PFitz

Lindbergh's '30 Series 147 Convertible Speedster by Deitrich. Also showing his '28 Franklin mentioned in earlier posts. Paul

Yes, very effective. So much so that starting in '31 they reduced the jacketed area exposed to exhaust heat by about 1/3. Here's a pic of a '30 heater in the top of the picture with a '31 heater below it. The sheet metal covers the jacket's heated air pathway. Paul

Starting in the early '20s the factory offered an optional exhaust manifold heater system. An air jacket surrounding the exhaust manifold right near the cylinders. It had air fed through the jacket from the engine's cooling fan housing - piped right through the firewall and also to a rear floor register. Every affective. I was driving a '30 Franklin touring car with one of those heaters (pictured below) on a 50f degree day. Had to turn it off when only a couple of miles out of town as it got too hot in the front seat area. For an enclosed car like Lindbergh's, it would be even more effective than that touring car. Paul

40,000 well-cared for miles. Hard to believe we restored that 40 years ago. Still looks as good!!! Paul

Here's Lindy getting out of (his?)31 Frankin Series 153 Deluxe Speedster Sedan. Door being held by a New Jersey State Trooper makes it likely this was taken during the kidnapping trials. There is another picture of him standing next to this car and smiling so likely pre-kidnaping. I'll post if I can find it. Paul

Here's Lindy's '27 Series 11B Sport Sedan,* which up until recently it was in the Saratoga Springs Auto Museum for many years. A few weeks ago, it went back to the Ford Museum..... the week before the Franklin Trek visited the Saratoga Museum. *Correction - '28 Series 12A Sport Sedan. Paul

Here is my set. You can see why I thought it was a bushing driver set. Paul

I don't know thread size but here is a common hub mounting drum puller. A Kent Moore common to many makes, especially those that used early Motor Wheel brand brake drums with Lockheed Wagner brake systems. Threads on the hub, then tighten the pinch bolt to get a strong grip on the hub threads to reduce chance of stripping them. Then tighten the pushing bolt against the end of the axle shaft. Paul

An old mechanic showed me a tool he had for greasing inside spring covers, both leather and sheet metal types. It was a flattened steel tube with one end threaded to attach to a grease gun and the other end was closed and rounded smooth to make insertion easier. At the rounded tip it had a hole for the grease to be pushed out of. The tool was slipped up inside the spring cover along the side of the spring leaves, then grease was pumped through it as it was drawn back out. Worked great to evenly distribute grease along the length of spring leaves. Can be made out of a piece of steel brake tubing. Paul

Set for removing and installing brass bushings/sleeve bearings in distributors, camshafts, generators, and starters. I have a very similar set, but newer in a metal case with instructions how to remove/install the sleeves. Paul

A member of the Franklin Club made copies many years back. He passed away and his son has not continued making them. One of those repros is on my stepson's 26 Franklin. Paul

I've had problems with the plastic float material used as carb floats. For oil level and gas gauge cork floats I've had good success sealing them with slow-cure (24 hour cure) marine-grade epoxy adhesive. Gas tank sealer like the Bill Hirsch stuff will also work.

Depending on the length of the unit that extends down into the tank, these are the same as used in 1922 to '27 Franklins. The Franklin ones came in 11, 12, 14, and 17-9/16 inch lengths depending on Series/model year. Paul

What is the length that extends into the tank ? And how much do they cost ? Paul

All Franklins used a vacuum wiper and had the special tee fitting on top. The vacuum line from the intake manifold and the wiper motor vac line both connect to it. In the picture you can see that tee fitting provided by Stewart Warner. The smaller threaded connection is the wiper motor line and the larger is the vac line to the intake. Behind the fitting you can just make out the vent tube. My index finger is on the gas tank line inlet fitting of the "Gascolator" fuel filter. Many other makes that had vacuum wipers used basically the same setup. Paul

Yes some vehicles used both "rag joints" and mechanical joints - often on the same drive shaft. Flexible rubber disc joints are far better at absorbing road shocks and driveline noise than mechanical joints. Because of that, flexible rubber joints are still used today in the drive trains of some modern cars. Paul

Terry. My guess is the "wedges" were someone's idea to be some type of torsional shock absorbers????? The vast majority of flexible disc type joints don't use anything like that, including equally large discs I've made for other fire engines, trucks, and very big engine brass era cars. Paul

Just cutting out discs with hand tools out of whatever material is at hand can lead to shaft bearing problems. The discs have to be a very specific thickness and the diameter, bolt circle, and inner hole all have to be concentric. The bolt holes have to be properly sized and evenly spaced or you can easily get vibrations and off-center wear that damages parts. That takes specialized equipment and tooling. Paul

I doubt anyone is going to have them "on the shelf". Mr. Matteson sent me the size and like other fire apparatus drive shaft discs I've done they are far bigger diameter than any of the car/tractor sizes listed for sale at Then and Now or sellers of NOS discs. Paul

I custom make new flexible discs - up to 8 inch diameter- for drive shafts, clutch hubs, and water pump/generator drives for cars, trucks, and fire apparatus. I use modern material that is stronger and much more resistant to oil and grease than original and NOS discs. And it will not harden with flexing like NOS discs will. Email me the dimensions and I'll give a quote. airiscool@mail.com Paul

All 1930 and later Franklin use a Champion D-16, which was the former number - the current Champion number is now 516. And that plug uses a 7/8 deep socket. Paul

Franklin "Treslite" for late 1930 Series 147, 1931 Series 153, and 1932 Series 16. If it has a slightly raised bead around the rim, it is Marmon. Paul

Walt. It says "Seattle" right in the notice. And it took me less time to Google "Gig Harbor" than it did to post about it. Paul

Says, "Seattle Gig Harbor Police Department. Auto Theft Task Force - Puget Sound" right in the notice. A Google search shows Gig Harbor has its own website. Gig Harbor, WA | Official Website (cityofgigharbor.net) Paul

Some felt suppliers will refer to the denser grades as "bearing felt". It is equivalent to the F-1 / F2 grades. Paul