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Saggy Franklin Frames


theKiwi

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A question about a saggy frame - has anyone seen this Franklin kit in action on a car?
 
Better yet - has anyone had this fitted on a car and then removed the brackets because they finally put a new frame in the car and so had the brackets left over?
 
If anyone has said brackets I'd be more than interested in acquiring them - ought to be easier than trying to make them myself...
 
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Edited by theKiwi (see edit history)
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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Here's how I did it for my 1910:

 

I had the stand-offs and anchors made at a local sheet metal shop:

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Parts as formed. 

 

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Anchors were made to Franklin drawing style, yet taller. Anchor half plates were tack welded together., although not sure it was necessary. 

 

Stand-off's were made of equal height (the 1910 frame is not a drop center).  I machined 1-1/4" pins and put a groove in the center for 1/2" truss rod stock, then welded the pins into the stand-offs. 

 

Anchor plate installed:

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Stand-off installed:

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1/2" rod was used  (easier to make than cables and less stretch) with turnbuckles and clevises shaped to fit on two stand-offs.  All is hidden. 

 

I did this in 2011 and the cost to me for cutting and forming of the stand-offs and anchor pieces was about $180.

I jacked the car up at the points I chose for the stand-offs and let the car hang over a winter while I turned the turnbuckles a bit every week or so.

The anchor plates are under TREMENDOUS tension. It requires good, solid wood and a tight fit to the underside of the frame rail. 

 

Funny thing is - I did not really need to do this on this car, but wanted to take some stress off the original frame.  Saggy springs was the real culprit  and I am addressing that now. 

But the truss system is firm & solid and holding all things up nicely. 

 

A new frame is always better, but a big job....

 

Tom Rasmussen

 

 

 

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Tom,

Nice work. Although I doubt I'll ever need them since I'm in the steel frame Franklins, I think it would be a great idea for your pictures and drawings to be placed in the Franklin drawing file under a folder titled "modern fixes for old problems". I hope the manager of these files could do something like that for all our benefit.

Bill

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Thanks Tom

 

I'm still in the "thinking about it" stage for my  sagging 11A.

 

Over the weekend (at the Midwest Meet) I saw Mark and John's beautiful 11B Tandem Sport which has a whole different idea applied to it - a giant two leaf inverted leaf spring that runs much of the length of the frame rail with the point of upwards pressure I suppose at about the back of the engine/front of the body. It's fastened to the frame at each end.

 

So in this idea there is no tension lengthwise along the frame - the frame is being pulled downwards at the ends and pushed upwards at the centre.

 

I discussed this a little with Jeff Hasslen after he'd noted that my 11A has some frame sag, and we discussed the merits of pulling along the frame at little mechanical advantage and incredible force (the truss system) versus pushing directly up on the frame (the leaf spring system).

 

What I have no handle at all on is just how much upwards force is needed if one were going to have someone make some springs.

 

Hmmmmmmm

 

Roger

Edited by theKiwi (see edit history)
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Ive seen the spring system before.  What I like about it is that it does not compromise the Franklin "feel".  

Does it have enough force?  I suppose it would not be difficult to calculate. 

 

Once a frame sags, it is very difficult to get it go back, but at least one of these systems should keep it from worsening. 

 

Tom

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