We drove south on some of the most beautiful scenic roads along the water, avoiding all traffic and perfecting the down shift into second gear as we rolled through most stop signs. After about 30 miles we arrived in the small town of Freeland where we stopped for lunch. The car was running smoothly and powerfully on the battery, but switching it over to Mag. found it working fine for a period of time, but then developing a problem with missing and some back firing.

In Freeland we met a fellow who brought us 3 Maxwell script wrenchs. The story he gave was about his father, an auto mechanic, who had left a number of old tools and these three were among them. He donated them to the cause, and I promised him they would ride in the car’s tool pouch across the country.

After lunch we proceeded south to Langley, continuing to struggle with diagnosing the missing and back firing problem with the Magneto. I wasn’t ready to accept that the Splitdorf Model D Type E mag. was the problem. Vern Campbell had completely rebuilt that mag as his gift and donation to the Centennial and I was sure it was in better condition than when it was new. The car was smooth and powerful on battery, but switch over to mag. on the coil box switch and it would run OK for a bit then begin to falter.

Heading back north toward home, I kept flipping the coil box switch back to the mag side to see if it had healed itself yet. I think once, out of frustration, I flipped the switch a bit harder to the mag. side and we drove on in the sunshine……About 20 miles later Pete and I noticed the car was still running very smoothly without missing a beat, and the switch was still on Mag.

My conclusion is that the mag. side of the switch needs a little attention. A firm push to that side planted the contacts together better and everything went fine. Previously switching over to the mag. side I believe the contacts met, but car vibration eventually shook them a bit loose, and so contact was not solid and caused a break in the circuit – miss-fires & back fires……So we will rework that switch to be sure it makes solid contact all the time when Emily is driving the car.

We drove 75 miles and enjoyed every sun filled moment of it. There were a few tree lined and shaded sections of road that got a bit cold in the 45 degree weather, so there was a chill in our bones when we arrived home. The car performed perfectly…..and the coil box switch problem was discovered and will be repaired.  That is why we drive the car for a 1000 miles before it goes to NYC.

After the Kirkland show the car was picked up by FedEx Concours Transport and delivered to Hershey, PA. where the car was on display all week. For the first three days the car, and a display of items about the centenial drive were a part of the Antique Car Club of America Museum display. Tim Simonsma, our mechanic, was with us at the display and put in many hours showing off the car and talking with people about the drive. Tim did a great job and the car drew a lot of attention. Hopefully we were able to attract people to the AACA Museum display as well. We thank the AACA Museum for the space to tell our story and show off the car all week.

On Friday of Hershey week the car was at the Horseless Carriage Club of America tent and barbeque with the display table and Tim again sharing the story of Alice and her historic drive. Dorothy Grace also joined us for much of the day to talk with people about the centennial drive. Dorothy plans to drive the entire distance with us in her 1911 Regal.

FedEx Transport then picked up the Maxwell and delivered it back to Washington State for its final mechanical detail and drive in workout. On Sunday 11/9/08 Rich drove the Maxwell, with friend Pete Wahlstrom following, into town to fill the tank at the gas station for the first time. The car drove wonderfully and seemed to have great power when climbing hills even in third gear. The first tank fill of gas registered 13.4 gallons and cost $30.87. We kept the receipt for our diary about the adventure. Rich and Pete then drove the car home and abandoned Pete’s pickup braving a solo drive with no back up for another 20 miles. This was Pete’s first ride in a brass car and he was quite impressed. The Maxwell cruised along flawlessly and switching from battery to magneto went smoothly as well. The driver needs more practice in the shifting area, not being quite proficient in down shifting and double clutching a car with one pedal that operates the brake once it is depressed half way down.

A couple more 20 mile test drives have gone perfectly. Then on Sunday 11/16/08 Emily, Jill and Margaret joined Marriane McCoy and Bill Turina for a  morning photo shoot. We located a dirt, two rut road a few miles from home and shot a load of photos of the women and the car. After lunch Les Gitts in his 1906 Queen and Mike and Marcia Yeakel in their 1907 Buick joined us for more photo opportunities at the Jacob Ebey house on the Ebeys Landing Historical Reserve. We were able to get a large number of great photos of all the cars and have submitted some to the Horseless Carriage Gazette for the cover of the January/February issue.

As of Thanksgiving 2008 we have 90 miles on the car with no problems. Sure, the brakes need adjustment, the oil needs to be checked often to be sure we are lubricated and the radiator is still the leaky original one, so we have to add water to keep it full. ( we seem to be getting 6 miles per gallon on the water). A new radiator core is being fitted and hopefully will get installed the first week of December.

Planning continues for the drive. We are making a few changes as we discover significant places to visit along the way. Alice went to Vassar College, so we plan a stop there. There is a Womens Rights Museum in Seneca Falls, NY that we will visit, and plans for our stay in Buffalo at the Pierce Arrow Museum are growing daily. We also hope to overnight in Auburn, Indiana and visit the Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg Museum.

So as you can see by the trip the car took from Kirkland to Hershey and back, the Maxwell has crossed the country twice already, albeit in a commercial hauler. Now the chore is to drive it and work out the mechanical details enough for it to be ready to drive from New York to San Francisco next summer. Stay tuned……

We are rapidly coming up on our deadline to show the car at the Kirkland Concours d’Elegance in Kirkland, Washington Sept.7th. And….on that day the shipping company will pick up the car and deliver it to Canton, Ohio for the Glenmoor Gathering of Significant Cars show on 9/12/08. We are hoping we are driving well and looking pretty for both of those shows. After Glenmoor, it will just be putting miles on the car and detailing all the specifics that will make it a smooth running machine. With 9 months to drive it and work out the kinks, we will be ready for June 2009. Since it rains from October to June in Washington we will be driving in the rain…..but then again, so did Alice.

I forgot to mention….over the winter we will be trying to locate a luggage rack for the rear of the car, a prestolite tank for the running board, and a round luggage box that fits inside the side mount spare tire. Alice had all these things, and so will we. I anyone out there can help us locate these items, please contact me. (Rich Anderson 206-240-9434)……more to follow….

Restoration of the Splitdorf coil box is nearly finished. Lud Gocek from Vintage Brass supplied us with some very nice parts to finish the box. Bill Ottemann researched and sent us the wiring diagram for this system. We are waiting to get the firewall back from the painter so we can install it, wire the system and finish the electrical system.

Typical problems with this kind of restoration have developed. The upholsterer called yesterday and informed me that he would not have the car finished before he left on vacation for two weeks. We had been promised it would be finished by April 15. It now looks like it will be May 20th or later. This delay adds complications to meeting our deadline.

We are still needing to retube the oiler on this car. It has a gear driven oil pump with oil lines to each cylinder, front and rear main and the clutch. The engine came without any oil lines so we will need to make new lines. Flaring, bending and fitting the brass tubing to do this will take some time and is an art. This challenge still awaits us in the next month.

Rick Britten has informed us that he is on schedule with restoring the brass. We already have the head lights and cowl lamps done and they are beautiful. Rick is finishing the hubcaps and tail light and promises to have them done by mid-April. He had previously finished the brass steering column. This will leave us with the horn and carbide generator for next year. When it comes to finished and coated brass there are none better than Rick. Thank you !

NEEDS: We are still in need of a luggage rack and trunk for the rear of the car. I haven’t taken measurements and gotten into the details yet but have wondered it there is a product out there on the reproduction market that might work. If anyone knows of sources please contact me and let me know. I did look into the Model A catalogue and there are some options there.

We also need to sew pennants for the drive. They are triangular banners that mount on sticks that attach to the car. The ones we want to make have a circle on them with the letters MBMC inside the circle. The initials stand for Maxwell Briscoe Motor Club. If anyone knows a sewing hobbist with an embroidery machine that could make these banners, please let us know. We need about 1/2 dozen.

Finally, we are in need of a trailer. We would prefer to get one donated so we can adapt it to our needs and splash the outside with sponsors logos and pictures of Alice. Any leads on trailers (24-28′) would be appreciated. We need something big enough to carry the car plus extra parts etc. Dragging it across the country and back will but some miles on it so it needs to be durable. We would be happy to promote a sponsors trailers all along the way if we could get one donated.

We are still looking for some missing parts. We desperately need an exhaust manifold. If we don’t find an original, we will have to fabricate one, but hopes are there is an original out there somewhere we can put on Alice’s engine. We need a pair of Maxwell headlites. They need to be Maxwell script and likely have a number on them. We also need a #4 Maxwell tail light.

We also need the pulley that keeps the brake chain equalized. Considering started with nothing three years ago, this is quite a short list.

January’s E-Bay was good to us. We were able to buy a top for the car that needs new wood and repaint, but looks like it will work out well. We also got a robe rail for the back of the front seat. Pieces like this tend to trickle in so bit by bit we will have a whole car.

We are very grateful to the many people who have supported this effort to date. There are so many I hesitate to mention names for fear of leaving someone out. We do need to acknowledge Tom Thoburn who long dreamed of being able to do this centennial drive, but sadly did not live long enough. This drive will be in memory of Tom and all he did to preserve the memory of the Maxwell automobile. His daughter Terry has been a great help and support, supplying the engine and transmission for Alice’s car. Obviously a metaphor for the work her father did for Maxwell in the hobby.

Also, without the help and assistance of Sterling Walsh we would never be able to get on the road. He had the frame for Alice’s car that kick started this whole project. He also has the only other 1909 DA Maxwell, so the photographs and templates taken from his car have given us the road map we needed to complete this automobile. Thank you all for your help and support. We could never do this without everyone lending a hand.

In July we did the final fitting for the sheet metal on the body. The body has been fitted, fenders and hood aligned and splash aprons adjusted. It really looks like a car with all its parts intact. After a few pictures, we disassembled everything and transported the body to the paint shop for final painting. We are promised to have it back and ready for upholstery before thanksgiving.

In August we put the finished engine into the chassis. Since then final assembly of all the drive parts, attaching manifolds, brake lines, etc. is moving along. We had to have an exhaust manifold made for the car as the engine did not have one when it was donated by Ed & Terry Huston. I took the exhaust manifold off of the 1908 Model K Maxwell roadster and sent it to Art Bergstrom for a pattern. By early October he had sent the pattern to the foundry, so a new manifold should arrive soon.

Our hope is to fire up the engine sometime in December. Once we get it running and work out a few mechanical kinks…..all of the running gear comes apart and will go to the paint shop for final paint. Going to Hershey in October and getting a bit distracted when I found original engine parts for the 1909 Pierce Arrow delayed work progress on the Maxwell for a few weeks, but we are back at it now and moving ahead.

The Horseless Carriage Club of America voted to support the drive and encourage regional groups to participate along the way. We are pleased to be able to promote the club to the people we meet across the country and to have other vintage cars join us on the drive for a few miles or the entire trip. Alice had others join her during different phases of her drive, and we welcome the same from others who want to participate.