sunnybaba

Not going to Trade .... at this time.... UNLESS, it was a 1929 to 1934 Truck, in real good running condition.... maybe an original survivor, or older restoration.......... but a Driver...... flat bed , panel or pickup

John S... Yes I use it as a daily driver.... we live a very rural area.... 18 miles of dirt road to a small town... then all the paved roads within a 100 miles of that town are 35-55 mph speed limits, with very little traffic...... nearest freeway is about 100 miles away... and I like to take all the secondary, back roads when traveling from state to state.... but it will cruise at 60 mph , all day long.. with out strain.... very nice touring, long distance driving car... but also fun to take it into town too.... that is what I so enjoy about pre-war vintage cars & trucks... is it sets you back in time .... to a slower pace of Life.... where the journey, and not the destination, is the Joy... so every excursion out to town ... is a Joy ride...

Daniel ... The front seat does move back and forth on sliders, like a modern car... it is all the way back right now, because I am 6' 4" tall, 200 lbs..... very comfortable and lots of leg room for a big person. The noise level is not any louder than any other vintage car of this era... it does not have a propeller type fan that blows air it is a rotating drum type fan..... which is quieter... But I insulated the fire wall and floor boards as well as the doors and kick panels etc... with sound proofing... which makes it quieter than most..

1930 Air Cooled Franklin SedanThis is the First Car that had a Revolutionary Airplane- Type Engine …. Air CooledThe 1930 Franklin engine produces the greatest power for cylinder capacity of All automotive power plants of it’s time. It traveled from New York to Los Angles in 69 hours, 31 minutes – a new all-time record for 1930... It was a high end luxury car of it’s era, holding it’s own with Packard and Cadillac. This car is not restored to original showroom condition, but has been rebuilt and renewed, to make it a DAILY DRIVER ….. for safe use on today’s highways…..It has four wheel, Rebuilt, Hydraulic brakes, on 14” drums …. Full elliptic springs for a smooth ride, even on rough roads….. Recently Rebuilt, Fully Balanced, High Compression, 6 cylinder Air- cooled engine, putting out 105 hp…. Recently Rebuilt 4 speed transmission…. Powder coated wire wheels, with new, 6 ply tires….. New, Real Leather upholstery….very comfortable seats, with interior fully insulated, with sound proofing…. New safety glass installed, after recent paint job….. 12 volt conversion, with new, Bright, LED Headlights, Tail lights and Turn Signals….. It has original, Trunk/Luggage Rack and Dual Side mount spare tires on Powder coated rims…..This car has been driven all over the USA, from coast to coast and from the Deep South up into Canada to the Northwest Territory, Arctic Circle and back… It will cruise all day long comfortably at 55 – 60 mph, accelerating up into the 70’s when needed….. It is truly a Fine Touring car, Ready to be Driven Often…. I have all written records, of all the work done on this car, since 1944…… It has a clear New Mexico Title in my name, and is presently insured and Driven….This Beautiful, Full Classic Automobile is priced to sell on today’s slow, virus restricted Market….. I will accept $16,000

Terry... I have built a few 4x4 trucks made out of model A sedan bodies... see photo... And Mike West has a real nice Franklin pickup, he and his father built... and I think Mike is building another Franklin pick up right now... The truck in the photo above is ill proportioned , in my opinion.... I don't think it looks right...

I so appreciate, each of your interest, friendship and your encouragement to keep this awesome automobile, the Franklin...... It is a really good car for my needs here.. and I know what these roads have done to my four wheel drive trucks... it really abuses the suspension and front ends, (steering, ball joints, tie rod ends, etc,)... it is either thick dist, and loose gravel, or deep mud.... and because I like the Franklin, and think it is a fine car that I value and enjoy... I hate to see it sit at home, not being used half the time, because I don't want to abuse it and have it loose it's resale value.... because if I keep it , I will not have any extra money or extra income, above my daily living needs, to buy and start another project car or truck... this is how I have been able to afford to buy unfinished project cars or to rebuild prewar cars and trucks, over the years..... I have renewed and rebuilt, and built cars from the frame up...... using the money from selling the previous vehicle to finance the next one..... and I have done this with about 25, prewar vehicles in the past 50 years.... enjoying the process of bringing them back to life and enjoying them for a while and passing them on.. to reinvest that money into another one.... If I got attached to any one of them, then I never would have been able to experience , the uniqueness of all the others... It is just the way a poor man (with income below the poverty level), has been able to afford to own, repair and build so many really nice vintage vehicles..... So... If I keep this beautiful Franklin... it will be my Last vintage vehicle... I am 75 years old and have had a wonderful, full life, full of creativity and adventure... and I have to feel into whether or not I am willing to make this my last...... I love the Franklin ride (suspension and handling) as well as the comfortable interior... but I would love to build one that was four wheel drive, and a truck that could haul our hay from town, handle the mud and abuse... easy to get parts for.... but has those beautiful curves of the 'old time' bodies... that wonderful, 'old time feeling' of the ride itself (the journey) is the best part, and not the destination.....it would have the full elliptic spring ride of a Franklin.... a 30's body with plenty of leg room (I'm 6'4").... be able to haul 3/4 of a ton , of hay, rooks, firewood, etc. in the bed... and have vintage wire wheels and the vintage look... but be a rough off road, 4X4 work horse ...... That would serve my homesteading/Farming lifestyle of daily use... and satisfy my need to drive a nice looking, vintage looking vehicle........ anyway these are my thoughts & feelings about my selling or not selling this amazing Franklin...... I may be willing to make it my Last vintage vehicle/project....... I am a very practical, unattached character .... we will see..... thank you for your support and caring... a great bunch of fellow vintage vehicle Lovers... Sunny

It is Running nicely... I don't really have a broken transmission..... just one broken fork... and the rest of the transmission was completely rebuilt when it was installed, 23,000 miles ago...... it looks real good inside, no wear on the gears and no chips in the teeth, tight bearings, even the forks show very little wear... I screened the oil out of it with a very fine screen... no metal flakes or metallic sheen in the oil... the new fork is on the way... and will be installed early next week..... when driving with the 4 speed tranny, it makes zero noise, and even putting my ear on the shift lever... it is quiet.... so... by the time someone responds to my ad... and they want to drive it... it will be back on the road... running nicely as it should..... The good..... It is the most comfortable prewar car I have ever driven ,owned, or ridden in..... very smooth ride on rough roads..... very comfortable leather 'couch-like' seats.... With the brakes all rebuilt, and having the big 14" drums.. it stops very nicely, without locking up the brakes. For such a heavy car (4,360 lbs)..... it stops amazingly well..... The Doors shut with that nice high quality 'click' that a true, well built, luxury car should have.... There are NO body rattles... even on these Rough, dirt roads. With this rebuilt steering box, and rebuilt king pins and tie rod ends..... it steers straight and does not wander or shimmy at all.... you can even take your hands off the wheel going 30 mph on a gravel road. It starts right up... runs smooth.... accelerates smoothly and has LOTS of power..... and loves to climb hills.... no smoke from the exhaust after it warms up a little....... The engine was completely rebuilt about 23,000 miles ago, fully balanced to racing standards. 6:6 high compression head, rod inserts, new stallite coated exhaust valves, new clutch plate with lining installed. 12 volt conversion, rewired starter & generator ... compression test; 135,130,128,130,128 and 131 welded in steel plates to reinforce frame where the front spring hangers bolt on.... installed a complete front end from a series 16 Franklin... New, Bright, low voltage LED, headlights (with new reflectors) , Turn signals (with hazard flasher), tail & brake lights, and backup lights..... It even has a good heater, new glass and window channels, entire body and floor, insulated with sound proofing..... The paint is intentionally a matte or low gloss finish , recently done to protect the body from the weather..... not meant to give it a new, shinny, restored look.... 'she' looks good for being 90 years old.... There are way too many things done to this car, by the previous owner Richard (Dick) Lamphere, to list here... but I have 5 volumes of his detailed records of work done on this car since 1944 The Bad.... The speedometer cable just broke (easy fix) and the dome light is not working (easy fix) and all my non-essential income is tied up in this car..... and it's resale value will go down rapidly as I continue to use it as a daily driver on these rough, dusty, bumpy dirt roads.... so I wish to pass it on to someone else that will drive it often on smooth paved roads, and park it inside out of the weather.. and enjoy it and maintain it as I have.... thanks for listening............. Sunny

The reason it was half the price... is the broken fork in the transmission.... and I didn't think I could fix it or even find the part needed.... Some one should have jumped on it then.. they would have gotten a steal of a deal.... now that I can fix it with the correct part it is priced at it's fair value...... ready to tour again........ subtract my paying half of the transport fees and I am getting about $14,500.....

This Is Mine... and I didn't post it here because of the critical nature of the preservationists, and the people who critique the authenticity of each car for sale.... such as, 'those are not original Franklin tail lights', or 'the parking lights are missing', or look at the mess of gauges and switches on that dash board'...... you all know how it goes here on this Cars For Sale sight.... so I thought I would feel out the general public's response, using Craigslist in several large cities near me, in the western states.... before I advertise it here or on the Franklin sight, or HCCA, or Hemmings....... I now have it running well again, and looking fairly nice, and it will never be in better shape than it is right now, as long as I own it and drive it often on these rough dirt roads where I live... so while it is in a decent, derivable, very usable condition..... I thought I would go FISHING in the bigger pool.. and see what the interest might be ...... I sure hate to ruin and beat up, a nice vintage 'DRIVER'........ I actually enjoy the process of making them road worthy and looking nice again... more than the 'owning' of them.... I am ready and interested in starting another project.... thanks for listening, Sunny

Thank you all for your help and suggestions..... I was able to find the correct part, in good condition, for a very fair price, from Mike West... after it is installed and shifting normally again, I will let you all know.... Sunny

I am going to the machine shop to have one built, I don't think you can weld this CAST metal.... and the weak area on this shift fork is the recessed hole where the bolt goes through...(where it broke)... and that area is only 1/8" thick.... I will get this fork replaced with good strong steel.... thanks for looking Mike.... good to know you have a complete one..

You can't even roll up the windows..... fair weather car only.......... for $45K....??

I have had many vintage prewar 'Drivers'...... shipped open carrier...... it is alot cheaper and at the most you might get a few bugs splattered on it that have to be washed off... and making sure the hood is latched and doors secured is smart...... There is a web sigh,t that beats all the open carrier prices... it is called Uship... and what you do there is type in what vehicle, (not just vehicles), you want to ship.... if it runs and rolls or is in pieces, length and approximate weight...... where it is to be picked up and where delivered... then drivers and haulers from all over the nation... bid on what price they will charge you.... and you pick your hauler and you you get to talk to the driver (he gives you his cell number)... and it happens real quickly..... at very reasonable prices... many haulers don't want to travel on their return route, with out a full load... I have had several vehicles transported this way, at very low costs..... they are all insured and legal to haul.... Uship

OK Mike... I am waiting with my fingers crossed that you might have a T77 parts tranny, with a good middle fork... I need to know by Weds.. 5/20... because that is when I can go into town to contact a machine shop about building one for me.... and Mike could you Email me a price if you have one.... sunnybabaspirit@yahoo.com

Thank you for the good advice... Paul is now helping me and guiding me through this repair .... which takes away my despair...😊 Opened it up today and found a broken fork that controls second and reverse gears... it was sheared off when I mistakenly down shifted from 4th gear into Reverse, at 20 mph...... what would I expect...?? we will get her fixed.. no serious damage... easy fix,..... what a great bunch of Franklin owners.. thanks again, Sunny