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I just spent the most productive weekend researching my 1917 Maxwell that I have to share what I found. I recently made friends with a New Zealand collector who found for me parts(including N.O.S.!) that had eluded me for years. This in itself may be productive for some as they seem to have a great many cars, parts and resources over there. He sent a New Zealand car magazine and in it I read of the Automotive Research Library of the Horseless Carriage Foundation In. of America and their recent program to digitize all their books so we can research online. The website is www.hcfi.org and I spent $35.00 for a years membership. Just the first three days I found more information on my car than the last year on Google and anywhere else I've tried on the web. I just tried "1917 Maxwell' and this is what they found:

Auto Topics (all years) (22)

Automobile Industries (all years) (146)

Cycle And Automobile Trade Journal (all years) (59)

Horseless Age (all years) (115)

Motor (all years) (29)

The Automobile (all years) (140)

The Motor Age (all years) (471)

1909 (2)

1910 (3)

1911 (3)

1912 (1)

1913 (2)

1914 (2)

1915 (11)

1916 (95)

1917 (623)

1918 (65)

1919 (80)

1920 (44)

1921 (18)

1922 (18)

1923 (4)

1924 (11)

Auto Topics 1913 (1)

Auto Topics 1914 (2)

Auto Topics 1917 (19)

Automobile Industries 1917 (86)

Automobile Industries 1918 (13)

Automobile Industries 1919 (14)

Automobile Industries 1920 (5)

Automobile Industries 1921 (10)

Automobile Industries 1922 (8)

Automobile Industries 1923 (4)

Automobile Industries 1924 (6)

Cycle And Automobile Trade Journal 1912 (1)

Cycle And Automobile Trade Journal 1913 (1)

Cycle And Automobile Trade Journal 1916 (7)

Cycle And Automobile Trade Journal 1917 (12)

Cycle And Automobile Trade Journal 1918 (11)

Cycle And Automobile Trade Journal 1919 (12)

Cycle And Automobile Trade Journal 1920 (8)

Cycle And Automobile Trade Journal 1921 (2)

Cycle And Automobile Trade Journal 1922 (2)

Cycle And Automobile Trade Journal 1924 (3)

Horseless Age 1915 (2)

Horseless Age 1916 (11)

Horseless Age 1917 (92)

Horseless Age 1918 (10)

Motor 1917 (15)

Motor 1918 (1)

Motor 1919 (10)

Motor 1921 (1)

Motor 1922 (1)

Motor 1924 (1)

The Automobile 1909 (1)

The Automobile 1910 (3)

The Automobile 1911 (3)

The Automobile 1915 (8)

The Automobile 1916 (54)

The Automobile 1917 (71)

The Motor Age 1909 (1)

The Motor Age 1915 (1)

The Motor Age 1916 (23)

The Motor Age 1917 (328)

The Motor Age 1918 (30)

The Motor Age 1919 (44)

The Motor Age 1920 (31)

The Motor Age 1921 (5)

The Motor Age 1922 (7)

The Motor Age 1924 (1)

Not everything pertains to my car but you can see there's alot of information here and they are just starting and plan to scan everything they have on prewar vehicles. Check it out.

Howard Dennis

Edited by hddennis (see edit history)
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  • 5 weeks later...

I hate to do this but feel I must rescind my endorsement for this library. I joined on July 2nd and as stated had a most productive weekend searching their database. I felt I had another 11 months to enjoy this membership. Today a packet arrived with a newsletter, membership pin and my membership card which stated I was a member till December 2009. I thought this was a mistake and called and was told they only have yearly memberships but had I waited till October I would have received a full year. I stated that if that was their policy I should have been informed of that before I joined by phone as I would definitely have waited. She really wasn't bothered by the fact that I felt cheated and had no reply when I said she should inform people in the future before taking their money. I just don't want someone else cheated because I recommended these people .

Howard Dennis, poorer but wiser.

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Howard- I don't feel you were cheated, by your own admittance you got more info from them than any one else. The library has been in existence for many years and has received many accolades for their help to the Horseless Carriage Club members and non members. Please enjoy your membership and rejoin at years end.

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When someone tells me on the phone that a years membership costs $35.00 and then charges me $35.00 for that year I assume I'm getting a 12 month subscription for that $ 35.00 not 6 months and then you owe another $35.00! Any other scenario should have been explained BEFORE taking my money not two weeks later offered as an alternative had I only waited 3 more months. I purchased a year based on what their representative told me and was CHEATED out of 6 months.

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When someone tells me on the phone that a years membership costs $35.00 and then charges me $35.00 for that year I assume I'm getting a 12 month subscription for that $ 35.00 not 6 months and then you owe another $35.00! Any other scenario should have been explained BEFORE taking my money not two weeks later offered as an alternative had I only waited 3 more months. I purchased a year based on what their representative told me and was CHEATED out of 6 months.

I TOTALLY agree! There should have been a large print line or something that would tell folks that "their year" starts in October. I would have been very irritated, too since money for such things is very hard for me to come by.

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John, Thanks for the support! I was beginning to feel like the "Lone Ranger" here. That's the trouble today too many people just take it and thus it becomes the norm. Still Ain't right!!

If you want to see the proper outcome for a situation like this go on youtube and look up "United Breaks Guitars" for once the good guy wins!

Howard Dennis

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I am a member of the HCFI and have been for quite a long time, I don't rejoin every year because I require more reserch on different cars I do it because it's a non profit organization. They help preserve all this wonderfull information that you yourself were so happy to have, and they keep it for future generations of car restorers. Yes I do call them and get info on different cars I am interested in buying or need a origanal wirring diagram that I can not get any where else and in my opion if you got more info in 3 days than you did in one year than you were not cheated you got what you paid for. Also if you are only using the online tool for your reserch you should call or email them and find out what else they have on your car. The stuff on the internet is just trade journals and magazines ads, you should contact them and they will let you know what they have in the way of service manuls and factory sales info. Not all of there info is on the net yet so mabe you can feel better about not getting your full year of membership.

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I joined because they couldn't find anything when I, as you suggest, I emailed them. So after emailing and getting nowhere I inquired about joining after reading an article in a New Zealand magazine about their services. I was quoted the cost of a 1 year membership and promptly screwed out of 6 months of it! It doesn't matter what I found, I still will not receive what I was promised for the price quoted.

Howard Dennis

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