John_Mereness

Really no comparison - the Franklin is a magnificent machine (all be it the Franklin is not always easy to deal with and if not resourceful the Graham may make you a better car, but regardless I would still give the Franklin a try).

On the lower end of an engine rebuilt, most people I know (and they get fewer by the day) will quote out via "rule of thumb" a babbitt- ed engine short block for around +/- 1K to 2K a hole depending on obscurity and how difficult rebuild will be given such - then if you want 100 point detailing there is a cost for all the nickel/chrome and ..., plus then you have gaskets sets, miscellaneous parts such as distributor caps and ...., starter, generator, distributor, water-pump, and .... rebuilding, and then you have whatever you are doing for the clutch and .... So, that 15K block everyone thinks is high just may not be be 15K worth, but it is probably up there toward a surprisingly high amount.

I would be tempted to use my moto-dremmel tool and do some careful grinding on the old die cast to get the shaft out and then deal with the issue on the workbench under my terms.

Ed is correct that working with these cars is an art. You can usually figure the carb out - I would say an estimated 40 to 60 hours of time if you have not played with one before. Do not work bench take them apart (too easy to loose parts) - sit on the garage floor in a nice clean area (lay out a sheet if you want to) The parts for the needle and seat should be available via https://www.fiennes.co.uk/The-Cars/Rolls-Royce - nice people and very easy to work with. The owner's manual should tell you how to adjust for rich/lean at high and low speeds. And, there are probably several articles in RROC club publications over 65 years. Just like in a PI, you probably change the float level via changing the copper shims under the seat, but chances are if it ran in the past 40 years then you are doing something wrong and the float level is just fine. Also, needs a good float and also needs good weights and pivot pins. A repaired float can get you into a whole lot of trouble too via being now the wrong weight. Sidenote: if the float level is too high they leak out the overflow. The lid is tight - aka not how you adjust the float. You may have to lap the needle in with some toothpaste - valve cutting paste is too course. Good the shut off from the autovac works - that is a whole problem of too much gas upon stopping and restarting. Here is my advice that you may ignore, but would be wise not to - everyone likes to tune on these things to what they think should be running like your new car off the showroom floor - well, they do not run that way and you then need to rich-en it back up. Also, I would expect it to not run good upon initial start-up - if someone had been wise they would have been dumping oil down the cylinders during storage (you have to burn that out). As to water leaking into cylinders - Could be as the cylinder heads were/are time bombs (a really good car is one with a reproduction/replaced head) - it is a topic in the very first RROC magazine in I believe 1954 (matter of fact i think it was the purpose of founding the RROC club). Folks at Vintage Garage are nice to work with: https://www.vintagegaragevt.com/ And, my notes above may not be intuitive - this is sort of a been there done that project.

Grahams are often really neat cars, though I would lean toward the Franklin

This car is in a little different class than the average Glenn Prey Boatail replica build around such as Ford/Lincoln drivetrains - especially if they have the documentation from new - they came in a variety of forms (some come with more "steel" in them than other came with. too), but basically you are looking at a fairly complete 1935/1936 Auburn drivetrain. They have a cult following too and will just take some better advertising for it to sell for a surprisingly high amount.

Make no doubt about it, the car will sell and will sell somewhere pretty close to the asking price - rare open stuff that is good looking always has and always will ! When they dropped it from the 40's to the 30's it was like the "bat signal" - just will take a little while to find the right person.

I would agree, obviously when it would get wet or ... being more exposed than a clutch it could pose problems, but generally speaking one with not worn parts should perform fine and be suited for brass car touring and ... Most brass cars we have had tend to get re-geared so we can run them at 55mph +/- and you have your limitations here perhaps.

I saw a Metz not too long ago (Eastertime) and they had their friction drive all lined with clutch/brake shoe lining - seemed to work fine all be it a smaller car

The persistence thing goes a long way with pretty much anything ! And, a worthy challenge really is exciting.

Very interesting, I saw it on Facebook last night - a whole new future for Indy car racing

A real shame this happened !

A clutch in like umpteen cars ever made is friction drive - just saying.

I would say very fair price - high given condition, but low given desirability/rarity.

Agreed, plus the car will just not be anything you or it wants to be in the current colors matched to the wood wheels being just the worst of worst (ghosts of Christmas pasts and ...) - all be it both very fixable issues given a large billfold. And, for those reading that may take this the wrong way - Certain things from the boxcar school of design are very elegant, though there is a certain reason(s) someone buys these kind of cars and one reason is not for them to loose on show fields (the competition is just too steep for any car not at its best). And, sure it will make someone a nice car as is, the problem is they would just have to be happy with it as is matched to not expecting the same issues to go away upon any next sale.

Update on Auction results: "Lot Passed" https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/75919356_1930-cunningham-towncar

Backtrack - there is nothing wrong with consignment (especially when the consignor is also a licensed dealer) - it allows the owner much higher price for the car (ie avoids the 40% to 60% +/- discount right off the top). Dishonesty is what dishonesty is and it can appear in any type of business - that is the key problem right and I am sure I have never heard about any dishonest dealer ?

Do not paint the layers of leafs in springs and do not sandblast them either. Clean up with a wire wheel, tape up contact area, paint edges, remove tape, and assemble - I have never met a old time spring guy/shop that approves of anything other than bare metal to bare metal contact.

I have seen them on a variety of 20's cars and they generally look pretty nice. What does one look like though for a 1930 Ford ?

Yes, fabulous road cars !

To get Cord at 35-40K to do what you want it to do I bet you will have another 20-30K in it mechanically, plus cosmetics on top of that (there is a reason why certain Westchesters and Beverlys sell for 90K plus). And, yes the fit and finish of an Auburn or Cord is not the best - that said though they were engineered with an assembly line mentality and are pretty "engineered" cars.

I would suggest getting an accessory brochure and figuring out exactly what they offered new - every car seemingly has some sort of factory approved radio. The cost difference between a nice radio and a proper radio will not be all the much (perhaps a couple hundred dollars). Advertise you want one via: a couple of the applicable pages on this forum matched to the WPC pages too. https://forums.aaca.org/topic/258293-p2-options/ https://forums.aaca.org/topic/151151-what-is-this-radio-tuner-from/ http://www.2040-parts.com/1935-1936-1937-1938-plymouth-dodge-desoto-chrysler-philco-ct11-car-radio-i1752508/ http://vintageradioparts.com/2017/10/36-1936-dodge-car-original-stock-mopar-dash-radio-35-37-plymouth-vintage/

Sta-bil in the gasoline, put all the convertible tops up, and move the cars down to the end of the garage where we do not open the doors much - if you open and close the garage door for a daily driver in cold climates with lots of temperature changes the cars have a tendency to sweat. Also, do not keep salt in open containers in garage or any lawn chemicals, bags of ... or other things that are corrosive. As a sidnote: I am restoring an 1936 Auburn Phaeton that was closed up in a car trailer for 2 northern winters - when the owner opened the trailer he was horrified via car sweating

Not to be critical, but old oil often sludges up and someone who starts a car with sludged up oil in it can destroy an engine pretty quickly (I did not hear the part about them checking that and as a result this strikes me of a whole lot of not knowing what they are going on here. And, prior to starting a Franklin that has been sitting you need to pay careful attention to the valves not to bend a push rod via stuck/sticky push rods or valves. Also, seems to be cranking pretty fast - 12 volts on it perhaps.