1929 Stutz Blackhawk Boattail Speedster engine needed

I am seeking a replacement for this 8 cylinder L head Continental Eight for a 1929/30 Stutz Boattail Speedster. After some discussion in the Stutz forum I would like to seek more input from all members. Other makes that made side valve Eights and would be a potential fit are: Davis, Jordan, Locomobile, Moon, Windsor. Any help in locating an engine as pictured is greatly appreciated.

Hi martin101,
I saw your post on the Stutz forum about seeking a good match to the Continental inline 8 for your Blackhawk. Without going into antique auto detective mode, I'll tell you a bit about Continental as it relates to Peerless Eights. Someone mentioned the 1931 Peerless "Standard 8"(or Mod. A). It used a 246.7 Cu. In. Model 17S engine of 85 h.p.(some report that a few Standard 8s were equipped with the bigger 13K motor in the last months of production). The Peerless "Master" (115 h.p.) and "Custom"©(120 h.p.) used a Model 13K of 322 Cu. In. These 3 models were in the 1930-1932 Model years. An earlier variant of the 13K was the 12K, used in the 1929 Model "8-125" Peerless(114 h.p.). Another variant was the 14K, under the hoods of 1929 Graham-Paige Mod. 837 cars. That front-wheel-drive Ruxton (18S, 268.6 Cu. In.) used a Continental, too. The DuPont of 1929 is listed as being a 12K car(another source says a 140 h.p. 14K was in DuPonts). It's hard to read, but I think my copy of Karl Zahm's 1977 Special Interest AutoS article says: "...1929-30 Stutz Blackhawk...Model 16S inline eight of 85 h.p." Zahn says the 4th most powerful American car of 1930 was the Elcar 140...with a 140 h.p. Continental 12K.

why not run a Stutz challenger 8 in it. it would be like a factory hot rod. Much easier to find engine and a much more interesting power plant. probably a cheaper answer also.

Ed is correct that they are easier to find. Everybody kept the engine when the car was junked. Plan on sending 25-30k doing a rebuild however.

A Stutz OHC straight eight is easier to find than a flathead Continental straight eight? I am astonished.

Wonder if a Continental six would work? Last car to use one was the Jeep and Kaiser Frazer line. Last flathead Jeep 1961, after that they got an OHC six of their own design based on the old Continental hmm wonder if one of those would fit.

There is probably 1 additional OHC engine out there for every known car... maybe a slight exaggeration but not much.

Cont'l 8s are apparently becoming few and far between, if that numerous...

Someone on here is trying to find a replacement block for a Cont'l 8 in a French? race car (can't find my notes) and jwilli4? here is looking for pistons and valve/spring sets for a 15S in a Jordan without much luck (and those parts are in several other Cont'l 8s, which would've ordinarily've made them easier to turn up)...

Perhaps actual production numbers of the range of straight 8s were low, or they tended to thrash themselves apart???

After exiting most of automotive field Cont'l continued on to date making Truck/Industrial/Ag/Const Eqpmt etc engines, including innumerable 6s, as well as their longstanding Aero engines line.

M101: Perhaps you should contact jwillie4-something thru site, as his 15S is part of the same "family" as your 16S, in case he heard of/ran across a complete engine...

If yours is truly not repairable, I do hope you're not considering scrapping anything useable; everything about them seems to be turning into unobtainium...on that point:

Years ago my brother and I were into old cars; we went separate ways, he joined Cadillac club . One day, years later, visiting, he looked at prospect.

"Tom, that's a parts car!!" I said, but he shook his head.

"You're out of touch; more people are in the hobby, cars are getting scarcer, and what used to be hopeless parts cars are now rebuilders".

I do not know if the whole Cont'l 8 series were made to be drop-in fits for each other, as were some series of industrial engines...

Put a Cont'l Six in a Boat Tail Speedster?? Surely you jest, Sir!!...Surely...

Didn't Stutz offer a six cylinder Black Hawk (not Blackhawk) model?

A 1930 McCord gasket catalog lists a "Blackhawk Motor, 6, 1929-30, Passenger (Stutz) L6 33/8x41/2" (as that is a 1930 catalog the engine/car model may've been produced later as well)...

The next entry is the "Blackhawk Motor, 8, Passenger (Stutz) L8 1929-30 referring to the Cont'l 16S...

I should also say, re' my earlier facetious remark, that it'd be much nicer to see a Boat Tail Speedster (or any Stutz) running around with a temporary or permanent replacement engine rather than mouldering for who knows how long in the shop waiting for a possibly unobtainable correct engine...

The Stutz engine would be best but the Jeep engine would be a distant relative of the original Continental.