scott12180

As I recall it is pretty simple to reinstall a generator, but there are two very big things to watch out for. Removing the generator alone should not change the timing since the generator drive gear stays in place AS LONG AS you keep the generator mounting plate in place on the crankcase. If you remove the generator mounting plate, the drive gear will fall off into the engine, and if you turn the crank at all, you could mess up timing. If the chain remains on the cam gear and crankshaft gear, it should not throw it off, though. But by this time you need to take either the oil pan off, or the front cheek piece to retrieve the gear. The other big thing is that the generator drive spline fits into that gear, upon which the timing chain rides. That generator drive spline must nest itself into the gear. If you just shove the generator in place and then begin to tighten the bolts which hold it on, AND if that splined shaft is not nested into the gear, you will push the gear through the front face plate or "cheek piece" of the engine crankcase. Don Kitchin, of all people (which says that it can happen to any of us) , tells the story in an old issue of ACN (number 66, page 29) how he didn't check to be sure he had that spline into the gear and busted the front of his engine. If you are at the limit of adjustment on the chain, it's probably because your chain is fully stretched out. The car will run, but the chain will flop around, and if bad enough could jump a tooth, throwing your timing off. Best to get a new chain. Last I knew, new timing chains for at least Series 10 and 11 could be had from Jeff Hasslen. If is out, he could probably suggest where to find one. --Scott Dwyer 1914 Series 5 Touring 1924 Series 10-B Sedan

I'll let others correct my mistakes, but here's my opinion: >>1. How did cars built in 1925 start? Electric start, crank? How did these work? By 1925 all cars had electric start. Ford still has crank-only as an option but I doubt many were sold without electric start. The mechanism was mostly similar to what we have today --- a separate starter working on a ring ear on the flywheel, plus a separate generator to recharge the battery. They operation of the starter was a little different than today in that the ignition key energized the circuit, but to actuate the starter you needed to then step on a heavy switch on the floor somewhere --- probably near the gas pedal. >>2. Did cars require keys to either start the ignition or lock the doors? Yes, by 1925 all cars had keys for both. Except open cars, of course. Some cars did not have a separate key for the ignition --- that was just a switch. In that case they might have had a lock on the transmission instead. >>3. What are the distinguishing and/or most notable features of 1925 cars? 1925 was the start of the "classic" era, a period of really distinctive styling. But this appears only on the more expensive cars at first. What you would have seen on the road was a mix of utilitarian cars (homely but functional) and a few really handsome bigger cars with nickle-plated radiator shells and flowing body lines. >>4. What was a mid-range but fancy car from 1925 that a successful, tough single male might drive? I am thinking a Chrysler 6. Mid range cars would have been like a Buick, Cadillac (upper mid-range), Studebaker. Chrysler began in 1925 with a 1926 model (I think), so you probably would not have seen many on the road in 1925. If you want your tough single minded individual to drive an interesting car, I'd recommend a Franklin. They were 6-cylinder air cooled and noted for many technical innovations, yet were not too common. It was once said that if you walked into a bar or restaurant back in the day, you could usually spot the Franklin owner. They were independent-minded people who did not follow someone else's drum beat very much. The cars were not fast nor powerful relativity, but they were noted as being the fastest cars over the roads of the day due to a unique chassis and suspension --- wood frame and full elliptic springs. >> 5. What is regarded as the most luxurious model? Probably Pierce Arrow, although lots of very low production cars were around which were considered luxury models. >>6. The most basic model? The Model T Ford was still the bread-and-butter car, but Chevrolet was rapidly gaining ground in terms of sales. Model T's were everywhere and would be a significant part of any city scape or seen on virtually every road in the country. >> 7. Were speedometers viewable to a rider in the passenger seat? Were they called speedometers? You mean the back seat? If so, yes. Occasionally you could have that. As far as I know, they were still called speedometers. A speedometer would have been visible to a passenger in the front seat as most were mounted on the dash board sort of in the middle. >>8. What was the top speed a well built car could achieve? Packard, a well built car, could go 60 mph without much trouble. Higher speeds were attainable but would have been hard to achieve due to road conditions. Most people drove about 35 mph. --Scott

Boy, what a lovely way to tour Scandinavia: Buy the Franklin, go on a nice long vacation, then ship it back to the States and bring it to the Trek along with the photo album. Would make a nice evening slide presentation. Of course, this would be done in June. . . . you can drive almost 24 hours a day up there that time of year !

Wow. You are good. That kind of talent is remarkable. Thanks for sharing with us. --Scott

Congrats on the Zephyr. These are great cars with very interesting history. Read up on Edsel Ford. . . On the engine, of the 12 or so pre-War cars I've owned (not Zephyrs), 10 had "rebuilt" engines, or so said the seller. Of those 10, zero were actually rebuilt. It seems that the definition of "rebuilt" varies from full bearings-rebore-valves down to "change the oil and new spark plugs". Unless the seller provided you with documented proof who did the rebuild and exactly what was done, do not assume that the engine is ready to cruise. At the very least, drop the oil pan, clean the sludge and inspect the bearings. And if you have the aptitude, just take the whole thing apart for inspection. If you are lucky, maybe it really was rebuilt and all you need to do is put it back together. If not, this could save you a lot of grief down the road. Happy Motoring. --Scott

This is an old thread, so perhaps this has all been beaten to death, but. . . Has anyone tried to mount an overdrive right into the torque tube? Mitchell makes an overdrive which Model A Fords use that way --- they just weld it into the torque tube. Even Ford V8's. GearVendors makes another which you could use. I've never seen these things up close but figure they could be done for Buicks as well. Would make Special into a pretty nifty highway car. --Scott

Hey guys --- Newby question here: When you are looking at a 1936 Buick, how can you tell if the car is a Century or a Special without measuring the wheelbase or length of the engine or other numerical stuff. The car doesn't actually say "Century" on it anywhere like the later ones, does it? If not, are there little things you can look for to tell you which model it is? Thanks -- Scott

I have a set of four wide white wall 600x21" tires for sale. These include the tubes and the flaps. They are still in good shape. Lots of tread left; rubber is soft and pliable. Tubes were all good when removed. The only detraction is the white walls are beginning to deteriorate but they should clean up to look a lot better they they are now. The tires are Lester rib tread and about 30 years old, but because they are Made in USA they are still in quite good shape. New tires are $299 each, flaps $27, tubes $29 (Lester website). I'd like $400 for all four tires, flaps and tubes. Plus shipping. --Scott Dwyer Troy, NY (near Albany) dwyers@rpi.edu

Concerning the inner tubes on a 700x21 tire, I checked and when I ran 700x21's on my Packard I did indeed use the smaller inner tubes which are listed on the Universal website. The ones listed as F19/20. They worked fine --- never had a flat. --Scott

Open to offers on the tires. I'd like to move them out of my garage.

I got the 700x21" tires from Universal on two occasions --- back in about 2002 and again in around 2009 when they wore out. (I drove the car alot). Here's the website: https://www.universaltire.com/700-21-firestone-blackwall.html Or give them a call. According to the website they do seem to be available however they might not be exactly 700x21" tubes. Sometimes a smaller tube can be used which could be what they are referring to here. But I would prefer the correct size if you can get it. I can't recall now if I used the full sized tube or a smaller one. Be sure that you use flaps. Happy Motoring --- Scott PS: Is that a 1927 Pierce Model 36? I like those cars very much.

I have a set of four wide white wall 600x21" tires for sale. These include the tubes and the flaps. The set came off a 1926 Packard when I put the correct size tires on, and these are still in good shape. Lots of tread left; rubber is soft and pliable. Tubes were all good when removed. The only detraction is the white walls are beginning to deteriorate. The tires are Lester rib tread and about 30 years old, but because they are Made in USA, they are still in quite good shape. New tires are $299 each, flaps $27, tubes $29 (Lester website). I'd like $500 for all four tires, flaps and tubes. Plus shipping. Reply to dwyers@rpi.edu

I have a set of four wide white wall 600x21" tires for sale. These include the tubes and the flaps. The set came off a 1926 Packard when I put the correct size tires on, and these are still in good shape. Lots of tread left; rubber is soft and pliable. Tubes were all good when removed. The only detraction is the white walls are beginning to deteriorate. The tires are Lester rib tread and about 30 years old, but because they are Made in USA, they are still in quite good shape. New tires are $299 each, flaps $27, tubes $29 (Lester website). I'd like $500 for all four tires, flaps and tubes. Plus shipping. Reply to dwyers@rpi.edu

Does anyone know of a shop which can balance a driveshaft from an antique car? This car also has about a ten-inch diameter (3-1/2" wide) cast iron brake drum at the front that I'd also like balanced as a unit with the driveshaft. My local shop can't (or doesn't want to) do the job, so I'm stuck. The other question is, is there a way to dynamically balance these things at home? I've heard about the hose-clamp method but that's alot of guesswork and the driveshaft is still on the car. It hasn't worked well for me. Has anyone come up with a clever way to achieve dynamic balancing in your own shop with readily available equipment? --Thanks, Scott

I was not aware of the flywheel differences. Thanks for the clarification. One thing to know about the two clutches, the Borg and Beck is a very smooth acting clutch. The Merchants and Evans tends to be grabby. The Service Bulletins of the day warned about this and instructed owners to simply "get used to it". I recall driving Frank Gardner's 10-C with a M&E clutch and indeed, the thing really was tough to get used to. The other thing about Merchants and Evans is that the risk of breaking a rear axle might be higher with that clutch because of its tendency to grab. My 10-B, which is a late 10-B, has a Borg and Beck clutch with countersunk holes in the flywheel. . . . for what it's worth. I've seen no suggestion as to why Franklin switched to the M&E. Might have been a business decision rather than an engineering decision. I think by the Series 11 they were using the Long clutch. --Scott Dwyer --Scott

Are you sure? If you need it for a 10-B, the rigid clutch disk was long since abandoned and that's one of the reasons why they called the improved car 10-B. And I find it very hard to believe that Franklin would use an entirely different flywheel because they had to retrofit a great many 10-A cars with the flexible disk. Just because the flywheel may be different for some subtle reason, doesn't mean the clutch housing is also different. You will be hard pressed to find a rigid disk anyway unless the one used in a Series 9B happens to fit. Besides, you probably don't want to run the car on a rigid disk due to the transmission noise. (Although I'd like to hear just how bad it is). Best advice is to find a flexible disk first, then see if it will fit into the flywheel housing of your car. That will be the easiest way to go. If it doesn't fit, then I learned something new. --Scott Dwyer

This really frightens me. Even in my modern car I try to do the speed limit and it seems that everyone, on superhighways or country roads, is going 10 or 20 mph above the speed limit. And when driving my antiques I always get people tailgating me six feet from my bumper. My fear is that even though we antique car people have millions of perfectly safe miles, all it will take is one well publicized accident and we will be legislated off the roads. My big peeve is that the speed limit is a speed LIMIT. It is not a MINIMUM speed as you would think the way people drive. A speed limit is a MAXIMUM permissible speed. If it's posted 55, you are perfectly legal to drive 45 or 40 or even 35 or whatever. Right??? Only on interstate highways where there is a minimum speed posted must you drive no slower than that. I wish a lawyer amongst us would comment on the legality of this perception. In other words, is it LEGAL to drive LESS than the speed limit ??? You would think the answer today is NO . Around here in upstate New York, speed limits are not enforced. Unless the town is in need of cash. --Scott '14 Franklin '24 Franklin

Gee, I can't believe no one has responded yet. . . . And Hershey information is not even on the Club website. OK, as far as i remember, "Franklin Row" at Hershey is on the Red field, the far upper right field, above Chocolate World and the old Stadium near Airport Road. And I think the spaces are in the vicinity of something like RNE-10. There are several Franklin people in that spot, including the official Franklin Club information. If you walk around that area, you can't miss it. That section of the Red field is pretty small, so just "stroll around the grounds until you feel at home. " If you want to check for sure, once you buy a program look for the name "Christiansen" or "Schopmeier", or look for Franklin. Other Franklin people are scattered throughout Hershey. I stay at the Hershey Motor Lodge (where the RM Auction is) so if you are there too, please let me know. It would be really great to meet for breakfast or something. --Scott Dwyer

Your collection looks like mostly modern era cars. Owning a Franklin could allow you the experience to broaden your horizons to other eras, notably the 1920's. There is a huge difference in the feel and driving experience of early 1920's cars versus later 1920's cars. Franklins before the classic era, roughly 1925, were light weight, very nimble, had tight steering, and were simple to work on and maintain. Yet as others have said, they have a good power to weight ratio (and braking to weight ratio) because they are light in weight. They are quite comfortable at 40-45 mph if you live somewhere which allows you to drive leisurely. Franklins of the post-1925 era grew progressively heavier and ponderous. As the car grew heavy due to styling demands --- as function began to follow form --- the engines had to get bigger and heavier also. Four wheel brakes became necessary, bigger engines with longer stroke became necessary, steering ratios grew large to accommodate heavy, wide tires, etc. To that end, their steering is not as tight and enjoyable as the early cars but if you want to just go in a straight line, then I suppose they are fine. The later post-1925 cars are just different and grew more like cars of the 1930's. So driving experience aside, if all you are looking for is something to take on the California Freeways, then go for a sidedraft car from 1930-1932. The 1929 Series 13 cars are basically Series 12's with upgraded styling (save for the 137 "senior" car which has a bigger engine still). In my opinion, these very heavy cars really stress that old downdraft engine alot. The sidedraft cars finally had an engine capable of handling that weight. Series 11's are very nice. I owned one for twelve years and put alot of miles on it. But they have essentially the same engine as a 1924/25 Series 10-C with about 300-400 pounds more weight. As Steve pointed out, Series 10's are really a great car. Even Carl Doman, Franklin's Chief Engineer, admitted that the 1924-1925 10-C was a leader in performance. And lots of people like that "antique" styling of the earlier era when the car bodies were more "architectural" and when form truly did follow function, as John Wilkinson intended ! Everyone will give you different advice. The best advice is to just buy a good running car of any year for your first one, and get involved. Come to the Trek. You will learn all about the other cars and refine your tastes as time goes on. But just have fun. We are not about merely collecting cars as artwork. Franklin people are about driving cars. And these are great cars to drive. --Scott

Quick thought --- I had an 11-A for a number of years which exhibited the same problem on occasion. Depending on how warm it is, depending on the gasoline you are using, depending on if the float in your carburetor needs adjustment, depending on the valve adjustment . . . . What happened to me was simply vapor lock. When the engine is shut off with the engine hot from running, it often was difficult to restart. Even the old-time books described this, and Franklin did as well for the Series 9. When shutting off a hot engine, gasoline "builds up" in the carburetor creating a super-rich condition which prevents combustion. (Exact technical details unknown at present). What I learned to do is to crank the engine with the ignition OFF for several seconds. Then while the starter is still working, flip the ignition switch. The engine always started. The alternative is as Tom suggested is to open the hood let everything cool off. Then try again. I own a 10-B car now with the Wilkinson carburetor and needle-valve adjustment on the dashboard. When I got the car, I had the same problem of it not starting when hot until I learned to always shut the car off by closing the needle valve. Then to restart the car, always start the car with the needle valve OFF or closed ! As soon as it fires, I open the needle valve to the running setting. Always works. I wished at the time that the Stromberg carburetor had a dashboard needle valve ! Anyway, just a quick thought. Good luck. --Scott Dwyer

I used to be able to search all cars for sale on e-Bay and just list them from oldest to newest. In fact, I used to be able to do a search for any make of car MINUS the stuff I was not interested in like -bucket -hotrod -rat -deuce. It seems they have changed their site (again) and now you need to put in a specific car name in order to search. You can't search "any make" and sort by year. The fun of it was seeing what would come up from brass era to whatever, even though I do look at certain cars. Has anyone figured out a way to search by year for all cars on the "new and improved" e-Bay? --Scott

I owned a 1926 Packard 236 Phaeton for about ten years and during all of that time I drove it with a Mitchell overdrive. I highly recommend an overdrive versus high speed gears simply because the OD preserves the original ratios yet gives you the extra gear for cruising. In my hilly country around western New England, that was the ideal set-up --- original 3rd for hills yet overdrive for the flats. Packards are powerful, especially the 443, but they are also heavy cars. A high speed gear would not have been my best choice. And with the Mitchell or any "gear spliter" overdrive, every transmission gear has an OD counterpart. Pretty handy. The other nice thing about an overdrive is that, for the most part depending on brand, you just need to alter the drive shaft. And what you do is have a new drive shaft made which is shorter in order to accommodate the overdrive. That way, as was pointed out, anyone in the future who wants strict originality can remove the overdrive, install the original drive shaft, and be done. Very simple. Very effective. --Scott Dwyer 1914 Franklin Series 5 Touring 1924 Franklin 10-B Sedan

>>Early this year we tore the transmission apart on my 9b Franklin because one of the bearings was noisy.. . . Then I took the car to the Trek. It would not stay in second gear on those steep New York hills. Hi Bill --- Nice to see you at the Trek and especially the Series 9 . . . . the ONLY Series 9 to show up. I am rebuilding the transmission on my 10-B right now, so what I encounter does not necessarily translate to a Series 9 transmission, but alot of it probably does. I have not seen Service Charts for Series 9 so I can't speak to them specifically. You do want RADIAL THRUST ball bearings. The THRUST side of the bearing points to the outside of the transmission case, be it the front or rear of the case. If your parts manual or Service Chart has the bearing number, that's what you want. Don't cut corners here. More importantly, you do want the transmission to be aligned with the engine crankcase . If this is not done one of the symptoms is popping out of gear. I've yet to develop a good way to do that on a transmission like the Series 9 and earlier cars, but I will need to soon enough for the Series 5. Bottom line is that the center of the crankshaft needs to be in the center of the transmission input shaft. A line through the crankshaft needs to run along the same line from the transmission input shaft, if that makes sense. Hopefully someone will reply and give you a method for doing this. When I owned my Series 5 Roadster waybackwhen, it also had a problem of popping out of gear. High gear in that case. Peter Kunan diagnosed the problem as not having installed a radial thrust bearing in the output or main shaft. When I did replace it, the problem went away. I do not recall how he aligned the transmission. I am hoping someone will elaborate further and with more intelligent conviction than I am able to do. --Scott Dwyer

Hi all --- Not sure where to begin looking, but this is a start. Perhaps someone can give a reference. Someone in the midwest bought a set of bound Horseless Age magazines from the Bill Pollock collection of Pottstown, PA back around 2009. These came from Becky DeStafano after her husband Ralph passed away. Becky tells me these volumes began around 1899 with volume 4 and continued through Volume 25, 1910. I recently acquired from an estate in Binghamton, NY similar Horseless Age bound volumes. Mine are Volumes 1,2 and 3. So I do have Horseless Age number one, the inaugural issue. It seems too coincidental that I have volumes 1,2,3 and this midwest fellow has volumes 4,5,6, etc. And considering the location it's possible these are of the same collection, separated long, long ago. (The man who had mine bought them in the 1940's.) Although I would consider it, I'm not trying to buy these later volumes nor do I particularly want to sell my Volumes 1,2 and 3. But mostly I'd like to know who has these later volumes --- to just know each other so that one day perhaps these volumes can be reunited. Thanks --- Scott Dwyer dwyers@rpi.edu

Hi all --- Not sure where to begin looking, but this is a start. Perhaps someone can give a reference. Someone in the midwest bought a set of bound Horseless Age magazines from the Bill Pollock collection of Pottstown, PA back around 2009. These came from Becky DeStafano after her husband Ralph passed away. Becky tells me these volumes began around 1899 with volume 4 and continued through Volume 25, 1910. I recently acquired from an estate in Binghamton, NY similar Horseless Age bound volumes. Mine are Volumes 1,2 and 3. So I do have Horseless Age number one, the inaugural issue. It seems too coincidental that I have volumes 1,2,3 and this midwest fellow has volumes 4,5,6, etc. And considering the location it's possible these are of the same collection, separated long, long ago. (The man who had mine bought them in the 1940's.) Although I would consider it, I'm not trying to buy these later volumes nor do I particularly want to sell my Volumes 1,2 and 3. But mostly I'd like to know who has these later volumes --- to just know each other so that one day perhaps these volumes can be reunited. Thanks --- Scott Dwyer dwyers@rpi.edu