1910 Paint Schemes

[Guest F1FanWoodsie]

Hello everyone!

My grandfather and my father contacted a man in the 1960s regarding an old Maxwell he had in a barn that had collapsed on his property. For a few days my father, his dad and uncle went and dug it out and placed it in our garage where it has remained for 40 years.

The last few years, then, we've been trying to get a start on restoring this 1910 Q3 touring car. The engine is in fantastic shape and still turns over with a turn of the crank. The frame is still in good shape (less some rusting on the back half), and the wheels are still present (but will have to be replaced, obviously). I have pictures for those who are interested in seeing them.

My immediate concern now, though, is starting somewhere on the restoration. We're a bit unsure where to begin on this endeavor, but my dad thinks that one of the first things we should do is get the frame painted to stop any more rust from attacking it. Thus, I have two questions.

The first of which:

Where can I go to get some information on paint schemes for this Maxwell? We originally thought that there were a few colors to choose from (we were leaning towards a green or blue), but I read somewhere else that the only color available for the Q3s was blue. If anyone can confirm this, that would be great.

Second, on a broader sense, where should we begin with this Maxwell? We have fenders being made right now and they're nearing completion, but once we get them back we still need to figure out a few details (for instance, what kind of wood is used on the running boards?). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all very much!

[1940_Buick]

As for the running boards, you can use any rot resistant wood that's the right thickness. Avoid pine and oak. A good lumber yard can give you some suggestions. Then the wood is usually covered by linolium with brass or alumium edges. The linolium and metal edges are available from Restoration Supply at http://www.restorationstuff.com/

Please post some pictures

[Chuck Richardson]

According to James Zordich's survey of Maxwells (published in the HCCA Gazette, v.38 n.6, Nov-Dec, 1976) the Q-3 was painted dark blue, as were the Q-1 and Q-2. The Registry lists several other Q models, some unrestored. You might contact those owners for more information or try the Maxwell-Briscoe Yahoo bulletin board.

[Guest F1FanWoodsie]

Thanks for the prompt responses! You said to make sure the wood is the right thickness; what thickness would that be?

As for the pictures, I took these a few weeks ago. Just to let you know, we have most of the brass for the car (the horn, the carbide lanterns, one of the lamps on the firewall, plus some more. We also have the crystal flower vase for the dash, as well as the identification plates/Selden numbers.

[1940_Buick]

The last running boards I made were from 3/4" thick boards. I used a type of mahogany tongue & groove board that is used for porch flooring. They matched the original running board "boards" almost exactly.

[Guest F1FanWoodsie]

Thank you very much! I suppose we'll figure out length when we get it?

And are there any other suggestions that anyone can make in regards to where we can go next with the car? Maybe in terms of body panels or wiring for the engine? Thank you very much, all!

[Chuck Richardson]

I believe Northern Ash was a common choice for wood on car bodies.

As for a restoration plan, I would attack the running gear first. It is good that the engine turns easily. However, without opening it up, you have no idea of how good the bearing are, what the clearances are, the condition of the rings. You should check the compression. There could be a lot of old oil and crud in the pan that should be cleaned out. Also, if the coolant ports have been open, it is entirely possible a small animal has made a home in them at some time and they are blocked. Bearing babbit can get old and fall apart. The valves are likely stuck and need to be freed up and then cleaned and maybe ground. There was probably a reason the car was laid up, and part of the restoring process is finding it.

My AB was on stands for 30 years because of a bad front wheel spindle. I thought fixing that would mean a drivable car. Then I started looking, to get to know the machine, and have since discovered that the 50 year-old restoration was getting a little ragged.

Do you have the magneto? I see it is missing. That will need checking and possibly recharging. The oil sight glass is missing. The carburetor is wrong.

All of this can happen concurrent with body work.

[Guest F1FanWoodsie]

I talked to my father and he said that the carb was the one that was on the car when they dug it out of the barn in the '50s. He didn't mention the magneto, though, so I'm not sure if we have that.

Otherwise, I've really been wondering about the metal work on the back of the car. I'm positive that's not original, although the wooden back piece that's sitting on top of it is. Where could we find some good body panels for this car? Having the fenders made is taking an incredibly long time (which is fine), so we might as well start looking at other metal, too, while we're waiting and starting on other things.

Thank you very much your all of your replies!

[mercer09]

I would also suggest ash or oak for your running boards. They are good lard woods. I have a seat, riser and carb I just listed on ebay. If you give me the length of your seats needed, I can go out to the garage and measure mine to see if it would be of any help. The only color listed for your car is dark blue. Your car cost 1000. new and is rated at 22hp. Good luck. rdz69@aol.com

[Guest F1FanWoodsie]

I understand now that the car is dark blue, and also I've been told there's a gentleman who works as a pathologist who may be able to help me get the exact color down (thanks to Vern Campbell for pointing me in that direction). My main problem with the color is, though, I don't know which parts need to be which color. If the body panels are dark blue, as are the fenders, what about the suspension? The wheel spokes? The many parts on the engine? It'd be great if someone with a finished '10 Q3 could take a ton of pictures for me and send them to me so that I can see which parts need to be painted which color. It'd be great if I could start cleaning those pieces, taking them off and protecting them with paint soon.

I'm getting ahead of myself, though. Here's where I am during this cold winter:

The car is protected inside a garage for the winter. Unfortunately, being away at college, I can't really work on it until summer, but come summer I'd like to hit the ground running with it and make a good push all the way until August when I have to go back.

The car is still as it appears in the pictures in this thread. The fenders are still being made with period machines, and they're looking great from the updates we get via email. I've been doing some correspondence with a few people and have acquired a parts manual (albeit a small one) from a gentleman in Texas. Through this I've been able to see that we have some more of the parts that I didn't know we had. Aside from that, I've been halfway clearing spaces in that garage for the summer when I plan on starting the disassembly of the car. As I'm disassembling, being sure to take TONS of pictures and take notes as to the construction of everything, I'll eventually get the car ready for sandblasting. Once the frame and available body panels are sand blasted, I'd like to begin painting (or at least putting primer on them) to protect the metal. After this, though, the work really begins.

As I'm going through this process, I'll be making a catalog of which parts I know we have. From that, I'll be able to know what parts we need (which I currently don't know, since I've never done a brass era car before). Also, I'll be looking at the state of the engine during disassembly, seeing what needs ground or replaced.

Thus far that's my plan. It's still kind of nerve racking considering the work that needs to be done and my inexperience on cars of that era (give me a car 30+ years newer and I'll be okay).

What I really need, though, is more guidance from all of you on what I should be looking for or looking to acquire. I need any advice you can give on this process, and any outlets that you think may be helpful regarding parts or services. I'd also love pictures. I've only seen a few pictures of a 1910 Q3 in my life (which makes building one that much harder haha), so those would be amazing. Also, I need a picture of a magneto. People ask me if we have it, but to be honest, I've never seen a Maxwell magneto, so I don't know.

Anything else would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long note, but thank you all very much. I really look forward to hearing from you and appreciate all of your help!

---Greg

[trimacar]

Hi- some random restoration thoughts:

-take lots of pictures (which you are doing), particularly when you start taking things apart

-get a notebook dedicated to the car, and make sketches of how things fit together, notes on what fasteners you need,supplier information and what you need to order, dimensions, and all the misc. things that go into a restoration

-if something is worn out, don't skimp on repairs, you need to fix it, bushings and bearings are not that expensive and can make the difference between misery and joy when driving the car

-restore and prime paint all components (I prefer DP90 epoxy as a base on clean metal, with the exception of the engine, which can be painted with engine paint to better resist oil and gas; there is special paint for radiator, make sure not to use regular paint or cooling will suffer)

-assemble the car in primer to make sure everything fits, you can even test drive it in primer

-then, take it apart to paint (down to subassemblies not down to the last piece), this way you will only have to paint it once (fresh paint will be chipped or ruined as you try to fit things); I recently heard of a restorer painting an entire assembled chassis and having it come out nicely, instead of painting each individual piece and then assembling.

Good luck! David

[Guest F1FanWoodsie]

Hello everyone! I thought I'd send out another update to let everyone know what I've been up to since I last posted.

I'm on Spring Break this week, so I was hoping to get some work done on the car, and thankfully I was able to do a few rudimentary things. I've taken some of the parts that are currently sitting under the car and ran them under a wire brush today to get the rust off of them, and I've tried to take some notice of any oddities about them. Furthermore, I did some looking around the car (meaning in the garage around the car at the loads of parts we have of everything), and I randomly came across two old magnetos (neither of which are the Splitdorfs that the Maxwells used). One was an Eismann (I think?) that was patented on December 22, 1914. The other, which was markedly older, was a KW Ignition Company Model J. This one was still very magnetic, although it doesn't look like it's all there. I realize these aren't Maxwell magnetos, but nonetheless I thought they were interesting.

Anyway, tomorrow I plan on taking some more pictures of the car and what we have left of the body. I'm still trying to figure out where to get a good template for a Q3 body, so if anyone has any ideas there that'd be great. Also, as I clean these parts, I'd like to start putting some primer on some of them at least. Should I put some filler underneath the primer to smooth our the pock marks after the rust, or should I just leave them as they are?

Also, I was thinking about eventually getting around to cleaning the cowl/hood pieces, but they have become detached at the spine. How do I go about fixing that or replacing that hinge? Once I've done that, is that piece okay to prime, at least? I assume since it's a body piece I should smooth out any imperfections with filler?

Thanks for all of the responses, everyone! Keep them coming (please! They are absolutely crucial for the restoration of this car)! Take care and I'll keep you updated.

---Greg

[Guest F1FanWoodsie]

<bump>

Just wanted to let everyone know that in exactly one week I will be free for the summer to work on the Maxwell, and I'd like to hit the ground running. I'm wondering what people thought about my plan of action in my last post, or if anyone has any further suggestions? I'll try to get some of those aforementioned pictures posted soon, but right now these finals are keeping me extremely busy.

I think what I will do first when I get back is take everything out that is sitting under the car and try to figure out what parts those are. I'll start a catalog of parts that we have, then I'll begin disassembly of the car. All of those parts will be cataloged, then hopefully I can get some primer down onto the frame. After everything is off, though, what is my best method to start reassembly? Should I start with the axles, tearing them apart and making sure they're sound and greased and strong?

Thanks for all of your help!

[1929Chrysler]

Personaly, I think you are going about everything backwards. You should worry about getting the car mechanically sound before worring about painting parts. For all you know you could have a cracked block and by the time you find that out you may have spent a ton of $$$ on the asthetics part of it.

With my car, I had all of the mechanicals rebuilt. The engine, tranny, rear end, springs, shock absorbers, EVERYTHING.My car is in perfect running condition. Now comes the fun part of removing the body, painting the frame and of course the rest of the car.

It seems as though you are trying to build a house but are more worried about the color of the walls and type of curtains you are going to use before you even have the foundation built. Just my opinion.

Dan

[keiser31]

Just my own thought on this....it's great to be certain of the mechanical stuff working properly, but one of the biggest booboos in this hobby is when someone (like me, for instance) rebuilds an engine for a car and runs out of money to do the rest of the car. All of a sudden 3 years or more have passed and there you sit with an engine that needs refreshing or rebuilding again.

[Guest F1FanWoodsie]

Despite the title of this thread, a quick read-through should reveal that I'm not only concerned about paint schemes. The paint schemes are a minor detail overall. It would be beyond foolish to start painting things on this car without going through the obvious work needed on it. A look at the pictures I posted should make it very clear that this wouldn't be probable in the least.

Even in my last update (just three posts ago) I was not asking about the paint schemes, but I'm asking about thoughts on my method of proceeding that I had proposed. Since that time I've begun disassembly of a few pieces on the car, and my main focus right now is getting the bolts holding the rear axle loose. I have almost all of them off, and once the axle is free I'd like to start rebuilding the rear end so that I know all of the gears and workings in the axle are sound.

I appreciate your concern about my process, but I would greatly appreciate it if you could help with some of the questions I've posed rather than just the inadequately named thread title (which I admit should have been named something more comprehensively). Thanks, all!

[Guest imported_Joe Kieliszek]

Hello,

Just keep chugging along; don't expect to get a whole

lot done in a year. I've been working on my model 14

Buick since 2000 and I'm nearly ready to reassemble

the chassis this summer..

When the car isn't a Ford model T, it is a much slower

process.

Keep the faith,

Joe

[gossjh]

Greg,

I just saw your posts. Did you get anything accomplished this summer. I have some freinds with Model Qs. One is in town, so I could get images of various parts if needed. Let me know

Joe