PFitz

I'll second that. I've used Reeve's shop for 20 years. Patrick and Mike have decades of experience and all the equipment to completely rebuild any engine - gas or diesel, antique or new, street, race, stationary, or marine. Everything but aircraft.

My favorite, but happened to an older friend when he worked as a L.I. dealership mechanic in the late 50's. Dealership owner's wife got a new car. Drove it a ways and the engine stalled and wouldn't restart. Called the dealership and they sent out a mechanic. By the time he got there, he couldn't find anything wrong and the car started fine. This happened several times. Finally the dealership owner told the service manager that his wife was making his life miserable - find out what's wrong with that car or look for a new job. The service manager went to the dealer's house and asked the wife to drive the car while he road shotgun. She got in behind the wheel, pulled out the choke handle all the way and hung her handbag on it. Problem solved. Paul

I forgot about the carb icing story. When I first started reading this I thought it was going to be about the time I found you stuck on an LI expressway overpass, once again on the way to a car show. If you remember, that time it was motor oil spray flooded the wire towers of the distributor cap, thus insulating the sparkplug wire terminals. Couple of paper towels wicked out the oil and cured it at the time. Then the later addition of Franklin's cure of a tower base distributor cured it permanently. Paul

In early spring of 1972 I ordered a new AMC Javelin. About 6 weeks later, I was on my way to work and as I drove past the dealership I saw a car transporter on the side street with my car on the top rack. I did one of the fastest U-turns ever. As the truck driver was unchaining the cars, he looked down and noticed me with a grin starring up at the new Javelin. He asked, "Is that yours ?" I almost got dizzy shaking my head yes. He said, "Climb up and get in," I got in the passenger seat, he in the drivers seat, then he started the car and rolled it off the truck. As he pulled it into the dealership lot the dealer came out, saw me getting out of the car and had a fit. Started yelling about insurance regulations and that he needed a few days to prep the car. He's tirade couldn't get the smile off my face from that first short ride. Nor did the dealer's tantrum seem to phase the truck driver. He was laughing at the even bigger goofy grin that his act of understanding and kindness had put on a 20 year old kids face. I thanked him and went off to work. Oh yeah,..... there was no noticeable coating of wax on the paint of my Javelin, or any of the other five new AMC cars on that trailer. Paul

In 1974, in my bought-new 72 Javelin, on the way from Long Island to the wedding of one of my sister's in New Hampshire, as I drove across an overpass on Rt 95 north in Massachusetts, all the dash gauges spiked up to max. Then as I got to the other side of the overpass the gauges went back to normal. Later I discovered I had no turn signals. Stopped and checked the bulbs and not only turn signals were out but the (GE1157) brake light filaments were burned out too. This happen in clear weather, early afternoon, without the brake, or turn signals being on - so the bulbs were not in a closed circuit. Drove the car for over 100K miles more and it never happened again. A mystery to this day. Paul

No surprise there. If it ain't got a number that's in their computer,.... the autoparts store guys are lost. Have you tried contacting EGGE in California ? They are not just pistons for old engines - they also make guides, valves, and other antique engine parts. Paul

Properly applied, cured, block sanded, and rubbed out, you can't tell the difference between a good lacquer, or single stage paint job. Except with time - the lacquer job will show more road chips. Paul

I still have one of those Esso "Put a tiger in your tank" tails. The elastic attaching loop is stretched out to the limit from having spent awhile wrapped around the gas tank filler neck of my 62 Chevy, back in the late 60'. I learned the hard way that spilled gasoline doesn't help elastic stay elastic. Everytime it became slack, I had wrap more turns around the filler neck to keep it on. Also have two small kerosene "hurricane lamps" that my folks got with books of gas station trading stamps like Victorialynn mentioned. If I remember correctly, they were given out by a Sunoco station near my folk's house.

C Carl. Your welcome. There is a lot of info if you do a web search using the search term, "octane and flame front propagation". Keep in mind that todays gasoline is not the same as that from decades ago. With all the additives there is not much "gasoline" in today's gas. And additives can not only change octane rating, they can affect flame front propagation. So discussions of flame front based on old texts are not really relevant to what we can get at the gas pump, except to have a debate to chew on. Plus, octane rating is not the only thing that affects flame front propagation. Turbulence inside a combustion chamber, plus combustion chamber shape can also affect how a flame front can react. I would love to have some drums of fresh 57 octane gas from the late 1920's, plus some 1930 Sunoco Blue 70 octane, to try out on my customer's cars to see what they really ran like when new. We can restore them mechanically to showroom new, but we can't restore what comes out of the gas pumps. And that has a big affect on how they were originally designed to run. As you know, a lot has changed in the automotive chemical world in 90-100 years. Some things still apply and some don't. The trick is in don't assume everything they knew back then was the end-all be-all of automotive engineering knowledge. And conversely, don't assume that all "advancements" we've made are across the board best for antique cars. Paul

I thought Octane referred to a fuel's ability to resist knock, or pre-ignition, hence the higher the compression, the higher the octane required. ?? jp 26 Rover 9 ------------------------------------------------- Yes, it is. For additional info on that look up what the term "anti knock index" means. Sometimes seen on gas pumps as "AKI". There's lots of info on octane rating verses flame propagation speeds, too. Here's just a bit of some of the explanation available. https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=967599 Paul

If there was no primer under the oldest looking black paint in where it's tough to spray paint, such as down in the groove for the tower seal, that helps it lean towards black being the original color. Franklin dip painted all the non-body parts in black gloss enamel, with no primer used, just acid-etched. You can often see runs/sags in some of the parts and drips where they dried on the lowest edges/corners showing it was hung up to dry after dip painting. Paul

Your very welcome, Dave. It was a pleasure working and emailing with you. And thank you again for the job and for the picture. Your Chandler is a real beauty !!!!! Paul

Rodger, Ok sedan. Sorry, got yours mixed up with another series 11A owner currently responding with. The Series 11 parts book does not show a change of rubber mat for your car after a certain number car, as it does with some of the other body style front mats of Series 11A & B. I don't know why there is no mention of a black mat on any of the drawings, when examples of them survive for both 11A & 11B. Maybe that other Duco number that was changed might be black ???? Or, there is a missing drawing/drawings that explain more. The drawing files are missing a lot of drawings for which there are still cards in the card file. Some have notes about a drawing being discarded. Many are just missing. And not just some in a number squance, but whole sections of both body and mechanical parts drawings. Hopefully more examples of 11A & B mats will show up, if only to see how many of each color survive. But I suspect that there won't be many. Having worked on that Series 11B in the picture, I know they are very delicate. The rubber has become very brittle with age. Just gently taking the mat out of the car with the owner and I lifting carefully, it spilt in several new places. Seeing how easily it was falling apart explains why so many have been replaced with carpet over the years. Paul

Rodger, After looking at the drawings, I see that they don't show your car's body style as having a front rubber mat. Just a carpet front mat. They use the term "mat" rather loosely. That might explain why you only found black paint on that floor board center section. As for the gray rubber transmission tower seal, they could simply may have been using up stock, or your carpet may have been gray ? What color is your upholstery ? Take a look at drawing 34366. You'll see that it lists carpet for Victoria Coupe (which is really more Victoria and less coupe in the general sense). Unfortunately there is rarely any listing of carpet colors on the drawings, just the supplier's color codes/numbers. Sometimes a drawing, and/or, dealer bulletin will mention Franklin "trip codes". And again, there is no known factory documents surviving that list what those trim code colors are. Drawing 33321 (which includes 33318, 33319, & 33320) is the rubber mat for the other body styles, but there's no listing for Victoria. And, Franklin25's car is not a Victoria, it's a Sport Touring. FYI, the other series 11's I've seen that have a black front rubber mat are both sedans and they don't have the larger diamond pattern that Franklin25's picture shows. They have the same tiny ovals, and the same boarder pattern as drawing 33321 specifies. Here's a picture of one in a 27 Sedan. Still looking for my pix of the original 26 sedan with the same rubber mat. I can't find any drawing that matches the diamond pattern texture of Franklin25's picture. Maybe another piece of the past that will remain a mystery ? Paul

Thanks Franklin25. Good to add that to the data base. My suggestion to Rodger is based on yours being the first gray mat I've heard of in 35 years of looking and working on Franklins full time. Does your gray mat's molded design match the drawing ? There are a number of Series 11s with their black mats still surviving. And those mats match the molded pattern of the factory drawing exactly. I sent pix of one to Rodger, of a NYS car that comes to the Trek often. And, I've never found a trace of gray paint on any of the metal center section of the floor boards of those cars that the mat is long gone. Just the original Franklin, dip-painted black gloss over acid-washed steel, like the other stamped steel parts of the body and engine aredone in. Paul

Hello, to all. Just want to let those of you who have cars with rubberized fabric U-joints discs, know that I make new discs. I have been making them for Franklin, Cunningham, Chandler, Nash and others. And I rivet them into clutch disc hubs as part of my clutch discs and Franklin cooling fan hub rebuilding service of over 30 years. These are not NOS old, hardened rubber that will overheat and quickly disintegrate in use. The discs are made from fresh stock, modern, high-strength industrial, all-synthetic material that is waterproof, and oil and grease resistant. They are much stronger than the original rubberized cotton canvas discs. I custom make them to any diameter up to 9 inch OD and ½ inch thick. With up to ½ inch bolt holes. I just need to know the outside and inside diameters, the thickness, the number and size of bolt holes, the bolt circle diameter, and how many discs are needed. If you can provide that info, I’d be glad to give a quote by email. I can be contacted by pm. Thank you, Paul

Hello to all. Just wanted to let you know, if anyone needs new driveshaft rubberized fabric U-joint rings, I make them. I've been making them for many years, for Franklin, Cunningham, and just added Chandler and Nash to the list. I can make any size up to 9 inch OD and 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Bolt holes 1/4 to 1/2 inch. I also make and rivet them in as part of rebuilding/re-facing clutch discs. And the harmonic damper hubs of Franklin cooling fans. Just need to know the OD and ID, how many and how thick, how many bolt holes, what size, and the bolt circle diameter. You can contact me by PM. Thank you for looking, Paul

Thank you Dave for the plug. Yes, I can make more. I'm the guy in NYS. I just made a set for Dave's 28 Chandler. I've also made them for Cunningham, Franklin, Nash, and other makes that used rubberized discs for driveshafts. I also make and rivet in, fabric rings for clutch disc hubs as part of my clutch rebuilding service. I can make any thickness rings up to 1/2 inch and up to 9 inch diameter. And any number of bolt holes and bolt sizes from 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Email is the best way to contact me for swapping info and getting a request for pricing. airiscool@frontiernet.net There are no books listing each make and it's dimensions, but that's not as much of a problem as some might think. The driveshaft flanges and length can answer any missing info. I just need to know the thickness of each disc, how many discs are needed, the outside and inside diameters, the number and size of bolt holes, and bolt circle diameter. The disc material I use is all modern synthetic material. It is waterproof, oil and grease resistant, and stronger than the original rubber and cotton canvas discs. Thank you, Paul

For anyone who needs new rubberized fabric driveshaft U-joint rings, I make them. Any make/model and all sizes up to 8+ inch OD. Just need to know the disc thickness, the outside and inside diameters, the number of and size of the bolt holes, bolt circle diameter, and how many discs needed. These are precisely made from modern, all synthetic materials that are stronger than the original rubber and cotton canvas discs used in driveshaft u-joints and clutch discs up until 1929. Waterproof and oil and grease resistant. Here's a picture of a set I just made for a 29 Nash 420 standard six. Edit; For some reason my picture won't upload. Anyone who wants pictures of the rings I make, feel free to email me and I'll email you copies. I can be contacted by pm. Thank you for reading this, Paul

Dave, As long as the thickness and number of discs your Chandler's have allows the driveshaft's splines to move properly with the total potential movement of the rear axle without the splines running out of travel, then that thickness is good. I can make any fractional inch thickness, or some metric thickness needed, or combinations to make up an odd-ball thickness. The most critical applications for thickness being instances like the Series 9 Franklin mentioned in 1939_Buick's listing above. It has two drive shafts - one is a short one between the engine and the frame-mounted transmission. Use even slightly wrong thickness discs there and the drive shaft will not fit. Paul Fitz

Yes, that would be good to have,....if the NOS hasn't shrunk with age. But, more importantly, you have what any disc HAS to fit - and that's the flanges, which can be very precisely measured. Then the only info needed is how many discs and how thick each disc needs to be to maintain proper total drive shaft length between the flanges. If the discs are too thick, a driveshaft spline may run out of travel if you hit a bump with a car full of passengers. Too thin and there may not be a problem with the spline, but the discs might have to use fewer plies and be weaker for what that application needs. By the way, the modern materials are far stronger than the original rubber and cotton canvas of the same thickness. And oil/grease softening of the natural rubber and wet-rot of the cotton is not a problem like it is with the NOS ones. Dave, please include an email address. It's far easier to send/receive pix and drawings if need be. Paul Fitz

Good find on the literature guys. But to be safe, double check the measurements against your drive shaft flanges. 1939 Buick, I can tell you that in that second section you listed, those rings will not fit a Franklin. The measurements are all wrong and they list too many years that type u-joint was used on a Franklin. So, I would wonder about the accuracy of the other applications listed. To others. Beware of NOS rings. Like with old tires, the rubber turns hard with age. The rings will heat up from all the flexing they must do and they will fail - same as an old canvas-cord tire will split. Paul

Bill, No book that I'm aware of. And in 30 + years of working with these rubberized fabric rings, I've never heard of them being offered as an aftermarket part, So, they might not somehow be listed in one place, like other parts were. The Cunningham set I just did, the owner was lucky enough to have found one NOS ring and sent it to me. And even though the rubber in it had turned hard and brittle with age, luckily it was found that had not shrunk when it was compared to the drive shaft flanges. I was able to make the jigs by measuring that. Otherwise the best way is to send me a flange, or have a draftsman, or machinist friend measure your car's flange and make a drawing I can work from. All I need to know is, how many rings needed, the thickness of each ring, the outside diameter of the rings, the diameter of any inner hole, the number of mounting bolt holes, the diameter of the bolt's center line circle, the location on that circle of the bolt holes in degrees, and the diameter of the bolts. Paul

Gentlemen, I make the rubberized fabric rings for Franklins and other early car drive shaft u-joints. Plus, I rebuild the rubberized fabric clutch disc hubs and Franklin cooling fan hubs installed with original sized rivets. Just made a set of 8 for a big Cunningham driveshaft. All are made on special jigs so that the rings and their mounting holes are concentric and do not throw off the balance of rotating parts. And all are made from reinforced synthetic fabric and rubber to withstand road water, dirt, oil, and grease far better than the original rubber and canvas rings. If I don't already have that size jigs I'd need a good original ring, or crisp tracing of the flanges and bolt holes, or drawing of accurate measurements. See my ad on the Franklin Club website here. http://www.franklincar.org/forsale/service.html Paul Fitz airiscool@frontiernet.net

busaf4. No, the oil pan must come off. But, the good news is that while it's off you can not only do a good job of cleaning a critical area, you can do something even more important .... check condition of main and connecting rod bearings. Being careful not to mix up any stacks of shims that may be in the bearing joints, one at a time, remove rod and main caps and look carefully at the babbit material. Is it dull silver and smooth(good), or sparkly and crystallizing (old and brittle)? Is it clean,or full of grit/carbon. Are there cracks in the babbit, and or, pieces broken out? If it's dull silver, clean and no cracks, it should be ok. Anything else and you run the risk of bearing problems sooner or later. Paul Fitz.