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Ed Fowler's 25 coupe needs a distributor. Sunday the coupe stalled in the front yard and investigation revealed a hole in the distributor body. Upon removing the distributor, it appears that one of the centrifugal weights came out, punched the hole in the body and tore up the inside. The hole can be repaired but the internal damage worries me. Does anyone have an 8A disributor that they are willing to part with? Dave Phillips

The car in the photo is a 1940 Continental. It has door handles, different grilles and no fender lights on top of the fenders. I had one and wish I had it now.

Thanks to everybody for their suggestions. We tried vinegar and it wouldn't touch the mildew. What did work was Simple Green. Some fellow car buffs recommended it and we tried it and it really worked. We took the trunk off this afternoon and cleaned the back of the car and the trunk rack. Also, I have 2 dehumidifiers in the garage and a 220 volt electric heater. Baltimore Gas and Electric just LOVES me when I turn that on! Of course, last year the Baltimore area had more rain that it's ever seen, 72 inches. We dropped the fuel tank on the Franklin today so it can be cleaned. A green substance had destroyed the fuel gauge sending unit and seriously damaged the carburetor. I am now using ethanol free gas in all the cars. Dave

Tried doing some work in the garage and discovered that the back of my Franklin was covered in mildew. Tried some auto cleaners and they did nothing. Went online and looked up mildew removal. Got a lot of suggestions. 50/50 solution of bleach and warm water, 70/30 solution of bleach and warm water. One answer said, Don't use bleach! Try vinegar, try Simple Green. This is the original paint on the Franklin and I don't want to ruin it. I had mildew on the Citroen this winter, but car polish took it off completely. Any ideas.

Definately not 25 to 28 Franklin. Our 25 Franklin has Bausch and Lomb lenses, but the lamps are totally different. Our 21 Franklin has a similar look to the mounting, but does not have Bausch and Lomb lenses.

Earl, That would be a very tough decision to make on Al's Limited. I think back to the 40 Continental that I had and would like to know what happened to that car. Also I miss the 55 Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire that I had. That was a real performer, with a Rolls Royce automatic and a Hemi 6 cylinder. I drove that car to Hershey several times and it was featured on a Hershey video once. It was a beautiful car, right hand drive and it was alwauys an experience trying to pay the toll on the Pa. Turnpike! I had to go look up former Chesapeake Region members who had Franklins. I think Ed Hook was one and, definately, Willard Prentice had a Franklin. Right now,Eddie and I are the only Franklin owners who have Franklins. Fran Werneth always calls me Mr. Franklin! Bill Bond's Franklin is now in California and the new owner is delighted wth it. Dave

Earl, I remember Al Newman's 41 very well from the first CHVA meets in Overlea. That dates me too, I'll be 77 in January. I remember driving your Limited around Severn, looking in the rear view mirror and wondering where the rear window was! I also remember driving my 35 to Hershey up I-83 and thinking nothing off it. I wouldn't dream of it now. We now have 4 Franklins in the family, plus 2 model T Fords, the 35 Ford , a 54 Citroen and a 50 Hudson. Dave

Terry, here's a few pictures I took in the Orange field. Mark, Eddie and I had 2 spots in the Orange field and we got rid of a lot of stuff. Mark found a beautiful model T Ford coil testeer in the Red field and he bought it. Eddie and I both have modelTs in addition to the Franklins.

Is Classic and Exotic Servicies still in business? They do not respond to emails. Dave

Has anyone repaired the tank units of the King Seeley hydrostatic fuel gauges? Mine has developed pinholes in the fuel line and the air lines. Dave

Thanks for the responses. The battery is fully charged. There is no starter solenoid, there is just a cable running to a mechanical switch on top of the starter motor. This weekend I'll pull the battery cables off and give them a good clean. I tend to think this is a timing problem. Setting the timing is not an easy job on a Traction Avant. Dave

I have a hard starting 1954 Citroen Traction Avant. I thought I had the problem resolved last Sunday when I put a new coil on the car. It was starting on the first crank. Yesterday I had it out and it was starting fine. Late afternoon, it was time to put the car back into the garage and won't start! The starter cranks briefly and kicks out, the same problem as before. We gave it a shot of starting fluid. Nothing. Grandson arrive and we pushed the car into the garage. A half hour later I tried starting it again. Cranked right over and started! Most cars I've had, when you push the starter button, will keep cranking until the engine starts or you run the battery down. This one, when it acts up, cranks for a second and kicks out. Is it some component reacting to engine heat? Could it be the starter? Has anyone had a similar problem? The car does NOT have Lucas electric, by the way. Dave

I tried Bleche White on my 35 Ford and it discoloured the wire wheels. It will affect the paint on wheels. I use an SOS pad now. Save

The vacuum tank is on its way back to the rebuilder. I'll let everyone know what he finds out. I hope it is good news so we can get this Franklin back on the road. Dave

The vacuum tank is on its' way back to the rebuilder. I'll let you know what he finds out. Dave

Steve, the rebuilder has told us to ship the tank back to him and he'll figure out what the problem is. I hope it doesn't take 7 months. Dave

The rebuilder of the tank called us today. He said to send the tank back. Hopefully he can find the problem. Dave

We sent Eddie's vacuum tank off to be rebuilt. It took 7 months but we finally got it back and it doesn't work properly. At first, we thought it was a leak at the Gascolator bowl because of the little bubbles but closer inspection revealed that the vacuum was not shutting off and fuel was still being drawn in from the gas tank. We contacted the rebuilder but he wanted to know what the engine vacuum measured. We did that yesterday and the 11A's reading was 16 inches of mercury. To be sure we measured vacuum on my 27 11B, it was the same. We have had all sorts of opinions from AACA members but I would like to hear from some Franklin members. I am guessing that the problem lies with the valve that shuts the vacuum off when the inner tank is full. We are getting gas into the windshield wiper hose and the vacuum line from the intake manifold. There shouldn't be any gas that high up in the vacuum tank. Any ideas? Dave Phillips

Thanks for all of the replies. I hate opening the tank because the rebuilder might say that I caused the problem. I have to send him a msg anyway, because he wanted the readings on the vacuum. I'll keep everyone posted. Dave

We just had the Stewart vacuum tank rebuilt for grandson's 25 Franklin. We put it back into the car and discovered that it is not working properly. When the inner tank is full, the vacuum is still drawing fuel into the tank. When there is still vacuum in the inner tank the lower valve is not opening properly and not enough gas is getting to the outer tank and thus to the carburetor. We contacted the rebuilder and he says that the tank was checked with fluids and was working properly when it was shipped back to us. Well, yes, it draws fuel properly, but it won't stop. Its like the brooms in the Sorcerer's Apprentice. The rebuilder asked us the check engine vacuum. We did this today, The 25 checks out at 16 inches of mercury. To compare, we checked out the vacuum on my 27 Franklin and it was the same. We are getting gas in the vacuum line to the windshield wiper! I feel the problem is in the valve that shuts off vacuum when the inner tank is full. Has anyone had similar problems? Dave

That mirror looks a lot like the mirrors that were used on Lincoln Continentals. My 40 had right and left mirrors and those 2 screws attached to the exposed door hinge. Dave

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. We still haven't figured out the problem, but close examination of the seats for the 2 valves in the tank top may be the problem. I have another top and I may swap that today. We've made new gaskets too. I'll let every one know what happens. Dave

Eddie's 25 Franklin is having a vacuum tank problem It has baffled us for about 2 weeks. Here are some of the things we have checked. We checked for engine vacuum, plenty. We disconnected the fuel line at the Gascolator and blew through it. Clear. We hooked a vacuum pump to the gas line and drew gas through it, by the way, the tank is full. We took the tank apart and checked for pinholes in the inner tank. We have two inner tanks and both are fine.We checked the top section for cracks, none and not warped. There are 2 new springs in the top section and the 2 pins seem to be operating fine. I had Eddie remove the gas line and check for vacuum at that point, Nothing. When we put the inner and outer tanks back together, we used new gaskets. We had a suggestion to put gasket sealer around the outer edges of the tanks. Did not make a difference. We checked the float (we have two of them too). Both were fine. When we prime the tank, the car will start and run fine until it runs out of gas. We checked the line from tank to carb and the outlet valve at the tank. Everything checks out. It is apparent that the problem is lack of vacuum, but where is the gremlin that is causing the problem? I hate to see Eddie frustrated, he's 26 years old and loves his Franklin and his 26 T runabout. I've got to get this 25 running. Eddie says No electric fuel pump! Dave

Does anyone have a source for a stromberg u3 carb kit. I've got mine apart off of the 33 Olympic. Dave

Most 26 Ts did not have the headlight bar. Also most open 26 Ts had painted radiator shells.