mrcvs

Curious how these were ever so popular back in the day--of course I love them! It seems to me, at least if they were still manufactured today, that these cars would be best suited as either seasonal cars or as a car in a southern climate. But, these were built in a day when multiple car ownership was fairly uncommon and ownership was not confined to southern climates. My Maxwell, for example, originated in Massachusetts. I suppose the canvas flaps existed, and these could be utilized in bad weather. But how common were these and what was used to enhance the field of vision in the day prior to flexible clear plastic, like that employed in a modern soft top Jeep Wrangler? Admittedly, the field of vision is already poor when I drive my Maxwell and I cannot imagine how bad it would be using the flaps. I go to auctions fairly regularly and I have never seen old flaps offered in a pile of "junk". Possibly the survival rate was that poor, but that seems unlikely. Would every touring car have shipped with these or would this have been an option? It seems that these would be common as I would think the amount of garage and barn space used exclusively for vehicle storage would have been far exceeded by the number of vehicles out there at that time. Also, just like today, one could take one's vehicle on an errand, park it, and come back to find the vehicle saturated (hopefully just exterior surfaces) due to an unexpected thunderstorm.

Any ideas on where to find appropriate points for a Maxwell? Also, I had the number written down for a potential source of AC (not AC Delco) spark plugs and I have lost it. Any suggestions? Searching for AC spark plugs yields an overwhelming results volume for AC Delco so if any AC spark plugs are out there they get buried in the search.

A lot of these cars would have lasted a lot longer if they weren't victims of WWII steel drives.

Howard, What is the serial number of your Maxwell? Thanks in advance.

Bring it on, baby! I have seen photographs on this forum of a beautiful 1910 Maytag on this forum that, at current valuation, would make ownership in this lifetime by myself a virtual impossibility. Should interest, and therefore, value, plummet, it's a whole different ballgame!

Others have stayed that there might be no heirs. Someone else stated they buy an antique every now and again, as prices have really crashed. Folks, the sad reality is that there may be heirs, and prices have crashed on all this stuff and will continue to do so. The younger generations don't want any of this junk. In the next few decades it's going to be a buyer's market for all this stuff, furniture, guns, even care. I have a beautiful tiger maple canopy bed circa 1835 I picked up at auction in April. Cost me $850. There's a sticker on the right end post where the previous owner wrote they bought it in 1985 and paid SIX THOUSAND dollars for it. That was fair market value then. I have a beautiful inlaid table from Baltimore circa 1800 I paid $2400 for. Previous owner bought it for $15000. Who knows. I might struggle to get a grand for it someday. Believe me, I enjoy antique cars (the earlier the better!), but if you think they are immune from this they are not. The younger kids don't want this stuff or, if they do, they are burdened by student loans. There just might be the day when an antique car, running/restored, bringing less than five figures, unless very unique or rare, might be the norm.

Dumb question, but I don't know... Just noticed parts catalogue reprint states AC spark plugs. My mind was thinking AC Delco. Is this one and the same or two different spark plugs?

Where does one obtain NOS spark plugs? Also, if not new old stock AC Type A?

For an antique car? In this case, it's a 1917 Maxwell, but what's the principle behind it so that I can select a replacement spark plug for any vintage automobile, and not something I look up in a stock manual of specifications of replacement parts for recently manufactured automobiles? Right now, currently installed spark plugs are Champion.

Has anyone read that book called Chasing Grandpa?

Thank you! I noted it contains beveled glass. Maybe, as suggested, someone can post a photograph of this car. I don't know how to do it.

Jimmy's car, Season 1 Episode 5, "Lady Chatterley" painted on the rear. What is it--make, model, and year?

Near Allentown Pennsylvania. If you are familiar with this area, you will note that for whatever reason developers have built up this area with a vengeance lately and a small farm gets costly very quickly once there is any land involved and/or a place with any privacy is a rarity indeed! I'll lick this skunk sooner or later! It's just proving to be a bit more challenging than I expected. Nowhere near as bad as somewhere like Seattle though.

UPDATE: I have joined the HCCA, and enjoy their Journal immensely. A year ago or so I turned down purchasing a beautiful 1913 Model T from a member of this forum as I did not have a place to store it. A wise move despite wanting that car as a decent property has not come along yet. Am confident that the "right" property will come along sooner or later and then I can have a place to store my "reasonably priced" pre-1916 automobile. The stumbling block is the property. Looked at what I believed was going to be a decent farm today but suburbia/urban sprawl abetted all corners of its modest acreage, so a no go, for now.

The KD carburetor has got to be superior to the Johnson carburetor I had on my Maxwell. This spring I shall know for sure. If it doesn't work well, I'm going to probably install a Zenith carburetor. At least the KD has a brass float. The cork float in the Johnson carburetor would quickly fail to float as infiltrated with the poor quality of gas available these days.

I had trouble logging in for ages! Yes, I found this part soon after creating this thread. As this was circa late 2011 I cannot recall where I got it from.

Has anyone read this book yet?

Absolutely! I am leaving for Omaha for work shortly and will be away for work for a few weeks, but I will angle the carburetor like yours and make a new fuel line and eliminate that barrel. Much thanks!

And the K D Type B carburetor leaks. Not as bad as the Johnson (that would be downright impossible!), but still a persistent drip, as installed... The saga continues!

I did not realize there was a book about this. I have a clipping about this from the Wall Street Journal.

Thank you, Howard, for sending me this piece. Arrived yesterday...and I am most appreciative!!!

And a description so I can order on line. Hardware store does not have it not can they order it.

Howard, Where did you find the 90 degree 3/8" male-female end fitting that fits between the fuel line and carburetor?

I am not on Facebook. Can you rovide details?

I just mentioned this to someone the other day. I would not be in the market for a late model used car in the next several months. These have a good chance of having originated in the Houston area.