Steve Braverman

There aren't many around. Here is an image I found through google.

Mike, check your PM.

I learned a valuable lesson about NOS ignition parts a few years ago. I had an NOS Packard 12 distributor cap that was lying around in my grandfather's stuff for years. I brought it to Hershey and somebody offered be $200 for it, which I thought was pretty good. The following week I saw the cap on eBay. He got $1500 for it. Lesson learned. Ebay is the way to sell things like this that you are not sure of.

My father just acquired a 1925 Franklin touring, and the book calls for horsehair carpet. We also have a 1923 Franklin with the original carpet, and it is very coarse stuff. We always joke that if you were to walk on it barefoot, it would cut your feet. The touring has modern carpet in it, and it looks out of place. Any ideas for a source?

The tank is such a simple device. Are you sure it's getting vacuum? It the float moving up and down? Did you fill the tank to prime it? A vacuum tank must be filled manually before it will work.

All the time you spent messing with the evil electric fuel pump, you could have cleaned out your vacuum tank and had the truck running again. Usually a good cleaning is all they need.

Vacuum tanks are simple and reliable. Electric fuel pumps are the work of the devil.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: F&J</div><div class="ubbcode-body">My 32 Ply PB 4 cyl conv was only slightly better even though it had the "Floating Power" anti-vibration system.</div></div> If your Plymouth vibrated, there was something wrong with it.

The car is a 1925 Franklin Series 10C.

My father and I just brought this home, but it's too cold and the roads are too salty to drive it

The parts argument is weak. If you want something that's easy to buy parts for, get a Corolla. I have little problem finding Franklin parts. I had a Model T, and the ease of locating parts took all the challenge out of it. My opinion. If you aren't sure if it will make you happy, find someone who will let you take a nice long drive in a Model A. They are a lot of fun, but it seems like everyone has one. I like to be different. Keep looking for your Chevy. When you find it, it will probably be cheaper than a comparable Ford. There was recently a nice original '31 Landau Phaeton in CA for under $20k. Now that's different! http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/chevrolet/unspecified/620883.html

Try putting the filter before the vacuum tank.

Chevy used a torque tube until 1954. How are the Franklins coming along?

I'm looking for an inside door handle, robe rail fittings and a rear seat foot rest.

Does anyone know why Franklin chose a lion as its mascot? What is the significance, if any?

Where are you located? If you can make it to the Franklin Trek, you'll be able to see most every year of Franklin, and probably drive a few.

That is an Oakes spare tire lock. There is supposed to be a round lock that snaps inside to cover the bolt. Here is a similar one on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1920s-OAK...1QQcmdZViewItem

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: VeloMan</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Is your father's source for the friction wheel Paper Pulleys, Inc. in Columbia, TN, Steve? This looks like one of those firms from another time.</div></div> Yes it is. The wheel has been sitting in a box for a while now. It's another one of those projects I haven't gotten to yet. I will say this, after I reinstalled the engine in the Sears, the transmission tries to jump back to neutral in the lower speeds. I think the engine might not be perfectly straight in the frame. There's not really any engine mounting adjustments that I can see. There are adjustments on the clutch, and they're both all the way in. The wheel slips under heavy load. It's only a problem when trying to drive onto the trailer or in similar situations.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Strange</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Steve, looking at pictures of a '31 I see what you mean about the door handles. This may seem like an odd question, but do the doors actually lock on any of these? Did the franklins generally come with heaters for the passengers? My wife may sacrifice AC, but she won't do without heat. </div></div> Yes, they lock, but there is only a key lock on the passenger's front door as was the common practice of the day. My sedan and my father's 1923 sedan both have manifold heaters that will keep the car very comfortable.

My father found a source for the proper friction disk for his Sears. The system works fine when everything is in adjustment. It's simplicity in action.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mikzjr@aol.com</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have a 29 chrysler with wire wheels 650/19 will a 650/18 fit the wheel. </div></div> It depends on how big your tire iron is Seriously, Keiser31 is right.

The car in the ad is clearly a 1929 model 130. Besides all the visual cues, the serial number tells us that. It looks like a nice car for the money. As for economy, a jump from 9mpg to 12mpg is a 30% improvement. That adds up. You might do better, I drive with a heavy foot. A 130 should do better than my '32. It's lighter (but not by much)and it has a 46 hp engine compared to the later car's 100 hp. There were many differences between 1931 and 1932. The interior door handles on the '31 were on the sill, where the '32 was on the door panel. Franklin had no money for new tooling, so it was probably cheaper to make the trim out of wood. Production was a fraction of what it was a few years earlier.

Hey, If the cars were visible from the street, and you didn't enter his property to photograph them, then you wouldn't need his permission, the first amendment allows you to publish them anywhere you want. If you were invited in and allowed to take photos of his garage, then the same rule applies.

Technically, you can easily reverse the polarity of most old cars. You just have to re-polarize the generator. If you hook up the battery backwards, the amp gauge will read backwards. My Franklin is supposed to be positive ground, but somewhere along the way somebody reversed it. I can't see how it matters, so I've left it that way. If there is no battery in the truck, a way to tell is to check the battery terminals. The positive post is slightly larger, and the positive terminal ring will therefore be slightly larger.

I hate to say it, but if the Lincoln is missing its drive train, it's probably not worth getting. The condition of the body is not stellar either. It will probably wind up painted all white as a SB Chevy-powered wedding limo for people with bad taste.