Steve Braverman

Here it is folks. http://www.cheapwaterfuel.com/

Was it black, and did it look like this one?

Unfortunately, my Plymouth has not seen daylight in about 10 years. I'd like to get it out and on the road again. Maybe next year.

Thank you Steve. Your words mean a lot to me. It was a pleasure meeting you and taking part of an AACA tour. My last AACA tour was the 1988 Glidden Tour. I was 14. We all had a lot of fun last week. My favorite part of the hobby is driving old cars. I don't care about trophies. My car is usually dirty from the road, and it's only been trailered twice since I've owned it. My trophy is my ever-increasing odometer, and the memories of the places that the Franklin has taken me.

Wayne, Thanks for copying my post here. I didn't think to put it here, but it's appropriate. To add some more, I notice there is another picture of a kid in a Sears besides mine. My dad brings his Sears to the Franklin Trek (It's open to all air-cooled cars pre-WWII). I give all the kids rides in it, and it's like an amusement park ride to them. We had about 38 kids at the Trek this year, but my daughter was the only kid on the AACA tour. I thought this very strange for a tour in August. Also, the picture of Don Kitchen's 1929 Franklin is a fond memory for me. Don let me drive this car around Cazenovia, NY when I was a teenager. I have not seen Don in many years, but he is truly an ambassador to young people.

Wow, I never expected to start such a firestorm with this thread. The north/south name calling is really not necessary though. I really like 4buick7's explanation of whitewall aesthetics. In my opinion, whitewalls are like makeup. Some need it to leave the house, some need it to be bearable, and some are just naturally beautiful without it. I guess I prefer the latter. (BTW, my wife rarely wears any makeup. She doesn't need it.) I just returned from a two-week vacation in the Franklin with my family. First we attended the Franklin Trek in Cazenovia, NY. Then we visited some friends in Saratoga Springs and Argyle, NY, took a quick side trip to Vermont, then attended the AACA Eastern Divisional Tour to the Berkshires in Massachusetts. We covered 1,200 miles without a mechanical incident, unless you count a flat tire. Good thing I bought new tires. It turned out to be a defective tube. The stem came loose where it's vulcanized to the tube. On the way home, we drove through a storm in Connecticut that I was later told included a tornado. There were people in modern cars stopped under bridges to hide from the rain, but I had a ferry to catch and so kept on going. The vacuum wiper in the Franklin barely moves, and my Rainex was doing its best. Luckily, I had also replaced the roof and windshield seal just before the trip. In downtown Bridgeport there was a flood that I had to get past to get to the ferry terminal, and a Honda was dead in the middle. Luckily it allowed me to judge the depth of the water and determine that it would just touch the Franklin's running boards, so I slowly drove though. People who say you can't drive long distances in an old car are really missing out. My Franklin is all original, including the engine. It's old and tired, but it keeps going. My two-year-old daughter Julia loves playing in the back seat. I did get many compliments from people that know my car and prefer the blackwalls.

I am trying to clean out a gas tank that has been sitting with nasty gas in it for many years. The local radiator shop cut open the ends for me, and the inside is coated with heavy rust and scale. I want to sand blast the inside of the tank, but I'm not sure how to go about it. I got a shiny new sandblaster for X-mas last year, and it's still in the box. Should I use regular sand, baking soda, or something else? Where can I get blast media locally?

I wanted to keep it simple, and not tax the car's electrical system. I bought a battery pack for about $30, and I'm very happy with it. It runs the DVD player for a few hours, and can re-charge a cell phone or GPS. http://www.das-roadpro.com/roadpro/

The tires look great!

Joe, You were right on the money. I didn't realize there was supposed to be a gasket there. It must have fallen out or dissolved in the acid bath. I made a new gasket, and the car runs great. I knew it had to be something simple. Thanks!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: hddennis</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Liz, the one thing everyone forgot to mention is this tool only works on split rims. If the car has one piece rims as on a Model t Ford, the tool is of no use. Howard Dennis </div></div> My 1926 Model T that I had as a teenager had split rims. That's when I first learned how to really curse. I think that all split rims fall within the 19-21" range, so this tool should work with all of them.

There was no gasket other than the paper gasket around the perimeter of the bowl. It makes sense what you are saying though. I will try to make a gasket tomorrow. This carburettor is so simple, it's frustrating not to be able to get it to work.

It's a rim spreader. It's mostly used for expanding your profanity vocabulary while trying to mount tires onto split rims as were common in the 20s and early 30s. I have three hanging on the wall of my garage. Two are broken.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Joe Kieliszek</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hello, Assuming your Schebler is a model D, does it still have the spring loaded disk valve beneath the choke plate? The carb will run too lean without it...</div></div> Yes it does, and I've tried adjusting it to no avail. There is also plenty of fuel getting to the carb.

Apple Hydraulics can rebuild them for you. They are very fast and reasonable. www.applehydraulics.com

My dad's Sears is acting cranky. It will only run with the choke half closed. I completely disassembled the carb and soaked it in cleaner, so I don't think the jet is clogged. I thought I found a vacuum leak in the intake manifold, but I fixed that, and it still isn't better. This has to be one of the simplest carburetors ever made, but it has me stumped. Any ideas?

My dad's Sears is acting cranky. It will only run with the choke half closed. I completely disassembled the carb and soaked it in cleaner, so I don't think the jet is clogged. I thought I found a vacuum leak in the intake manifold, but I fixed that, and it still isn't better. This has to be one of the simplest carburetors ever made, but it has me stumped. Any ideas?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: West Peterson</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Boy, that headline put my ears up on end!!! I thought maybe I had been fired since my full name is Westley. BLACK!!! Two thumbs up!!! </div></div> Sorry West, didn't mean to scare ya! For those who may not be familiar, Westley's is a product for cleaning white walls. I'm glad most of you like the black walls. Truthfully, MOST cars from the early 30s came with black wall tires, and Franklins especially almost never had white walls.

I finally got new tires on my Franklin. I liked the car with white walls, but I think it's much more distinctive with the black walls. H.H. Franklin would be proud.

According to the Chevrolet web site, the GVW for the 2008 single rear wheel 2WD 3500 is 9,900, and the dual wheel GVW is 11,404. Are you sure that your dually's GVW is only 9,900? I've owned a few Dodge Ram 2500s, and the GVW of those were 8,800, and my uncle had a 1985 GMC dually, and the GVW of that was 10,500. Your truck should have a higher GVW.

If the serial number is 1085, then it is the 85th Sears built, and was probably built in 1908. My father is compiling a registry of all the known Sears cars and their owners, but he does not visit this site. Please e-mail him at oldcarjoel@optonline.net

The Carter BB-1 is a great carburetor that many people retrofitted to cars that never were originally equipped with them. I have one on my Plymouth.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Rusty_OToole</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Chrysler was the first company to go to insert bearings in 1934. They invented them.</div></div> That's interesting since my 1932 and 1933 Franklins both have insert rod bearing.

Believe it or not, the wheel cylinders for my Franklin are available new from Napa. However, at over $100 a piece they were not cost effective. I had them rebuilt by Apple Hydraulics for $85 each, sleeved with brass. I live local to them, and they had them ready the next day!