John_Mereness

Yes, the car has a vacuum tank and it also has a carb that really is only designed for gravity feed - an electic fuel pump is something to be avoided (I have seen and heard of too many people having fire issues). Carb sits in the Vee in the engine as well - updraft.

West, it is a vacuum tank car and the carb is not really designed to hold back anything more than gravity feed pressure (and I have heard far too many tales of Lincoln fires caused from electic pumps).

Correct as to it being Dietrich (and I had a Custom bodied Dietrich Franklin Convertible Sedan). They bought the car in the late 1960's and the last time I saw the car was perhaps 1975. The last time the car was seen by anyone I know was about 2000. The owner moved from the region and took the car with them and unfortunately they lost touch with my parents. It was a nice car but the body had been removed from behind the front doors and the rear body parts had not been stored well and were very rough. I think they actually bought it as a parts car for their other Royale and then found out how rare it was. BIG CAR in the wheelbase department - it filled a garage. I would love to see a picture of the car when new, but never have seen one.

Hello, Friends have a gorgeous original 1929 Lincoln L 5 Passenger Touring and were telling me today at lunch that the car is totally unusable in weather above 85 degrees. They asked if I knew any tricks SPECIFIC to a 1929 Lincoln. I know it is a fairly popular car I CCCA, so I thought I would ask. So, thus this post. Thank you, JMM John Mereness

Hello, Friends have a gorgeous original 1929 Lincoln L 5 Passenger Touring and were telling me today at lunch that the car is totally unusable in weather above 85 degrees. They asked if I knew any tricks SPECIFIC to a 1929 Lincoln. I know it is a fairly popular car I CCCA, so I thought I would ask. So, thus this post. Thank you, JMM John Mereness

It should exceed your asking price on ebay, prewarcar.com, or Horseless Carriage Club - stuck or unstuck.

CCCA = BEST PUBLICATIONS EVER FOR THOSE LIKING CLASSIC CARS !!! And, I always enjoy your articles Walt !

By the way, one of my father's work colleagues had the 4 door convertible Show Car on the long wheelbase - it had lead a rough life though was very restorable (so it is out there still).

Still looking - Thank you for the leads though none have panned out yet.

Mike, I usually get them made at a saddle shop. Also, you may want to look into a Farm & Fleet or a Tractor suply (dog leashes, horse/cow leashes, belts, and etc.). Also ask Rick via www.whiteglovecollection.com - fellow is very nice to work with. Or, www.restorationstuff.com Also, I would assume Stan Gilliland has a source via www.AuburnCordparts.com And, Paul Fitzpatrick or Tom Rassmusen via Franklin club Bernie died some years back and the business was basically lost due to no one knowing how to take it over. I bought countless sets of mirrors over time from him - he was really great at his work.

When I did the 1932 Packard Twin Six with the 7:50 x 18 Bedford Double White Walls, the 90 degree nickel plated metal stems came via Lucas Tire (via Universal Tire in Pennsylvania). I have not called Lucas in a while, though I usually ask for "Maytag" and he does a fine job in helping. You will need flaps as well - wire wheel spokes and tubes do not get along. And you will need to use talcum powder (just plain Jane old fashioned Johnsons baby powder works great) on the tubes, flaps, and casings - just a super light dusting. The talc keeps everything from sticking together and allows some flex movement. A lot of people will tell you this is not needed, but having put well over 100,000 miles driving prewar-cars I have never had a bias ply tire/tube let me down on the road. My tire guy (who also has 1930's cars) just retired on Wednesday of this week after 60 years as a Goodyear dealer - he swears by talc. I usually lay the hub of the wheel up on some lumber, put on gym shoes, and and "walk" the lock ring in (tuck one end in and then step on the ring and walk around it) - I have had good success with both chrome and painted wheels. Also, I have become paranoid about code stickers in tires - always double check as stickers also do not get along with tubes. And, inflate in a cage at a store that does truck rims. It is not an old wives tale - lock rings really can kill and maim people.

1930 and 1931 LaSalle

1941 Packard 160 or 180 for restoration (car needs to stand a good solid chance at running well or actually be running well). Perfer sidemounts. And, I hate rust on plated parts.

The exterior door handle is 1929 Franklin 135 and 137, 1930 Franklin 145 and 147, and 1931 Franklin 151 and 152. The car is NOT a Franklin though. I would not rule out other cars using the same handle as a Franklin - I see too many of them on ebay to be a Franklin exclusive part. The Jordan pictured in green above apperars to have the same handle, belt line, and ....

I just installed a set of Goodyear 6:50 x 16 Bias ply whites = the tires with all the concentric rings on the face (a Christmas gift from my parents for my 1936 Auburn 852) - the best balanced one has .5 once weight and the worst has 2.5 ounces - and they actually run true as well. Not radials, but I look forward to driving on them. I had a set on my first Auburn 851 (in 2005/2006) and while I only put a thousand or two thousand miles on them I was most pleased. I have been pleased and not pleased with Coker 6:50 x 16's - I am pleased as the car drives fabulous, I have not been pleased as I have had two tires that I have replaced as they did not run true, and how many flat tires can one have (I think I am on 5 flats now since 2007 on the 1935 Auburn and 1 on a 1941 Packard - and very fortunately all after parking the car, plus a few were within minutes of getting off the highway) and that is with a proper width gutter strip, a radial tube, talc on the tube, and .... I will admit that part of the problem was my own fault via not finding stickers in them when they were in there. That being said, the problem seems to also have been caused by the aggressive ribbed pattern on the inside of the casing (that could be a possible design issue that conflicts with Coker being very clear to run tubes in them). Also, I have plenty of coker radials in 15" sizes running on cars and also bias ply that I assume are made by Coker - no complaints with any of these. By the way, I have seen some older DiamondBacks with whitewall issues, though I have not seen any newer sets with problems. As mentioned, I installed a pair three years ago on an Auburn 852 and was super pleased though I did a double check look every time I opened the garage door as the width of the tread always caught my eye. Today, I saw an advertisement for the DiamondBack Auburn 6:50 x 16 and it said to look in Janiary for pricing and March for delivery.

Roj - Could you tell me more about brush plate nickle and chrome. I am asking as I have a rather complicated mechanism that is rivited together (lots of rivits, lots of moving parts, and a few dissimilar metals) and I am currious if I can get quality chrome on it without taking it apart.

I listed a few 1929 1930 1931 1932 Franklin parts on ebay - ex. starter, master cylinder, and ..... - found another odd box on the shelves and car has been sold for some time now. 171622204310 171622246903 171622306847 171622384918 171622274715 171622394105 171622398703 171622400828 171622404939

I just called Diamondback. They are in "testing" and they anticipate being able to take orders in April. This is the tire that is on page 22 of their online catalog. It is the "first" tire to be a radial that has a totally bias ply look. It is basically being made for Cord and Auburn owners, though the size fits a variety of other cars (ex. Fords). In the mean time they will make you a 215/85R16 (and have a few other 16" size options options) - I had a set made for a 1936 Auburn 852 Phaeton about three years ago - I added the edge ring = and they were great, though it takes some getting use to the wider tread.

Steve, the Diamond Back "Auburn" is a special tire in an exact 6:50 x 16 size that DiamondBack has been working on. Diamond back can make you a set of custom whitewalls using a 215/85R16 tire at any time. Basically we are talking two different things. I forgot - I also had a Coker blow out on the passenger's rear tire of a 1941 Packard Darrin - one super hot mess while standing there with a fire extinguisher and very fortunately we had just come off a highway exit ramp (again, stickers in the casing had been removed but one had been missed).

Tom, given your Cadillac restoration I am sure you will do this Franklin proud !

Hello, I have a set of Front Fenders left over from the restoration of our 1930 147 Franklin. They may also fit 1930 Series 145. Also, with a minor tweak at the splash apron appear they will fit 1929 Series 137 and may fit 1929 Series 135 and 130). These are not sidemounted (all be it you can add wells). These fenders have had about 2.5K each spent on them in restoration - the fellow did hammer welding and the work is incredibly well done. They are in prime and need some minor clean-up work on the beading prior to paint (sidenote: the back fenders on our car were done by the same fellow and in the same place as these and required about 5 hours each on them to go on a CCCA 99.5 point car). I would say they are 95% restored. I found a NOS set of front fenders so these were never used in restoration. I would like to find these a new home and a reasonable offer would be gratefully accepted. These two fenders are located in Cincinnati, OH John Mereness tel 513-531-2913 johnmereness@aol.com

I should have an extra working original starter from the 1930 147 (that has been gone through though probably not fully rebuilt) if anyone needs one. John Mereness johnmereness@aol.com

John Klien has a set of the authentic reproduction Firestones on his J convertible victoria (he usually has the car at the ACD Festival) and they look exceptionally nice. John has single whitewalls, though 99% of the whitewalls of the period would be double whitewalls. Actually, if you look at original Duesenberg pictures you will see that a fair majority of the cars have the Firestone Double Whites that are now reproduced by Coker - it is the proper tread design for a 19" Firestone in the early 1930's. As a second option Lucas tire should have Bedford double whitewalls - I installed a set of 18" doubles on a 1932 Packard Twin-Six and was most pleased with the look and the new owner praises the ride. If you like the tires that are on your car perhaps if you called they may have a set around - they are nice tires, though that particular tread pattern does not show itself in period pictures in a 19' tire. P.S. Blackwalls do not last too long around our house (and I am actually in the process this/next week of swapping a set off blacks from a newly purchased Auburn 852 Phaeton) - whites were a "thing" just like the cars themselves (aka my dog is better than your dog, keeping up with the Jones', and all that jazz). Also, keep in mind that metal tire covers are usually a bear to get "proper" sized tires into (aka you may need a 7:00 in the sidemount vesres a 7:50) or nominal (ex. 10lbs) tire pressure may solve the issue.

Regarding the Diamond Back "Auburn" tire which has a more authentic 1930's look than say the traditional 16" Diamond-Back or the Coker radial - I asked last month and they will only be making the 6:50 x 16 size and they will not be available until mid 2015. They asked that potential buyers please call and reserve a set. That being said, you can get a 6:50 x 16 equivelent size with is an applied whitewall to their equivelent modern 16" tire (I bought a set two years ago and was quite pleased). I am not particulalrly pleased with my Coker radials - they eat tubes (heavy duty radial tubes with talc on the casings) - a few times were my fault for not finding all their stickers in the tubes, but the other times have resulted from poor interior design of the tire itself and very fortunately I have not had a flat at speed (but have had plenty of flats otherwise).

There is an "authorized" radio listed in the 1931 Authorized Accessory brochure (also one listed in the 30 and 32). It would most likely have been dealer installed, though some of the options such as "painted frames" and "painted tire covers" appear factory done so it possibly could have been ordered on the car at build time. John Mereness