1929 Other Makes Franklin 130

Gas Air-Cooled

132443

Clear

OVERVIEW: This is a very original, complete, and solid 1929 Franklin 5 passenger sedan. It remains as originally equipped, and has original interior. The wood structure of the body and doors is very solid and sturdy. It has an aluminum rear body section. There was one respray of color done in the old lacquer of the early 30’s, with no damage or bodywork evident. It also retains a very comprehensive ownership and information file. These cars rode on a 120” wheelbase and were powered by a 46 horsepower, 236 ci. air-cooled 6-cylinder engine. This Franklin carries Full Classic status with the Classic Car Club of America. Built by the Franklin Motor Car Company in Syracuse, NY, Franklin automobiles were built from 1904 to 1934. With a span of 30 years, Franklin was the longest running and most successful manufacturer of air-cooled automobiles in America. Among its advertising claims of the day, the Franklin touted its ability to ‘run all day with throttle wide open, without any heating up or loss of power, something no other car could do’. Over the years, Franklin pioneered numerous automotive technical features, and among its devoted drivers were the likes of Canon Ball Baker, and Charles Lindbergh. An original bill of sale dated May 21, 1931, shows the car was sold by W.F. Gates, President of the Prairie Pipeline Co. of Independence, Kansas, to Margaret A. Leary of Eastland, Texas for the sum of $1. Original documents show Mrs. Leary registered the car throughout the 30’s, with the last year being 1941. On Sept. 23, 1963, John D. Leary, her son, inherited the car and was issued a State of Texas title on Oct.1. A photo shows him proudly standing with his foot on the rear bumper in 1932. The car had not been in use since 1943, except for being driven to storage in Mexia, Texas in 1961. In 1975 John renewed his interest in the car and wanted to give it a new lease on life. From then till his passing in 1986 he was a member of the Franklin Club and did some engine work in 1982. The car remained with his widow until her passing in 2008, after which the car was sold to its third owner who imported it into Canada, along with a spare engine. The new owner did some additional engine work and was in the process of re-assembling it when he took ill. He passed in 2013, and as such there is some minor re-assembly of the engine required. We have determined that all the parts are present and accounted for, along with many spares. The car was never registered in Alberta and as such will be sold with a bill of sale and its Texas title. It is titled with its engine # 132443, and bears chassis # 30-184395L11. A dislocated speedometer face plate makes it difficult to read the odometer, but as best as I can tell it is just rolling over to exactly 51,000 miles. There have been no modifications from original done to this vehicle. This is a very solid original car with relatively low miles, and with some inspection, maintenance and minor engine re-assembly can likely be rendered drivable again without much trouble. It is also an excellent candidate for restoration given its originality, condition, and completeness. DRIVETRAIN: The engine is the correct original air-cooled 6 cylinder, which has 7 main bearings. In addition to the engine in the car, there is a complete spare engine. All other mechanical components are correct originals. These cars used a mechanical fuel pump, no problematic vacuum tank. Based on visual inspection and a review of the file and receipts, I assess the overall engine situation to be as follows; The engine block assembly is intact with crank, rods (re-babbited in ’82), pistons, camshaft, cylinders, valve components and valve oiler, starter, generator, oil filter, fan and housing. All are in place, and indications are that these items have been attended to and will not require further work. Those parts listed above that you see loose in the pictures are all left over spares. I do not have a pic of the spare engine at this time but will post one to the photo album prior to end of the auction. The following are the peripheral bolt on components which are all present and will need to be re-installed; Oil pump and distribution unit, oil pan, clutch cover, engine side splash pans, carburetor and air cleaner, fuel pump, distributor, intake and exhaust manifolds, cross over pipe, crankcase ventilator, horn, and the lower, middle and upper air hoods. As you see in the pics, there are also spares of some of these parts. Includes original crank handle, and some tools. The rest of the drivetrain, transmission and rear end, all appear complete, intact, and original. CHASSIS: The chassis, including steering, suspension, hydraulic brakes, is all original and unrestored, and shows the road dirt and grime of its miles. The frame appears very solid and straight. All four springs are full elliptical, and there is a spare one, as well as a spare wheel rim. All four shock absorbers have been removed but are present and shown in the pics. The muffler and exhaust system are intact and in original condition. There is a dent in the right rear bottom corner of the gas tank. These cars ran on 19” tires. All hold air, but the right rear will leak down over a couple of weeks. There is a set of 6 Custom Classic 6.50 x 19 tires with wide white walls which will be included. One of these is mounted on the right front wheel with white wall facing inward, the other 5 have never been mounted. A pic of those will be posted prior to auction end. The original wood spoke wheels, all of which are solid, sport original Franklin hubcaps. BODY & PAINT: The rear body section is aluminum, with steel rockers and front cowl. The doors and fenders are steel. There is no evidence of serious collision damage or rust on the car. The wood structure is in very good solid condition. The doors fit well with no droop or looseness on the hinges. The door bottoms are clean and rust free, as are the rockers, bottoms of the front cowl, and side aprons. Minor sheet metal dents or dings can be found on the front splash pan, and the edges of the left front and both rear fenders, not serious damage. The hood upper and side panels are extremely straight, as are both side aprons above the running boards, both sides of the front cowl, the right front fender, lower rear body tub, and 3 of the doors. The left rear door has one soft dent just below the belt line. The worst damage on the car is at the left rear corner of the body just below the belt line. There is a large dent, and extensive peening from multiple strikes. This happened when the car was transported from Texas to Alberta, and was caused by a poorly placed strap whose ratchet repeatedly slapped against the body causing the damage. In the process it also broke the glass in the left rear door and quarter window. Those two will require new glass. The front bumper iron is split at center. The running boards are solid. The rubber on the right board has a new pyramid rubber mat installed, the left one still has the original rubber which has started to flake. There is another strip of new pyramid rubber to replace the mat on the left board. The firewall and door jambs show that the original color was maroon. This is also evident below the right rear quarter window where old lacquer re-spray was removed and the original paint is clearly visible. The re-spray must have been done early on in its life as it was done in the old nitrocellulose lacquer. That paint has weathered, faded and checked, and would be easily removed by various means. The right front fender also shows the dull lacquer re-spray rubbing off and the shiny original black paint showing thru in strips. Overall a very solid and original car with one older repaint. There is a rear mounted spare with a fixture to accept a padlock. The top fabric is original and intact, albeit weathered and checked. The only exterior item not presently on the car is the sun visor. However it is present and consists of its frame, 2 end brackets, the cloth material, and a retainer strip. ELECTRICAL: The car retains its original 6-volt electrical system. The wiring is all original but appears in good condition. Shielded wiring to the front headlamps. There is no battery in the car. The battery box is located under the passenger side of the front seat, and has a latched lid. A metal tag located under the front seat is stamped as “Willard Storage Battery Service Station, Austin, Texas, 7254”. Based on the receipt in the file, I believe this was put there by the garage that sold and installed a new Willard battery back on 12-2-1937, at which time mileage was noted to be 50,699. It has an attractive gauge cluster, and the instruments are original. The clock is missing, and the speedometer face plate is dislocated. Cigar lighter receptacles on dash and right rear passenger compartment, but the lighters are missing. Otherwise everything there and correct. The glass lenses on the front driving lights are Parabeam, those and the ones on the fender lights, and rear tail light ‘STOP’ lens are good. It is not equipped with turn signals. INTERIOR: The interior upholstery is totally original in all respects, and although not perfect, it has survived quite well all things considered. It could still be enjoyed as is if you don’t mind a few tatters, or it would be ideal for restoration patterns. The 2 lower cushions and front back rest have older seat covers on them, but the original material is intact underneath. The under sides of both lower seat cushions, meaning the wood framework and springs, are in very sturdy and clean, rodent free condition. Front kick panels are in place, but there is no front carpet. Remnants of the rear carpet are in place. Flooring throughout is very solid. Original wood graining on the dash and window garnish moldings remains, although aged to varying degrees. Nice woodgrain and design detail on the window moldings and rear ash tray boxes. The steering wheel is in good original condition, but has one gouge. The throttle lever at the hub is broken. Horn button is nice. The original headliner is not torn. Original dome light is present. There are pull down privacy blinds for the 3 rear windows, and exit assist pull cords on both sides. The original vacuum wiper motor is present, but one of the mounting lobes is broken off and the shaft has a slight bend. The car retains all original inside door handles and pulls, window cranks, lock levers and latches, door sill plates, and all other hardware. All glass on the car appears to be original, but as mentioned, glass in the 2 left rear side windows is broken. BRIGHTWORK: The original honeycomb grille is in very good condition and has its crank hole cover. The chrome grille surround is nice without dents or cracks, but the hood ornament is broken off and missing. One small dent on the right headlamp bucket and ring, and one on the left fender lamp bucket, but no cracks anywhere. All other brightwork items such as bumpers, hubcaps, headlamp buckets and rings, fender lights, tail light ring, door handles, hood latches, and cowl molding are in decent original condition. Some chrome peeling on front bumper, and a small bit on top of grille surround. SUMMARY: In addition to the spare engine and parts, there are a few original tools, which include the crank handle, jack, wheel and hubcap wrenches, and a few others. A large amount of original, technical, and club related literature in also included. In fact, everything that was ever accumulated by the original and most recent owners was kept and will go with the car. This represents a tremendous resource of documented history and technical information that will be invaluable to the new owner. Included are family photos of this and earlier Franklins owned by the original family, who obviously were a Franklin family for many years. There are also registration documents and parts receipts. The original Franklin Instruction Book, which doubles as an owner’s manual and shop service manual, an original sales catalog, and original parts books. Letters of correspondence with suppliers and other club members, as well as many years copies of Franklin club magazines, newsletters, and rosters. This is a very affordable car to enter into the hobby with, or add to an existing collection. It has low miles, is very complete, original, and very solid, key elements when choosing a project. These are the qualities that save time and money over the course of a restoration, or maintain a car’s value if simply kept as is. Once the engine assembly is completed, further restoration tasks for this car can be done over time while still having fun with it. There should be no hidden secrets or horrors with this car. The basis is here for an easy, inexpensive, highly correct restoration. You won’t be spending years or tons of money trying to find missing parts, or performing extensive woodwork or rust repairs. If you are considering a unique car from the late ‘20s, early 30’s era, then this could be it! If you’re not familiar with the engineering of Franklin air-cooled engines and their appeal in the past and present, there is a wealth of information available online through a Google search. Original Franklin patented designs are still in use within the aviation industry today. That says something! This Franklin is being made available with a reasonable reserve. PAYMENT TERMS:This survivor vehicle is being listed on behalf of the owners estate. Please email ‘carsgoneby@telus.net’ or phone Rick at (403)534-2222 for additional honest and accurate information from a professional auto restorer. All information listed has been gathered from discussions with family, visual inspection, and a detailed review of all documents and receipts in the file. Over 160 pics are available for viewing at www.carsgoneby.com/PhotoAlbumsPro/1929Franklin . Additional specific pictures are available upon request. No warranties expressed or implied. Successful bidder to make a minimum payment of 50% of closing bid amount (US funds) within 5 days of auction closing, with the balance payable upon vehicle pick up within 21 days (international) or 14 days (US/Canada). Payment must be in certifiable form such as cash or wire transfer. Other forms of payment only acceptable with time allowance for instrument to clear bank prior to vehicle being released. Any deviation from, or changes to the preceding terms must be reasonable, and should be requested, discussed, and agreed to prior to bidding and auction closing. IMPORTANT OTHER:Please submit all inquiries prior to bidding, and please only bid if you are able and willing to conclude the transaction should you be the winning bidder. This vehicle is being sold with a Bill of Sale and a Texas title dated Oct. 1, 1963. The car is located in Mossleigh, Alberta, Canada, about 3 hours north of the Montana border. Please be aware of your shipping costs before bidding, quotes can be provided upon request if necessary. We can help make this a smooth, hassle free experience by arranging all-inclusive international transportation and brokerage for you. References relating to similar transactions are available. Cars Gone By has sold and shipped numerous collector vehicles to the USA and worldwide, the majority through Ebay transactions. Please do not ask us to disclose the reserve price. In fairness to all bidders we will not do so and request that you simply place a bid that is comfortable for you. Thanks for looking!On Sep-07-15 at 19:32:24 PDT, seller added the following information: Here are the 5 Custom Classic 6.50x19” tires that are included, a 6th one is already mounted on the front right with white wall in. Here are pics of the spare engine. The block contains the camshaft, crankshaft, rods & pistons. There is a starter and generator attached, the fan and shroud, as well as flywheel, clutch and pressure plate, and there is also another oil pan with dents. Please note that this engine is heavy, measures approx.. 50” x 30” x 30”. It can not be put into the car, and auto transporters are not equipped to deal with this as a separate unit. As such, you have 3 options regarding this spare block. Come get the Franklin with your trailer and we can put the spare engine in the back of your truck or onto your trailer if there’s room. It will have to be strapped onto a pallet and shipped as freight, separate from the car, and an additional shipping charge. Abandon the engine and don’t take it.