theKiwi

Thanks Paul. Before I buy anything I guess I'll be calling to get them to tell me more about the tyres, and compare the sizes. One thing your photos of the 151 help with is the whitewall/blackwall situation - it has the blackwalls and with the varnished wood spokes, which my car has, and the chrome lock rings (I'm not sure my car has them, or they're painted silver) it is enough to break up what would otherwise be solid black side of the car. Roger

I won't be buying new tyres until I have the car and see what's on there, but I've been told they should be replaced, and there was allowance for that in my buying price. And I'm looking for reliability - I plan to drive the car once I get the restoration completed, including from Michigan to Cazenovia for the Trek, so at least hopefully new tyres and tubes will mean that's one less thing to go wrong on the 560 - 675 mile trip (depending if one goes through Canada or not). Roger

Paul - I'd just got to Coker tyres myself, and first of all noticed that blackwall tyres are $100 cheaper than whitewalls. That appeals to my Scottish ancestry and to my living in heavily Dutch West Michigan. But the tyres in my picture aren't the same as what Coker shows for Firestones... - mine have 2 circumferential grooves, the Firestones have 3 Roger (And apologies to Craig - we seem to have strayed off his topic somewhat).

I will be in the tyre market in the not too distant future too for the 1931 153 Deluxe Coupe I have recently purchased. I'd wondered about the Lester tyres? But don't really have any experience of one brand over another (my 11A Sedan currently has 2 Lesters and 2 Firestones on it). I guess though the first thing I have to decide is whether to get whitewalls for it, or blackwalls. It currently has whitewall tyres on it that to my mind at least look OK against the entire blackness of the car, and wonder if blackwall tyres on the black car might be "too much". This is what it currently looks like (the roof it not finished, which explains its wrinkled state). I don't have the car yet (it's still in Oregon, but coming my way in the next week or so). Can anyone tell from this picture of the front tyres what brand they might be? Thanks Roger

I've lifted my 11A Sedan by both those locations in the past, with no obvious unwanted happenings. Roger

Yes, thanks Paul - since I found that image and posted it, I found the latter one I posted which is almost certainly the right one with 4⅜" offset. The card for the 6⅞" offset one says it's for Series 1500. Roger

Thanks. At this time I'm not entirely certain if what is on the car is as I showed above, or whether it's this one - same design, but the offset to the side is different. I'm pretty sure it's this one below - 48348/48358 - 48348 is the one for the left side, 48358 is the mirror image of it for the right side. A right side one if one exists would be perfect, otherwise a left side one that I cut apart and rotate the parts would work too (and presumably much more common than the right side ones). Roger The factory part number for the right side one is

No I don't think so... 1 the drawing you posted, if you look at the card for it, says it was for Series 1550, which I understand was for prototype cars that didn't go in to production. I have encountered quite a few drawings that are in fact for parts for Series 15 cars, that do not indicate the Series 15 models on the drawings - the drawings weren't updated to include Series 15. But look at the card for 43887 - it tells that it was used on Series 15 The number in the parts book should be the correct one Roger

I think you need drawing 43887. The parts book says 45229 which is on drawing 43887 Roger

Maybe this is the excuse I need to tell my wife why I need a 3D printer - to make casting moulds since we have all the drawings needed LOL Roger

Thanks @PFitz - I'll give Jeff Hasslen a call tomorrow - he seems to have his finger on the pulse of such things. I know where there's a nice looking one already - on the 157 Coupe at the Franklin Automobile Collection at Hickory Corners - I was looking at that just a couple of days ago... Roger

Yes I'm looking for one for a Series 15 - I'm happy to get a left side one and cut it apart and turn it around - one of these That I will cut apart and turn to make a mirror image if that's how the right side ones are done for this. Roger

Is this the right side tail light brackets for Series 15 you're talking about? Thanks Roger

Thanks @PFitz - will do. Roger

Thanks @PFitz and @odat - it didn't occur to me that Rhode Island Wiring would alter the dashboard end of the whole thing too - now I understand how it can work. I spoke with Rhode Island Wiring a couple of days ago about this in general terms, and she said they had the plans needed to put the turn signal on the left and the extra light on the right, but didn't mention, and I didn't ask of course, that they set the whole harness up to do this, and supply the flasher and switch etc as part of all this. So that allays another concern, which was that I'd have all this nice new cloth bound wire throughout the car, and there'd be modern plastic wiring in places from some add-on flasher switch and unit. So when I get the car I'll check out just what all it needs and place my order with them. Thanks! Roger

So does the controller somehow take over the function? If the cowl light is already on because the lights are turned on, then to flash them as a turn signal, something has to turn it off to flash it, which is the opposite of how it would flash if it was turned off (in daylight). That's why I'm wondering if it needs new wires and pins etc. I hadn't thought to look at Snyders - I'll take a look there too Roger

Hi Everyone I recently purchased a 1931 153 Coupe. It was well on the way through restoration when the owner passed away, so it's down to me to finish it off. I don't have it yet, but I'm told it really needs a new wiring harness. So if I'm having Rhode Island Wiring make a new set of wiring harnesses for it, I will get them to make the additions so I can have turn signals on it. It also comes with a second tail light, so I need to find a tail light support for it - @mikewest - do you have a tail light support bracket for a Series 15? So this involves at least one extra wire to the existing tail light, and then of course another set of wires over to the right side tail light. What is done inside the tail light to allow a bulb to flash - does it need a bulb and socket replaced with a 2 contact setup, or do they just flash the existing brake light bulb? For the front, I see in the Franklin Q&A that Tom says he flashes the cowl lamps - same question - do they have to be modified to a 2 pin base, or does it flash the same bulb that's on as a running light? Controllers for all this - Restoration Stuff sell a turn signal switch, a heavy duty turn signal switch, and then also a $160 Turn Signal Controller System. It's not clear from the catalogue if you need a switch and the controller, or if you need one or the other - anyone know from experience? (I'll call them later when it's their morning in California). Thanks for any tips and insights Roger

I brought them with me too, and the Vice Grips and hammer and punches - they were all of the Metric/SAE/Whitworth combination, so I figured that 2 out of 3 would justify United Airlines flying them over here for nothing. I also brought my trolley jack in my suitcase on the same trip. Roger

I have no words of advice about the spring, but sheesh - you're in Texas - how warm do you need it to get in your barn down there??? LOL It's been a steady 15° F here in Michigan today, so rather than my barn I went to the Gilmore Car Museum to work on one of the cars there, but will be back in my barn tomorrow when it's meant to be about 33°F. 😉 Roger

The toolset that I have here in the USA was purchased by me in New Zealand in the 1970s. It was a box full of SAE and Whitworth sockets, open ended spanners, ring spanner and other stuff. I added to it equivalents in metric to work on Fiat tractors and Japanese cars. When I brought it over here in about 1994 (as checked baggage in the days before the airlines got all snitty about how much it weighed and how many you had) I left all the Whitworth stuff behind. A few years ago I salvaged that from storage and gave it to my brother in law and nephew. I also left behind the Whitworth adjustable, but did bring both the SAE and metric adjustables with me. Roger

I was looking for a 19/32 socket online last night, and found Amazon selling a set of 3 that comprised 19/32, 21/32 and 25/32 for about $12. https://smile.amazon.com/Craftsman-Piece-Drive-Point-Socket/dp/B01MZWMUH5/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=19%2F32+socket&qid=1576628892&sr=8-1 15mm is not an exact fit for 19/32 - I've got a 15mm spanner that won't go on some of the nuts on a Series 11A engine I'm taking apart - it's close, but not exact. Roger

That kind of looks like a spanner I still have from my time in the 1970s and into the 1980s working on Fiat agricultural tractors in New Zealand - bent into a particular shape so it could reach in under the fuel tank to split tractors apart at the clutch without taking the fuel tank off. Roger

If you are a member of the Franklin club, all the back issues of Air Cooled News are available in the members' section of the club website http://www.franklincar.org/members/AirCooledNews/index.html Roger

All the previous issues (well up to 2017) of Air Cooled News are available online in the Members Section of the H H Franklin Club website - including Issue 38 http://www.franklincar.org/members/AirCooledNews/index.html Roger

The serial number will give the exact model and determine if it's a limousine or sedan or ... Roger