1925 Maxwell enjoyed strong sales until WWI
In 1910, Maxwell automobiles were strong competitors. Only Ford and Buick exceeded the company’s sales, but Maxwell’s fortunes took a turn for the worse after World War I, and the end came in 1925.
One of the last 1925 Maxwells produced was a dark blue coupe with black fenders. Arthur Morton Waddel paid about $950 for the 2,340-pound Maxwell and drove the three-speed car home to Amity, Oregon. The warranty on his vehicle covered defects for the initial 90 days after the sale with the caveat that any repairs had to be done at the Maxwell factory in Detroit.
By the early 1930s, Waddel turned the car over to his son Ed, who didn’t know how to drive. So it fell to the grandson, Ramond, to teach his father Ed how to operate the automobile. Ramond recalls driving the fourdoor estate vehicle to his high school graduation.
In March 1952, Ed Waddel sold it to his brother-inlaw Robert Schaeffer. Within a decade, the Maxwell received a $60 coat of dark blue paint. After the crowned fenders were hammered back into a semblance of their original shape, they were painted black.
Although the original brightwork was nickelplate, the radiator shell was chrome-plated in 1973 for a total of $72. The walnut door handles are capped on each end with nickel.
Four new 5.77x30-inch tires and inner tubes were acquired for $247 in 1980. The side-mounted spare tire in the left front fender was not replaced. It remains secured there by a sextet of leather straps.
Eventually Schaeffer decided to find the Maxwell a new owner. Keeping the car in the family was desirable, but none of the relatives in Oregon showed any interest. Schaeffer wrote to Jim Waddel in Delaware, who also expressed no interest in the Maxwell. He did, however, mention the vehicle to his brother Frank, in Charlotte Hall, Maryland, who was indeed interested after Schaeffer assured him it was a running car.
After a deal was struck, the Maxwell crossed the country in a closed trailer and was delivered to Frank Waddel’s doorstep. Knowing that his grandfather and father also had driven the car was an added bonus.
Waddel located a Wichita, Kansas, man who owns several Maxwells; he offered his expertise and spare manifolds, since the original manifolds were beyond repair. With new wiring and spark plugs, the car seemed ready to roll. Instead, Waddel lamented, “It doesn’t run at all.” After much trial and error he found the 21-horsepower 185-cubic-inch, four-cylinder engine was wired backwards. It seemed once Waddel solved one problem, another would take its place.
A week and a half before his daughter’s wedding, Waddel got the Maxwell running well enough for a trial run to the church and back home. When the wedding day arrived, he got it to the church for pictures of his daughter in the car, making five generations of Waddels that have been in the car.
Although Waddel got it to the church on time, it wasn’t running correctly. Since then he has had more time to sort out the details of owning a Maxwell. For instance, he explains that bumpers were optional, pointing out the aftermarket name on the front bumper. Judging from the dents in the lead-lined gasoline tank, a rear bumper might have been a good investment. Each success is a little triumph Waddel shares with his great-grandfather.