When was the last time you stumbled on a vintage car in a basement? Never? Yeah, me either. But that’s exactly what happened to Jeryl Schriever and Alex Huppe when they found a 1916 Saxon Model 14.
The story of Schriever and Huppe’s find is a fascinating one told by Stef Schrader over at The Drive. The car had been in pieces when the two purchased it and began a lengthy restoration process designed to turn the machine into a replica of the Golden Flyer, a different Saxon Model 14 that travelled around America to promote the then-revolutionary idea that women should be allowed to vote. It’s a really cool story that Stef tells well.
But I’m here to talk to you folks about the engine.
There are few simple pleasures in life as sweet as watching an old engine fire up after decades of disuse — and, in this case, not even being connected to a car. The Saxon only boasted 9 kilowatts from its four-cylinder Continental engine, but that was a pretty big deal back in the day, especially for a car so light. It was by no means a sports car — the Ford Model T had more horsepower, after all — but it was a great machine for tooling around the country in the name of women’s suffrage.
The two women who drove this type of car, Alice Burke and Nell Richardson, became the first people to drive a loop around America — an especially impressive feat considering that it was a pain in the arse to get crank-start engines in action. So, listen to this beautiful engine rumble to life, close your eyes, and imagine the olden days.
If you want to see this car with your own two eyes, it’s being displayed at the Seal Cove Auto Museum in Tremont, Maine. The museum is closed, but you can still make appointments for personal tours.