Tag: Stutz

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Another Early Anti-Glare Headlight Lens

The very modern problem of headlight glare has roots going back to the earliest days of automobile travel. Companies such as Osgood and Liberty developed some interesting lenses in an attempt to alleviate the problem, and Warner-Patterson also took a stab at it with this unique lens that looks like it is covered with bubbles:

The company called it a Warner-Lenz, and it is marked with a 1912 patent date. The following description of the lens appeared in a 1917 issue of the Automobile Trade Journal:

On the front of the Warner-Lenz are rows of small lenses and on the back are similar rows which overlap so that all the light coming from the lamp is diffused in a spray which covers almost 180 deg. with a gradual reduction of intensity toward the sides. The light is thrown all over the road and on both sides so that everything in front of the car may be clearly seen for from 300 to 500 ft. in front of the car.

The New York Secretary of State officially declared the Warner-Lenz to be legal, according to this 1918 advertisement. The square in the middle of the page also contains the names of makes that were using the lens as standard equipment with Packard and Stutz topping the list.

The ad also claims there were more than a million pairs of these lenses in use at this time. Whether that statement is truth or hyperbole, there do not seem to be too many survivors. There are currently only a handful of listings on eBay with prices ranging from $59 to $299.

1920 Stutz Bearcat Series H Roadster with Warner-Lenz headlight lenses
Attribution: Sicnag, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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A Race Filled with Legends

This marvelous graphic from the November 23, 1924, Pomona Bulletin shows the favorites going into that year’s Thanksgiving Day race at Ascot:

On the left is legendary Erwin “Cannon Ball” Baker, the inspiration for the Cannonball Run. Baker set many records for cross-country rides in the early years of the 1900s including a 1914 sprint from San Diego to New York, made on Indian motorcycle in just eleven days. For the Ascot race, Baker was driving a stock Jewett. The man in the center, Cliff Bergere, had a side gig as a Hollywood stuntman and participated in 16 Indy 500 races including the 1941 race in which he went the distance without a single pit stop. He also served during World War II and was a major in the US Army upon discharge. Bergere was driving for Deusenberg, and so was the man on the right, Frank Lockhart. Dubbed “The Boy Wonder,” Lockhart was a talented and innovative racer and Indy winner who met a tragic end at Daytona Beach in 1928 while making a run at the land speed record in a Stutz Black Hawk Special. Incredibly, video of the crash, blamed on tire failure, can be found here on YouTube.

There was another familiar name there for that Thanksgiving Day race, and just look at this colorful write-up about him:

There were 43 starters in all that day, driving approximately 250 miles before a crowd of 50,000 that included celebrities like Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. The victory went to Lockhart who slid into first place on the 31st lap and drove a masterful race, finishing in 3 hours, 21 minutes and 40 seconds. He made only one stop with 25 miles to go, and that was to lighten his load by ditching his mechanic. This photo of the action appeared in the LA Times:

The caption above the photo reads, “Photo shows Frank Lockhart, driving his No. 27 Duesenberg, coming down one of the sharp turns with C. A. Chamberlain, at the wheel of the No. 25 Chrysler, close behind. Lockhart, whose speed on the turns won him the race, almost got ruined in this particular instance as Chamberlain was hot on his trail. Inset shows “The Boy Wonder” as he finished the race.”

Cannon Ball Baker had tire problems but managed to cross the finish line on a rim exactly four minutes after Lockhart to take second place. Bergere finished ninth. Unfortunately, there was no mention of what happened to Nebraska’s Noel Bullock, but you can read more about him here: Bullock, Garrett, and the Franklin Mile Speedway: The “Real Stuff” of Nebraska Racing History