John_Mereness

The harsh reality is: It is a lot easier to buy something than sell it. And, if there is a middle man involved there will be a price to such (all be it the middle man does serve it''s purpose when properly applied).

Powder coating a wheel around here (Cincinnati, OH) is generally about $65.00 to $85.00 - super nice process, durability, and ....

Sidenote: If your ventilation is not be the best, use a little extra care = chemically burnt lungs are not a good thing.

Silver Solder is the answer, but I would have the light shell stripped first as if you repair and then strip you often see a line via etching were the solder repair is. And others are correct in that a plating shop that specializes in repairs is probably the way to go - very expensive, but the way to go.

Neighbors use to have them - I recall them saying a few things: make sure it has a good floorpan (many do not) and the crankshaft runs on needle bearings and when the case wears they have a tendency to pile up on each other and pretty much turn everything to junk.

I think it use to be a J.C Taylor insurance company advertisement.

It is going to be a challenging restoration - Example: most people with the needed skills are already on other restoration projects.

Pretty body style !

Mike, maybe knock 1/8 to 3/16" off the curved outer edges of the bow and I bet the issue pretty much disappears. And if needs some more work, then you could also glue in a filler strip - modern glues are pretty great stuff and actually some are stronger than the wood itself, weather resistant, and ...

This dash a Rickenbacker. https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/MO14/Monterey/lots/r187-1926-rickenbacker-eight-super-sport/181160

As to tapping vales to make sure everything is free - the cars are overhead valve - you pop the fans shroud cover off, then you take off the rocker arm/valve covers and it is all sort of right in your face to look at (very common to see on a morning at Franklin Trek prior to a tour to see people with blower shroud top off while oiling their valves by hand). You take a block of wood and a hammer and you give then a tap, and then you take the hand crank and spin the engine and make sure all the push rods spin in your finger tips, then you oil, and then you drive.

Being a 1928 it could also have a steel frame and just poor hood alignment - you have to ask. My opinion is it is a pretty solid car or it would be a pile of parts (nice cars look like this and bad cars do not). As to the low prices on franklin cars - relatively speaking the Franklin Club and owners have kept the prices low via most cars exchanging hands between club members and they are "air cooled" and not for everyone as they are somewhat alternatively engineered. As to quality of cars, impressiveness, and .. - they are ! And, drive one over a set or railroad tracks and their full elliptical springs will dazzle you with their ride.

I wonder if "1" is its license plate number (maybe or maybe not - just depends on where the car is from on East Coast), but technically if it were a license plate number it would be pretty low given 1900, as the first person to get a license plate usually got 1, the second got 2, and so on (and sort of prestigious today for people to keep their number - when you see someone with a low number it tends to mean they pioneered automobile ownership in the state = I recall driving in Wilmington Delaware and spotting a car with like 10 on it's plate and the conversation broke out in the car if they were a Dupont).

By the way, glad you are researching black as there really are umpteen different shades (black paint is harder to match than you would think).

Correct, if they used real gold leaf it should stay "gold," though if the varnished over it or just used a gold colored paint it would be deteriorated.

Great Photo ! Siednote: I wonder if given size there were no "high quality" tires available in US in anything other than a whitewall. Anyway, I liked the double whitewalls as they were a little something different, but it certainly looks better with its current blackwalls.

I think many early photos of it showed it was running on Firestone whitewalls (and had a set on it when "found" too).

I love them

That is a very nice 1928 - and sidemounted spares too, very nice windwings, and beautiful interior. I am not a fan of green in general, though colors would be helped per se if car was properly pinstriped (a gold on both sides of ivory may look nice). It could also use the door handles nickle plated and an appropriate luggage trunk. The price is very right and gives you plenty of wiggle room should you have to get into any mechanicals. Sidenote: It may have touch of frame sag via gaps on hood side - have a pair of vinyl tire covers made that cover opening of sidemounts and ignore .

Also, I am thinking that "1" was probably gold leaf with a red pinstripe around the edge.

My best guess is that black looked like a piece of "patent leather" when new and being unstable light and weather quickly dulled it down - people like new shiny things and I doubt they would have wanted something dull looking when new.

By the way, I think a good upholster could 50/50 in some way to make the top bows look fine (there usually are a few tricks to their trade) - move ahead and find some other way to beat yourself senseless.

You would have to remove the glass from the windshield frame to plate as the chemicals would damage the laminate layer in the safety glass. If plate glass you could plate the windshield frame together As a sidenote though: Plate glass in a windshield is pretty dangerous stuff in like in an accident it can slice through you like a knife - if such is the case really should replace.

An unfinished project ? Perhaps horn is issue and they thought it the steering column ? Or, .... ?