1923 Moxie Horsemobile Posted 2010/07/16 @ 09:00 AM By Myles Kornblatt
It takes Moxie to ride a horse that is riding a car. That may have been the message the soda company was trying to get across with the promotional vehicles it used throughout the 1920s. Described by one individual as tasting like, “a cross between Coca-Cola and cough syrup,” Moxie soda gained its reputation by being the most macho of the soft drinks. So it stands to reason that a “Moxie Man” can handle two forms of transportation at once.
John Wissink of Spring Lake, Michigan decided of he had the guts to ride a Moxiemobile (AKA Horsemobile), but there was a problem: only one survivor is known today. So he had one made, and Wissink was more than happy to take us for a ride when it was featured at the Iola Old Car Show:
Wissink’s journey started with a picture of a Moxie Horsemobile based on a Buick. He then took a 1923 Buick truck chassis and had it modified in Florida to include items such as a flat floor and custom fenders. A fiberglass horse produced in Wisconsin then joined the chassis. The final setup is a little more complicated than it looks. The Buick four-cylinder engine and transmission is connected to another transmission borrowed from a Hudson, and it is all controlled from the top of the horse via a ‘48 Chevrolet three-speed selector.
The horse/truck is very drivable. Although the seating position towers over most SUVs, and there is no power steering, this Moxiemobile handles close to a normal car from the same era. Wissink has even taken it across the infamously windy Mackinaw Bridge in Michigan. Just don’t expect him to have the “Moxie” to ride this horse as a daily driver.
