book value

[13CADDY]

was given a Stutz book called "The splendid Stutz"--it's hard cover,d/brown--very nice condition--it says on the inside it's #100 of 250 printed--would like to know what this rascal is worth--thanks for your help & advice---Tom

[trimacar]

Pretty simple to answer, you can Google the book, it's still available from the Stutz Club at $89.95 plus $20 shipping.....doesn't say anything about limited series, I guess it's possible that there are some in leather bound covers and all that, but failing that, there's your benchmark....

[13CADDY]

DAVE, thanks --your always good help--Tom

[trimacar]

After looking a little more, you may have one of the earlier editions, possibly worth a bit more.  It seems these have been reprinted.

 

A common complaint seems to be the quality of the photos in the book, that they are poor images.

 

Do more research before you set a price on it!

[Ivan Saxton]

The copy I bought has a light grey hard cover.  There must have been a printer's error on mine.  The fuzzy pictures really make the book unsuitable for the purpose any Stutz owner would buy it for.  I fully appreciate the work and effort that people like Bill Greer, Ray and Kitty Katzell, and George Holman strained themselves to make this book a reality; but in my opinion the printed item was unfit for sale to the club or the public.  ...Maybe I was unlucky and picked a lemon.  I have new 1942 Guibersen air cooled radial diesel engine cylinders in tropic packing, which have Chicago or similar newspaper sheets crumpled for packing,  and I reckon the printing quality is more commendable.      There are items of technical advice that should be included if the book is ever revised.     For instance, the zinc-base alloy cam follower bodies of the 4 valve/cylinder T-head fours of the late teens/early 1920s might have been a terrific economy item for production; but when the diecast material grows, the engine will lock solid.   And if you read the Stutz chapter of John Bentley's 1950s book, "Great American Automobiles", you will know that Stutz were doing extensive running of multiple pre-production  "sleepers"  of DV32s with steel connecting rods instead of aluminium alloy Lynite rods .  The crankshaft main bearings in the engine I have  are massive, possibly 3 or 4 times the standard  ones of engines even 3 or 4 months earlier. Engine # DV30004 has "SPECIAL" cast on the left side of the block.   The changes in the centre main bearing caps of my two earlier BB engines of March and May 1928 casting dates show that Stutz knew they had a problem.  If they had one of these strengthened DV32 prototypes  to run against the 8 litre  short chassis Hispano Suiza "ring-in" in the match race, the result might have been different.  The wonderful old emeritus professor of Agriculture, Sir Samuel Wadham, tried to teach us wisdom.   He said that "The importance of history is the reason things happen."  Our ownership and restoration can sometimes be categorized as forensic mechanical archeology, if we have the necessary cognitive inclination.  Incidentally, my friend Stuart Middlehurst had special interest in Hispano Suizas, total 8 or 9 cars now if you look at what he had.  So I do have a lot of understanding and respect for them

[1912Staver]

My copy is also poorly printed. Useful information , but definitely they could have done a better job. For such a popular car there is little printed material available. Books like THE MARMON  HERITAGE  set a standard that SPLENDID STUTZ falls far short of.

Greg in Canada

[JohnBoyle]

For what it's worth, my copy has pretty good photos considering they are original factory photos and not shots of current cars.

[edinmass]

When the book was made and scanned, the entire project somehow almost fell apart. I don’t remember the details, several  people picked up the pieces and did the best they could with what they had and saved the project. Yes, many photos are far from perfect, but it’s much better than nothing.......which is what most small manufacturers have for information on them. I know for a fact one particular person put his own money in it at 100 percent risk for a zero return guarantee. He and many people know who he is, and we should all be thankful for him making the project successful. 

 

By by the way, you probably have the limited edition brown cover book(leather), that was 200 when new if memory serves me. They are long gone, and demand a premium now.

Edited May 24, 2018 by edinmass (see edit history)

[693]

I will attempt to clear up the myths concerning the Splendid STuTZ.  I am the Treasurer of the STuTZ Club, Inc. and handle the orders and shipping of the books.

There was only one printing of the book in two versions, the brown leather bound and the silver standard bound versions.  At the current time there are still new books of both versions available for sale by the STuTZ Club from the one and only printing. 

The book was put together 22 years ago by the founding members of the club on a limited budget.  Their goal was to consolidate what literature and information there was about the history of STuTZ.  Although informative the literature and information available did not provide a unified and comprehensive account of the fascinating story of the marque and the companies and people who created it.  It was this void that the STuTZ Club set out to fill in the book.

Some of the illustrations are less clear than ideal, usually because they were taken from old originals.  They were included in the belief that their intrinsic interest outweighs that problem.  The Splendid STuZ is not and was not intended to be a coffee table book filled with professional rendered photographs.

The book is a wonderful collection of historic and technical information.  It was assembled by members with a  love for the marque and a desire to record and preserve the story.  As a current member and officer of the club I salute them and thank them for their effort.

 

Edinmass is correct about the problem they experienced having the book published.  The original publisher went bankrupt and they were left with no book and no money.  A few members funded the publishing of the book and were issued promissory notes by the club.  All of the notes were paid off through the sale of the book.

 

Dan DiThomas

Treasurer

 

 

 

[trimacar]

I went to the Stutz Club website and found information on ordering the silver edition.  How much is the leather bound edition?

[693]

Hello trimacar,

I do not have the price of the leather bond in the text on the website because none have been ordered in awhile.  The price of $189.00 is on the order form.  There is a link to the order form a little further down the page.

 

 

[trimacar]

3 hours ago, 693 said:

Hello trimacar,

I do not have the price of the leather bond in the text on the website because none have been ordered in awhile.  The price of $189.00 is on the order form.  There is a link to the order form a little further down the page.

 

 

 

OK thanks, was just curious, I may order a copy as I don't have it in my library, but then again will probably order the "regular" one....thanks dc

[alsancle]

The picture quality is not great and I believe an artifact of the original publisher, but when you know the backstory we just have to appreciate having the book at all. 

 

The club guys that made it happen deserve a round of applause.

[693]

alsancle,

You are correct.  I miss Bill Greer!

Dan