made me feel like I owned road. Now you must recognize that Car Lust has entered the equation so don't be too hard on me."
Hard on you? Not a chance!We're all Car Lust "sufferers" here.
As you might expect, the Stutz also has an effect on the people around you:
"One of the things I love about the cars is that no one, absolutely no one, is neutral about them. Yes, you do get noticed. And, contrary to the impression one would get if reading only the comments posted here to date, many people find them 'beautiful'. Now I don't use that word to upset people who don't believe this but only to report the word most used to me by the many people who have come up to me to find out more about the car because they enjoyed seeing it. Stutz is definitely an acquired taste and one that most people who are into mainstream muscle/sports vehicles aren't likely to ever get. But hey, it would be a boring place if we all liked the same thing....
"I have driven the '75 and '81 from San Diego to Ft Myers and people circled us on the freeway with video cameras running giving us thumbs up. Every rest stop we were besieged with appreciative visitors. And this is admittedly a trip for the driver.
In one of his e-mails to me, Jim told one more story that's too good not to share:
"One last Stutz story. I was up in MA back in 05 (after attending a Stutz meet at GM Carlisle) and entered the '72 in the Mt. Wachusett Old Car Show and won first prize in the specialty vehicles category. One guy comes up to me, and he was obviously a car guy, and said "OK, what kind of people bought these cars, because they sure weren't from around here!" "
About those side pipes: One of the things I commented on in my original article was the prominent, nonfunctional chrome side-pipes. These run through a hole in the front quarter panel and mount to a bracket inside the fender.
Turns out I'm not the only one who doesn't like them:
"I agree with your hating of the fake sidepipes so I have converted three of mine to real sidepipes, including the '81 which you show with Virgil Exner Jr and his wife as the last picture in this article."
The Japanese Stutz: Of Jim's five Stutzes, the most interesting is the '79 Bearcat convertible pictured at right. (There's a video of it here.) This car was built for a customer in Japan, and was fitted with additional turn signals to comply with Japanese safety requirements. If the original owner bought it to attract attention, he certainly got his money's worth. The sight of this extroverted, 5,000-pound, two-tone Yankee blingmobile plowing through a sea of JDM compacts and Kei cars half its size--well, it must've looked a lot like Gojira tearing up the town!
Jim and his Japanese Bearcat will be at the Lake Mirror Classic Auto Festival in downtown Lakeland, Fla., on Oct. 17-19, 2008. If any of our Car Lust readers attend the show, be sure to say hello to Jim for me. He should be pretty easy to find.
--Cookie the Dog's Owner
See also "The Exner Files"
godmademefunky on September 26, 2008 at 01:46 PM
i shot one in dusseldorf, germany. it was like "hey, i say elvis" (the late one).
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/2522793634_d11cef1844.jpg
godmademefunky on September 26, 2008 at 01:48 PM
i shot one in dusseldorf, germany. it was like "hey, i say elvis" (the late one).
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/2522793634_d11cef1844.jpg
mmhurst on September 26, 2008 at 02:59 PM
I found this one for sale. Nice condition and low miles. Can't imagine driving it around. I would have to apologize continually by saying, "Yes, I agree. It IS ridiculous!" Truly a car that requires no additional pimping!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___1978-Stutz-Bearcat-10K-Mi-Mint-Creampuff-Rich-Famous_W0QQitemZ140269742953QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item140269742953&_trkparms=72%3A727%7C39%3A1%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1308&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245
Hal Tupler on October 16, 2008 at 01:14 PM
I'M AN OLD MAN NOW, BUT I OWNED TWO
STUTZ CARS, A 1972 AND I BOUGHT A 1973
FROM DEAN MARTIN IN 1974. MARTIN DID NOT
HIS WIFE TO GET THE CAR IN A DIVORCE SO
I BOUGHT IT,MINK TRUNK,RUGS,GOLD DASH AND
ALL. I PAID 27,000 AND SOLD IT TO AN ARAB
OILMAN IN 1983 FOR $32,000. THE OTHER STUTZ
I LET MY WIFE DRIVE IT, SHE COMPLAINED IT
CAUSED TOO MUCH ATTACTION. I GOT RID OF HER
AND THE CAR FOR $22,000. TODAY IT'S
CONSIDERED A PIMPMOBILE PAST DAYS. GEORGE
BARRIS, A FRIEND OF MINE LOVED THOSE CARS.
IF YOU WANT A PICTUE, JUST E-MAIL ME.
HAL
HAL TUPLER on November 04, 2008 at 11:58 AM
WANT TO HEAR FROM OTHER STUTZ OWNERS OR
LOVERS. I HAVE SO MUCH INFO,PLUS PICTURES
ABOUT JULES MYERS, DEAN MARTIN'S CAR.
ACTIONUSA@AOL.COM 941 204 9024
hilhorst on January 12, 2010 at 09:03 AM
Hello Y have a Stutz Black Hawk 1971 Car nr.7 in black. The car is retorated on the moment, he want to be brent new, The belong to Jerome Washer, Y bought it from him 2009. Is there somebody who new the historie of this car, I would be satisfied to now.
Greetings Gijs Hilhorst Netherlands
James Mc mahon on March 13, 2010 at 02:02 AM
Can anyone send me Jim Millikans email address ?