MikeC5

A true 'barn find' (without the barn)...

Ouch! I would hope that sticks in memory...

Very nice looking wings. They look very heavy duty. How thick are they?

Thanks Pete. Those pictures are worth a thousand words. I get it now and I do like the idea of having them held on by the windshield acorn nuts rather than having them clamp on the stanchion.

Thanks!

In general the more modern the car, the safer it will be all else being equal (weight, engine location, etc.). Whatever you end up buying, keep in mind that adding seat belts is something that can be done (with proper reinforcements) and is a whole lot better than nothing. My 2 cents here would be to not limit yourself to the big 3. You might find a 50's, or early 60's independent such as Studebaker, Nash, Rambler (AMC) are vehicles that have an off beat quality that can make them more interesting. Mechanical parts for these are still pretty easy to come by too.

Sure, here you go!

You could see if a local mechanic has a good borescope to allow a peek in the combustion chambers (via spark plug hole) to look for signs of burnt valves. Have you double checked valve adjustment? Better to set them up a little loose so heat expansion won't keep a valve from closing completely.

The Dodge might be a valid comparison and parts are certainly more readily available but would you not expect a touring car to be more valuable than a coupe or sedan of same vintage (condition being equal)? I would also think the mostly unmolested state of this car would give it a leg up too. Anything on those top iron measurements? Please let us know when you get in onto Ebay. I'd be interested in watching how it does.

Hi Pete, can you post a photo of the wind wing mounting you describe?

What kind of glass should be used on wind wings? I mean the frameless kind. Assuming the thinnest safety glass (1/4") but can the edges be dressed to look OK with the plastic middle layer? Tempered glass? Although having custom tempered glass would no doubt be quite expensive. I'm afraid of using plate glass....

I sounds like a valve not sealing properly or the vent hole alignment. I used a Permatex aviation sealant on the gaskets (nasty brown stuff) that holds up to gasoline. Getting it apart again in the future will be fun... The light bulb idea is a good one.

Interesting... all things being equal (and assuming it would still fit in the garage), I'd go with the 7 passenger too. The body appears to be in good shape. Was the engine block cracked/repaired?

Not on mine. Maybe clutch is mis-adjusted? Any problem getting it into 1st?

Good advice here on Ebay sale. Good luck. Any chance you can take measurements on A, B, H and J referencing my diagram I posted earlier?

Bernie, I drew that up when trying to figure out what I needed to look for for the Dodge (it had no top sockets when I bought it). Building them from scratch would be quite a challenge. I haven't seen any information on how to design the sockets in terms of loads/stresses but I would think you would begin by creating the shape/profile of the top and then bow placement to hold that shape. A 'one man top' design means the whole thing is cantilevered and held by the rear straps when folding/unfolding. I don't know how you would estimate shock/impact loading/body twist from rough roads which, I would guess, is peak loading. I suspect it was done empirically back in the day...

I checked mine yesterday and it does not appear to have ever been painted (and looks to be galvanized). I believe aluminum was still relatively expensive compared to steel (and zinc) in the 20s. Didn't the first 2-3 years of Dodge have aluminum pans?

Vanight, if you can take a few shots of the details shown and maybe a few measurements I would very much appreciate it.

Yes I remember. The unusual thing about the set of irons I have is that there's no linkage connecting to the forward socket (other than the hinge point). As near as I can tell from the pictures of this '23 Maxwell, the same is true.

What a nice original car. I hope you can find a good home for it at a decent price. Even the top looks to be in good shape. Is there a chance you could post a few close up shots of the top irons linkage? I have a set of irons (that I think are Maxwell) that I'm trying to confirm identity.

I do prime mine if the car has been sitting for more than 2-3 weeks. However, it's a bit easier since my vacuum tank has a plug in the middle of cap that seems to be just for that purpose.

I would also guess it was painted after most of assembly and so same as block...

I knew ethanol was bad for natural rubber seals, etc. but for soldered joints too? Is soft solder similar to what you would use on copper pipe (as opposed to something like silver solder/braze)? I haven't seen the term soft solder before.

Ha ha! Exactly! When I seem them on fleabay they most often are 6 v models.

I found a Klaxon at a flea market for only $20 and it works. Only thing was, it was a 6 volt horn and my car is a 12 v system. With the appropriate resistor in series it works fine. I use it mostly to AOOGAA people who wave...