George King III Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 Is there a good book on the history of Maxwell cars that is available? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMc Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 The only book I am aware of is "Maxwell Motor and the Making of the Chrysler Corporation" by Anthony Yanik, readily available from the internet book shops. Its the history of the company more than the cars although cars are mentioned. https://www.booktopia.com.au/maxwell-motor-and-the-making-of-the-chrysler-corporation-anthony-j-yanik/book/9780814334232.html Do you have a Maxwell, if so what model? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George King III Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 Good afternoon David --- Thank you for the reply. I do not own a Maxwell but I have restored many cars. I am currently working on a 1901 Orient made by Waltham Manufacturing Company. The man who owns the 1907 Maxwell sold me the Orient. He is interested in having me restore his car. It is a roadster with a two cylinder engine. I like to do research so I can do work perfectly. I do not know what model it is. Am I correct in assuming that the touring cars had four cylinder engines and the roadsters two? What kind of a Maxwell do you own? Where do you live in OZ? --- George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMc Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 George, Thanks for the picture of your Orient, it looks great, Do you have a picture of your friend's 1907 Maxwell? My Maxwell is a 1912 Model AC , the last of the 2 cylinder models, Maxwell called it a Roadster however other 2 cylinder Maxwells are called "Runabout" or " Tourabout", they are all 2 seat models, the names don't mean much. I am currently nearing completion of a book covering the restoration of my car along with input from other Maxwell owners, useful references and photos. It also includes a comprehensive section covering the identification and history of the 2 cylinders cars from 1904 to 1912. The book covers only the 4" & 4.5" bore 2 cylinders cars , Maxwell also made a larger 2 cylinder car with a 5" x 5" engine , there are not many of those around. I hope I can assist you in your research. The first step is to find the number on the top of the engine and on the heel board below the front of the seat, Those numbers should be the same and will have letter prefixes which will, identify the model, the numbers mean little, for example my car is AC76525 which identifies it as a 1912 model AC. I am in Sydney NSW. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George King III Posted October 30, 2020 Author Share Posted October 30, 2020 Good afternoon David --- We are having our first snow today and I know that you are entering summer. I would prefer that. I was in Sydney during the bicentenary of Australia. I also got to Brisbane and Tasmania. I was in the United States Coast Guard and was on the sailing ship Eagle which is our training ship. Your car look wonderful. I had a 1912 Ford that was the same color. I hope that I can get a copy of your upcoming book. I will get the number from my friends Maxwell. He is the gentleman that I bought the Orient from and I would like to buy his Maxwell but if I get to restore it, I will drive it quite a bit. I will let you know what I find. I am sure it is a roadster. Am I correct in assuming that all of the touring cars were four cylinder engines? Here is a photo of the engine in my Orient. --- George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMc Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 George, Yes summer is coming on here. 1988, when we held the Bicentennial was a great year for old cars, we had a tour starting in every state captial city ending in the national capital, Canberra where there was over 1000 pre 1930 cars on display at the end of the tour. I drove a 1922 Packard. I have also driven my Maxwell on various 1 week tours plus a three week drive from Perth to Sydney, about 2,500 miles. All of the 2 cylinder Maxwells have 2 seats with an odd exception where a third "mother in law" seat was mounted precariously at the back. The 4 seat touring style bodies were only fitted to the 4 cylinder cars , there were also 2 seat bodies on the 4 cylinder cars . The book will always be a work in progress, its essentially a record of the mechanical restoration of my car with reference material and model ID information. I hope to print a first edition soon. Once you have the ID numbers for your friend's Maxwell it can be positively identified. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George King III Posted November 1, 2020 Author Share Posted November 1, 2020 Thank you David. I appreciate the info you have sent me. Having spent a little time in Australia, I am aware of how long the distance is between cities and towns in the country. Driving antique cars there takes the fortitude of being Australian. Good on ya. I have written two books about the 1916 ambulance that I built. The first was about the history and build and the second was about six months in France. What a great adventure. I should have the number and some photos of the car by the 8th of November. I am going to send you a photo of what my car looked like when I bought it. The Maxwell is in similar condition. Thank you for your help. --- George 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gossp Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 3 hours ago, DavidMc said: George, Yes summer is coming on here. 1988, when we held the Bicentennial was a great year for old cars, we had a tour starting in every state captial city ending in the national capital, Canberra where there was over 1000 pre 1930 cars on display at the end of the tour. I drove a 1922 Packard. I have also driven my Maxwell on various 1 week tours plus a three week drive from Perth to Sydney, about 2,500 miles. All of the 2 cylinder Maxwells have 2 seats with an odd exception where a third "mother in law" seat was mounted precariously at the back. The 4 seat touring style bodies were only fitted to the 4 cylinder cars , there were also 2 seat bodies on the 4 cylinder cars . The book will always be a work in progress, its essentially a record of the mechanical restoration of my car with reference material and model ID information. I hope to print a first edition soon. Once you have the ID numbers for your friend's Maxwell it can be positively identified. David The statements above concerning 2cyl Maxwells all being 2 passenger cars is not quite true. The Models: H, HB, HC, and HD spanning 1905-1909 were 5 passenger touring cars with a large 2cyl and a progressive shift three speed transmission (same transmission as the 4cyl cars). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMc Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 Yes I stand corrected, I overlooked the larger 2 cylinder cars, I am not aware of any in this country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozstatman Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 11 hours ago, DavidMc said: The book will always be a work in progress, its essentially a record of the mechanical restoration of my car with reference material and model ID information. I hope to print a first edition soon. David, Where does the line start for the book signing? 📚✏️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gossp Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 7 hours ago, DavidMc said: Yes I stand corrected, I overlooked the larger 2 cylinder cars, I am not aware of any in this country. Don’t turn down a chance to drive one if ever offered. The extra power is nice but not needed in my opinion, but the middle gear and getting away from a planetary but still having Maxwells “perfectly simple” design makes them a wonderful car to drive... once you get used to a progressive shift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMc Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 I agree that extra gear would make a big difference hill climbing. I don't think I will ever see one in Australia let alone drive one but they sure would be great on a 1-2 cyl tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George King III Posted November 6, 2020 Author Share Posted November 6, 2020 Gentlemen ---Nice to hear from all of you. I planned to send you some photos of the Maxwell that I plan to work on next year but the owner sent me videos and I can not load them in here. Let me just tell you that the number stamped into the back of the engine is 15055. What does that tell us? --- George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George King III Posted November 6, 2020 Author Share Posted November 6, 2020 What is the original carburetor on the Maxwell two cylinder engine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMc Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 George , That number does not identify the model of the Maxwell, it should have letter/s prefix. The engine number is stamped on the top of the engine, see the attached photo of my engine, the AC prefix identifies my car as a 1912 Model AC. However If the Maxwell in question is one of the larger 5" x 5" twin cylinders then the number may be in a different location although I would expect it to be the same. The carburetor was a Maxwell design and much has been written and discussed about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George King III Posted November 12, 2020 Author Share Posted November 12, 2020 Good morning David --- Thank you for the photo. I am going to go to Long Island, New York next week and take a series of photos of the Maxwell. I did not think that the number my friend sent me was correct. I will just go there and take photos for myself. The fact that he sent me videos of the car is good in that the owner is cranking the engine while my friend videoed it. The intake valves are stuck but that is not a big dear. Although I will not start working on this car until next year, I will start applying penetrating oil to as many locations that I can find when I visit. Should I be able to find carburetor details in this forum? Thanks again. --- George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMc Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 George, PM sent. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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