Franklin
Air Cooled Cars from other manufactures
General information on Franklins
Up-dated 9/25/07
The information listed on this page is from Air Cooled News, Franklin Service Station,
years of Registers and Rosters and other published information. Your WebMaster has tried to be as accurate as possible,
however typographical, omission and inconsistencies are always possible.
Other Air Cooled Cars
Listed below are some of the other Air Cooled cars club members own.
Adams-Farewell 1906, Airomobile 1937, Black 1909, Bernnan 1904, Briggs & Stratton 1920,
Cameron 1904-08-11, Chevrolet 1923, Chase 1912, Crest 1902, Cyclecar 1912, Deal 1910, DeDion 1896,
DeDion Bouton 1899, Domark Engine 1935, Economy 1909, Firestone Coumbus 1908, Fox 1923,
Frayer Miller 1908, Hanover 1919-1921, Holsman 1904-1905-1906-1907, Imp Cycle Car 1914,
International Autowagon 1907, International Express 1907, International Panel 1910-1911, Julian 1925,
Kiblinger 1906, Knox 1903-1904-1905, Leon Bollee 1898, Little Mystery Midget 1932, Metz 1910,
Middleby 1909, Morgan 1934, Orient Buckboard 1906, Pickard 1910, Rover 1923,
Sears 1908-1909-1910-1911-1912, Success 1907, Tatra 1922, Zimmerman 1909
Up-dated 9/25/07
General Information on Franklins
Quick Guild to Franklin Identification
1902 - 1906 Cross Engine
Series A, B, E, F
1902-03 Angular hood, 1 brake drum
1904-05 Rounded hood, 2 brake drums
1902-04 4 valve pushrods on exhaust only
1905-06 8 push rods, rear fender runs to step plate
1905 - 1910 Barrel Hood
Series G, D, H
1905-06 Longitudinal engine, horizontal fins, shaft drive, paired valves, dash oiler, hood round
1907 Open mesh hood, paired valves horizontal fins, no dash oiler, no engine shrouds
1908-09 Open mesh, concentric valves, no shrouds, horizontal fins
1910 Fine mesh hood, concentric valves, vertical fins, air dam, large wheels
1911 - 1916 Renault Hood
Series G, M, D, H & 1-8
1911 D & H 6 cylinder, G & M 4 cylinder right hand drive, brass lamps
1912 1, 2, M D, H 6 cylinder, G 4 cylinder, right drive, nickel lamps, dash vents
1913 3, M, D, H 6 cylinder, G 4 cylinder, right drive, nickel electric headlamps, electric start
1914 4, 5, 6, 7, - 4 & 5 mesh grill insert, 6 & 7 stamped louvers, Dyneto electric, cowl lights on 4 & 5
1915 early 16 8 Stamped louvers, complex dash, enclosed valves, no hood handle or hand crank
1916 - 1921 "Shovel Nose" Hood
Series 9
Mid 1916 & 17 9A Hood flairs smoothly into cowl, rear blower, vertical windshield
1918-21 9B Sloped windshield, low horsecollar grill, in 21, some exterior horns. ACN #31 has Series 9 detail features.
1922 - 1925 Horse Collar Hood
1922-10A Aluminum blower housing, exterior horn, cowl vent doors.
1922-24 10B Aluminum blower housing, cowl vent doors, horn under hood
1924 early 25 10C Steel blower housing, cowl vent doors, lion ornament, 21" balloon tires.
1925 - 1929 DeCausse Styled Hood
Mid 1925-26 11A 21" tires, round headlight bar
1927 11B 20" tires, flat headlight bar
1928 12A 4 wheel brakes, some fender mirrors, rounded corners on hood front
1928 12B Like 12A, longer wheelbase cars have steel frame
1929 13 Most have Ryan lights, vertical hood louvers, all cars have steel frame.
Beginning of deluxe series cars
Dietrich Styles & Sidedraft Cooled
The New Airman
Series 14 - 16 and 19
1930 14 Hood horizontal louvers, narrow hood front edge
1931 15 Hood doors 3 plus 1 space, wider hood front edge
1932 16A Hood 4 equal doors, slight "V" hood front with visible shutters
1933 16B 4 equal doors, slight "V" hood front with grille covering shutters
1934 19 "V" hood front, hood covers cowl, regular springs
The LeBaron Style Twelve
Series 17
1932-34 17A, B V-12's, long high hood with 6 doors, "V" hood front, semi-elliptic springs
The Olympic
Franklin Engine/Reo Body
Series 18
1933 18A Flat bumper, no fender skirt. flatter hood front
1933 18B "V" bumper, fender skirt, flatted hood front
1934 18C "V" bumper, fender skirt, "V" hood front all have semi-elliptic springs
Other information
1928 12A was the last Franklin to have a wood chassis frame.
The mid 20's saw the introduction of the pressure cooling, also known as the 'downdraft' system by which the fan,
now moved to the front of the engine, forced air via ductwork over the TOP of the cylinders and downwards over
vertical cooling fins cast into the sides of the cylinders. The cylinders were one-piece iron with non-detachable heads.
The Ser. 10 had steel fins cast into the cylinders. The Ser. 11 - 13 had phosphor bronze fins. All had a pulse oil system
which sent oil under full pressure to each main bearing and connecting rod in pulses. If a bearing was lost, pressure was
maintained in the rest of the system, a dubious benefit since running very far with one bad rod could result in crankshaft
damage or crankcase damage if the rod let go.
All engines of this type were of 3 1/4" bore until the 135 engine which was increased to 3 1/5 x 4 3/4" stroke.
The first ser. 10's were somewhat less than 30 horsepower, the final 135 engine was 65. All engines had overhead
valves. The Ser. 13's were the first to use an AC fuel pump in place of the Stewart Warner vacuum tanks
used from 1916 to 1928.
The great advantage of the downdraft system was the increased volume of air moved by the fan which was now pushing
cooler, denser air instead of expanded, hot air which was pulled by the earlier flywheel/fan.
The disadvantage was the one-piece cylinder construction. It was very hard to cool the heads much and space
for larger valves was limited. The result was occasional cracks in the cylinder heads and walls. In late '29, the factory
cast a few iron cooling fins into the top of the cylinders. I have found that, oddly enough, these tend to crack more
frequently than the earlier design.
The side-draft engines of 1930 - 1934 were certainly a great leap forward in performance and technology. One can always
look to new technology and pass judgment on the old stuff as inferior in comparison. For its time, however,
the downdraft engines were superb powerplants. They have a smoothness and quietness not found in the later side-draft design.
The quality of construction was probably better than Franklin ever produced prior to, or after. The downdraft cars
were and are capable of running full throttle all day long without detriment. The side-drafts, while beautifully
engineered and certainly well built, produce so much more power that running full throttle all day long is not such a
good idea as oil temps and piston speeds get out of hand.
~
Series 17A cars (sixteen of them) remained at the factory over the year end of 1932 and their serial number plates
were removed and replaced with numbers 73-10277 to 73-10292. The engine numbers were also given "X" prefix.
What do all the numbers mean in a serial number and what was my Franklin when built?
1922 to 1934
S/N 30-183550L11
30 = the series 130
182550 = the number of this car
L = left hand drive
11 = the body style (in this case a sedan)
Engine number 30-X136759
* * * * *
For all the Series Franklin manufactured tag here SERIES
* * * * *
For your car Number by year tag here NUMBER
* * * * *
L = Steering wheel on the left side
R = Steering wheel on right side
* * * * *
Numbers after a decimal point or dash at the end of the Serial number indicates the body code.
This system was used from the mid 1922 beginning with Serial No. 125001 NOTE: All are 5 passenger unless noted below
1922 - 9B
Touring - 1, Runabout 2 pass - 2, Coupe 4 pass. - 3, Sedan 2 - 4, Touring limousine - 5, Demi-coupe 2 pass. - 6,
Demi-sedan - 7, Chassis - 8, Brougham - 9
1922 - 10A
Touring - 1, Runabout 2 pass.- 2, Coupe 4 pass. - 3, Sedan 2 door - 4, Touring limousine - 5, Demi-coupe 2 pass. - 6,
Demi-sedan - 7, Chassis - 8, Brougham - 9, Sedan 4 door "V" front - 10, Sedan 4 door "Straight" front - 11
1922 - 10B
Touring - 1, Coupe 2 pass. - 3, Sedan 2 door 5 pass. - 4, Touring limousine - 5, Demi-sedan - 7, Chassis - 8,
Brougham - 9, Sedan - 11
1923-4 - 10B
Touring - 1, Coupe 4 pass. - 3, Sedan 2 door 5 pass. - 4, Touring limousine - 5, Demi-sedan - 7,
Chassis - 8, Brougham - 9, Sedan - 11
1924-5 - 10C
Touring - 1, Coupe 4 pass. - 3, Sedan 2 door 5 pass. - 4, Demi-sedan - 7, Chassis - 8,
Brougham - 9, Sedan - 11
1925-7 - 11A and 11B
Touting - 1, Sport runabout 2-4 pass. - 2, Coupe 3 pass. - 3, Limousine 7 pass. - 5, Sedan - Oxford sedan - Aux. seat sedan 5 to 7 pass.
all have -11, Sport sedan 12, Cabriolet 3-5 pass. - 13, Coupe 3-5 pass. - 14, Sport coupe 2-4 pass. - 15, Victoria 4 pass. - 16,
Tandem sport 4 pass. - 17
1928 - 12A (119"W.B.)
Coupe 3-5 pass. - 3, Chassis - 8, Sedan - 11, Sport sedan - 12, Victoria 4 pass. and Victoria coupe 4 pass. - 16,
Convertible coupe - 18, Oxford sedan - 19, Standard coupe 3-5 pass. - 20
1928 - 12B (128"W.B.)
Sport touring - 1, Sport runabout 3-5 pass. - 2, Chassis - 8, Touring 7 pass. - 22, Sedan - 23, Oxford sedan 7 pass. - 24,
Sedan - 25,Convertible sedan - 26
1929 - 130
Sedan - 11, Coupe 3-5 pass. - 14, Convertible coupe3-5 pass. - 18, Oxford sedan - 19
1929 - 135
Sedan - 11, Town sedan - 12, Coupe 3-5 pass. - 14, Convertible coupe3-5 pass. - 18, Oxford sedan - 19, Victoria brougham 4 pass. - 21
1929 - 137
Sport touring - 1, Sport runabout 2-4 pass. - 2, Limousine 7 pass. - 5, Touring 7 pass. - 22, Sedan 7 pass. - 23,
Oxford sedan 7 pass. - 24, Speedster 4 pass. - 27, Sedan limousine - 28, Town car 7 pass. - 29
1930 - 145
Sedan - 11, Town sedan - 12, Coupe 3-5 pass. - 14, Convertible coupe 3-5 pass. - 18, Oxford sedan - 19,
Victoria brougham 4 pass. - 21, Club sedan - 30, Pursuit - 31, Sedan 7 pass. - 32
1930 - 147
Pirate touring - 1, Roadster 2-4 pass. - 2, Limousine 7 pass. - 5, Pirate phaeton 7 pass. - 22, Sedan 7 pass. - 23,
Salon special - 25, Speedster 4 pass. - 27, Sedan limousine 7 pass. - 28
1931 - 151
Town sedan - 12, Coupe 3-5 pass. - 14, Convertible coupe 3-5 pass. - 18, Victoria brougham 4 pass. - 21, Pursuit - 31,
Sedan - 33, Oxford sedan - 34
1931 - 152
Roadster 2-4 pass. - 2, Chassis - 8, Sedan 7 pass. - 23, Sport salon - 25, Special limousine 7 pass. - 28,
Special sedan - 35
1931 - 153
DeLuxe limousine 7 pass. - 5, DeLuxe pirate - 7, Chassis - 8, Deluxe town sedan - 12, DeLuxe convertible coupe 3-5 pass. - 18,
DeLuxe oxford sedan - 19, DeLuxe victoria brougham 4 pass. - 21, Deluxe sedan 7 pass. - 23, DeLuxe speedster 4 pass. - 27,
DeLuxe club sedan - 30, Deluxe sedan - 32, DeLuxe Convertible speedster - 40, DeLuxe town berline 5-7 pass. - 40 & 41
(NOTE: Custom body builder code used on Series 15 and some others, this code indicates the builder and not the body style.
40 Dietrich, 41 Derham, 42 Locks, 43 Holbrooke, 44 Walker, 45 Brunn)
1932 - 163
Roadster 2-4 pass. -2, Limousine 7 pass. - 5, Chassis - 8, Sedan - 11, Coupe 3-5 pass. - 14, Sport coupe 2-4 pass. - 15,
Convertible coupe 3-5 pass. - 18, Oxford sedan - 19, Victoria brougham 4 pass. - 21, Sedan 7 pass. - 23, Oxford sedan 7 pass. - 24,
Speedster 4 pass. - 27, Club sedan - 30, Special sedan - 35
1932 - 173
Limousine 7 pass. - 5, Sedan - 11, Club brougham 4 pass. - 21, Sedan 7 pass. - 23
1932 - 183
Sedan - 11, Coupe 3-5 pass. - 14, Convertible coupe 3-5 pass. - 18
1933 - 164
Roadster 4 pass. - 2, Sedan - 11, Sedan 7 pass. - 23
1933 - 173
Limousine 7 pass. - 5, Sedan - 11, Club brougham 4 pass. - 21, Sedan 7 pass. - 23
1933 - 174
Limousine 7 pass. - 5, Sedan - 11, Club brougham 4 pass. - 21, Sedan 7 pass. - 23
1933 - 183
Sedan - 11, Coupe 3-5 pass. - 14, Convertible coupe 3-5 pass. - 18
1933 - 184
Sedan - 11, Coupe 3-5 pass. - 14, Convertible coupe 3-5 pass. - 18
1934 - 174
Limousine 7 pass. - 5, Sedan - 11, Club brougham 4 pass. - 21, Sedan 7 pass. - 23
1934 - 185
Sedan - 11, Coupe 3-5 pass. - 14, Convertible coupe 3-5 pass. - 18
1934 - 193
Limousine 7 pass. - 5, Sedan - 11, Oxford sedan - 19, Sedan 7 pass. - 23, Oxford sedan 7 pass. - 24, Club sedan - 30
1934 - 194
Limousine 7 pass. - 5, Sedan - 11, Oxford sedan - 19, Sedan 7 pass. - 23, Oxford sedan 7 pass. - 24, Club sedan - 30
BITS AND PIECES
Franklin nick names
Transverse engine - Cross-engine
Round hood - Barrel-hood
Cooling air flows down the cylinders - Down-draft
Hood style - Renault hood, Slop or soft-nose - Horse-collar
Name of body stylist - DeCausse
All Franklins from 1928 12A - Airman (except Olympic)
Air flows across the cylinders - Side-draft
Twelve cylinder - V12
Do you know how many Air Cooled News issues were printed in the first few years?
Issue #1 - 200 copies
Issue #2 - 220 copies
Issue #3 - 400 copies
First for Franklin
Did you know Franklin was the first 4 cylinder production car made in America.
The 1902 Franklin sold for $1,200.00
Franklin's engine in 1902 had the first valves-in-head, air cooled mounted up front with a hood.
The first Franklin sold was to S. G. Averell on June 23, 1902.
Some of Franklin's first, as stated above - 1902 first 4 cylinder engine
1902 first float feed carburetor
1905 first 6 cylinder engine
1906 first Hotchkiss drive
1906 first transmission service brake
1907 first automatic spark advance
1912 first pressure recirculating oiling system
1913 first pioneered closed bodies for production sedan
1913 first exhaust jacket for heating intake gases
1916 first "V" windshield for stock cars
1916 first 2 door sedan body
1925 first to employ narrow steel front pillar construction
Plus the first to use aluminum pistons, duralumin connecting rods, and case hardened crank shaft.
The H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Company (not the car company) had its inception July 4, 1893 when Herbert H. Franklin began the manufacture of castings in a small room in Syracuse, N.Y. The process used, which Mr. Franklin termed "Die-Casting", for the first time ever an irregularly shaped part which required no machining before assembling, and which could be turned out both accurately an in volume.
Did you know, Franklin bodies were all aluminum until 1929 plus items like, crankcase, transmission, rear end housings,
pistons, rods, and many other parts were also aluminum. It is not surprising that at one time Franklin Automobile Company was the largest user of aluminum the WORLD!
Did you know
Mr. Carl T. Doman's father Albert E. Doman, at the age of 15, in 1885 built an D. C. generator and furnished the electricity for their father's home. This home, in fact, was the first to be electrically illuminated in central New York.
Franklin built Army trucks in 1929, 1931 and 1933 they were 1 1/2 ton armored command car, infantry cargo truck, 1 1/4 ton truck, plus ordnance trucks. We don't think any remain today.
In 1904 Ford built an AIR COOLED engine and placed it in a model B, but then replace the air cooled engine with a water cooled one and sold the model B in 1905 as a standard production Ford. If you want to know more about the Air Cooled Ford, you read about it in Air Cooled News issue number 19, pages 20 and 21.
Why did the Franklin Company fail?
Mr. H. H. Franklin wrote October, 1952
"As to why the Franklin Co. failed, I expect different people would give different answers. The company was entirely solvent when bankruptcy proceedings were instituted. The Company did have a large indebtedness. The size of the indebtedness apparently frightened one particular credit manager of a Chicago bank. In any event he got other banks to join him and the company was thrown into bankruptcy, with the result, as is apt to be the case under forced liquidation, the company was wiped out."
Send comments to: WebMaster
Copyright ©
2004 The H. H. Franklin Club, Inc. All rights reserved.