The Colorado Classicist

Photo by Tim Argenziano

Summer 2016 Published by the Colorado Region Volume 63 Issue 2 Classic Car Club of America Bill St. Clair’s totally gorgeous Dietrich-bodied 1932 Packard 904 Custom-8 convertible coupe is being shown here at the 2008 Broadmoor concours, sadly no longer being held.

Front Cover Back Cover The scene is pristine Brainerd This nice selection of ten Lake in the Indian Peaks Wil- Colorado Region Classics derness of Colorado, photo drove the June Mini-CARavan by Tim Argenziano. to South Dakota. A report on the tour starts on page 24.

2 The Colorado Classicist

The Established 1954 Colorado Classicist Published by the Colorado Region of the Classic Car Club of America

The Colorado Classicist is published by the Colorado Region, Inc., of the Classic Car Club of America as an informative publication for its membership. Table of Contents The Colorado Region was chartered as a Message from the Director Page 4 Region Member of the Classic Car Club of America in 1954. The Colorado Re- Message from the Editor Page 5 gion, Inc., of the Classic Car Club of America was incorporated under Colora- Colorado Regional Events Page 6 do State law and granted a charter by the Classic Car Club of America in 1990. CCCA National Events Page 6 The Classic Car Club of America is a Letters & Regional News Page 6 non-profit organization incorporated in the State of New York. The Club seeks to Spring Garage Tour Page 8 further the restoration and preservation of distinctive motor cars manufactured from Franklin, the Depression Years Page 12 1915 through 1948, to provide a channel of communication for those interested in Big Guy, 1933 Franklin V12 Page 20 such cars, and to bring together in good fellowship all who own or admire these finest examples of automotive craftsman- Mini-CARavan to South Dakota Page 24 ship. The sole requirement for membership is a demonstrable interest in Classic Tech Tips Page 28 cars. National Club membership is required to become a Regional member.

It should be noted that this publication is 2016 Board of Managers Colorado Region CCCA about the events and correspondence for Director Lonnie Fallin 303 904-8080 [email protected] the membership of the Colorado Region, Assistant Director Davis McCann 303 841-9265 [email protected] Inc., and may include some technical articles and other articles of automotive in- Secretary Frank Keller 303 972-6420 [email protected] terest. The correctness and applicability Treasurer Phil Doty 303 798-1707 [email protected] of the information contained in the articles is the sole responsibility of the au- Membership Chairman Davis McCann 303 841-9265 [email protected] thor of the article. The Colorado Region, Other Board Members Inc. is not responsible for the content of Ron Diamiana 303 985-4149 [email protected] such articles or problems that may arise Tony Ficco 303 431-6492 [email protected] from following the information in the articles. Tom Goyne 303 478-0068 [email protected] Terry Johnson 303 761-2444 [email protected] Full Classic® is a registered trademark of Fred Norman 303 420-0835 the Classic Car Club of America. In this publication a car named as Classic or Full Joe Pironne 970 674-3258 [email protected] Classic is a Full Classic® as recognized Web Site Master Shiela Koppenheffer 303 457-3821 [email protected] by the Classic Car Club of America, however, some cars depicted herein may be Classicist Editor Tom Goyne 303 478-0068 [email protected] non-Classic. Collector Car Council of Colo Rep Bill Hunter 303 986-1458 [email protected]

Colorado Region Classic Car Club of America 3 Message from the DIRECTOR Lonnie Fallin

alf the year is over and we have had a successful garage tour organized by Terry Johnson which you can read about Hin this issue. Also there is a story about our Mini-CARa- van to South Dakota. Tony Ficco has an event planned for July and there has been a lot of interest in that.

We still have some things planned for the rest of the year and they are listed in this issue; and other tours are in the works which we will let you know about as the plans are finalized.

In the questionnaire I sent out earlier this year the response was very good, and some of you have approached me with ideas which we will try to get organized.

One of my concerns is the number of guests that the members invite on the garage tour. It is great to have a lot of people attend, but we only see these people at the garage tour. It would be even better if those of you that invite guests would encourage them to join our club. I am sure many of them have ideas of events we could do, but we never hear from them because they are not members. I encourage you to get them interested in joining the CCCA. We would all benefit from their ideas.

Lonnie Fallin, Director

Welcome New Members!

Tom Duke Kristine Oleszek Robyn Bergman Donald Kizewski Fred Davine We hope to see you on a tour soon.

4 The Colorado Classicist Message from the EDITOR Tom Goyne

he touring season is in full bloom and the Region has already held two of them, both, as Lonnie says, good success- Tes. Coming up on July 10 is the Cars, Planes and Food event coordinated by Tony Ficco. It may be too late for you sign- up for that, but if you want to go, call Tony anyway. There may be some cancellations. It is well worth attending.

Along with our Regional tours, I have used my ‘41 Continental on a couple of other events. Unfortunately, when I got back from a 2.000-mile trip to Arizona and Utah the end of May, I found that one rear wheel bearing had failed, and because of the strange mechanical design Ford used in their cars, the entire differential needs to be dismantled, machining done and new bearing races installed. I wasn’t able to get all of that accomplished before the Mini-CAR- avan, so I did a temporary repair which got me there and back. Bit worrisome, but I got away with it. This is the good thing about touring with our Classics...they are pretty robust and take a lot of abuse without damage. Once, about ten years ago, my ‘34 Packard developed a head gasket leak coming home from California. It was ignorable at first, but later it wasn’t. The car lost power and would hardly make it up a moderate grade, and I had the mountains yet to go. But I pushed on, fearing that I was probably doing the engine significant damage. In the end, we got home, barely, and the problem was easily fixable and there was no damage done. It was a good lesson for me.

After a full year, I just got that ‘34 Packard back from the body shop. Now it sits, gleaming, in my garage, and all I have to do is put the pieces back together. I am under no delusion that this will go quickly, so I am just going to take it easy and enjoy that job. Truly, it is fun. There is satisfaction every time a refurbished part is back in place, so I guess this means a lot of satisfaction this summer because there are so many pieces to go. My old friend Maury came out from Cal- ifornia to join me on some tours, and in the intervals between them, I put him to work cleaning and painting chassis parts. Now I suppose I will have to feed and wine him or he’ll start to complain. Nothing comes free, does it?

This issue of the Classicist reports on the April Garage Tour and the June Mini-CARavan, and then the series on Franklins continues through the demise of the company in 1934. The featured car is a 1933 Franklin V-12. At the end of the magazine is a Tech Tips column on brake fluid, fuel pumps and woodgraining. I hope you enjoy it!

Tom Goyne, Editor Proofreader: Joe Malaney

Colorado Region Classic Car Club of America 5 Colorado and Regional Events The Board of Managers generally meets on the third Thursday of each month. If you are interested in attending please call one of the Board members for exact time and location. 2nd Sat every month Coffee and Cars, The Vault, Parker. Fills up by 8:30 so get there early. July 10 CARS, PLANES and FOOD special event coordinated by Tony Ficco August 27 Morgan Adams Concours and Air Show at Centennial Airport September 10 Reynolds Ranch Day, Western Museum of Mining & Industry, Colorado Springs Sept 30, Oct 1-2 Santa Fe Concorso...a friendly show with great cars not too far away Early October Fall Tour to Castle Rock November 10 Annual meeting at Romano’s Italian Restaurant, Littleton. Free Pizza and Wine December 11 Christmas Party at Cherry Hills Country Club

National Events Check your Classic Car Bulletin or classiccarclub.org for the latest details July 6-10 CARavan & Grand Classic, Salem (Columbiana County), OH September 9-17 New England Region CARavan, to be held in and around Bretton Woods, NH

Letters to the Editor and Regional News

Wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the latest Classicist You profiled one of my favorite Classics – the 1940-48 Lin- and the article on Walter Ufer. Having collected southwest- coln Continentals. I’ve never owned one but I have lusted ern art, Carolyn and I enjoyed the Denver Art Museum’s A over them for years and came close to getting one more than Place in the Sun exhibition. When I viewed this painting I once. I have ten of the Continental ads between 1941 and also wondered what the car was but imagined like many that 1948. To the best of my knowledge, there were only three it was a “made up” car. Wonderful research by you has dis- 1941 Continental ads with a theme of animals – Spirit of pelled this belief. Thank you for taking the time to research Youth, Friends of the Wind and Southward Flight [on last is- this mystery. sue’s rear cover]. I like the 1941 ads so much I framed these Frank Keller 3 and they hang in my living room. ____ Joe Malaney

Best Classicist ever! I enjoyed both the Continental profile Thanks, Joe. Obviously I like the cars too. -ed. and the article on the Cole. A neighbor’s widow still owns ____ one. You have prompted me to go over and check it out. Rod Brewer In the 2016 Regional Membership Directory the old address for the National club is shown. The new one is: Classic Car Thanks, Frank and Rod. See the follow-up on the next page for Club of America, 5100 River Road, Suite 175, Schiller Park, more on Cole and Walter Ufer. -ed. IL 60176. ____

6 The Colorado Classicist Mystery Car, Walter Ufer...I have looked further into the Follow-up to the Mystery painting on the cover of the latest Classicist reading the book Cole Touring Car Article that we purchased at the “A Place in the Sun” art exhibit. There is a section in this book that describes Ufer and his Leroy Cole of Michigan (no relation), past president of the life at the time of this painting. The two men in the paint- Automotive Historical Society and Cole collector writes...J. ing were friends of Ufer, J. Cole was not only an automobile manufacturer but was an Bob Abbott and Jim Mi- avid aviator. The photo below shows him in 1911 standing rabal. Mirabal was Ufer’s beside the “Cole Flyer” with Robert Fowler in the pilot’s closest Native American seat. It is a Wright biplane with a Cole 4-cylinder automo- friend and was included in many of Ufer’s paint- ings. This article also states that the car was owned by Ufer and that the painting was “treated with great detail.” It further states that the painting can be read as a self portrait of sorts implying that the car at one time was once a proud showpiece and now is in need of repair by his friends. Ufer had suffered for 10 years, drinking heavily until he was bile engine as its power plant, the first use of an auto engine taken to a rehabilitation facility in Pueblo by his friend Gus- in a plane. This plane entered and finished a coast-to-coast tave Baumann and afterwards never touched alcohol again. race that year. Fowler recalls the trip, “I was the first to start and the last to finish --- spent 112 days en route.” Leaving San Francisco, Fowler got as far as the Rockies but had to turn back. The altitude and winds defeated him. He then re- started from San Francisco and did eventually reach Miami via a southern route.

J. J. Cole also flew a balloon attempt- ing to make record flights. It was a popular sight at state fairs. At the In- diana State Fair in 1912 the big gas bag set a record for the longest flight in the state of Indiana for a balloon carrying eight people.

About 75 Cole automobiles are known to exist. The one above, a Full Classic 1920 Model 870 7-passenger touring now owned by Leroy Cole, spent most of its life in Colorado under the ownership of Don Screes.

Frank Keller writes with further info on the painter of the

Colorado Region Classic Car Club of America 7 Garage Tour Story by Terry Johnson Pictures by Tom Carlisle and Tom Goyne

The perennial favorite, Terry Johnson’s Spring Garage Tour was wanted to bring their just-polished car out in the weather. held on April 30. In the many years he has been the Garage Tour But, the burritos, coffee and rolls were there and we had a Chairman, Terry has made a point of never going to the same ga- chance to see what Mike does to some very fancy cars. We rage twice, and this tour continues that tradition, one which is were wowed and impressed with the results even if the tour becoming more and more difficult. It rained, snowed and blew like cars were not there. stink for the entire tour, but no one minded because the three collections we visited were so Driving instructions were interesting, especially the fi- passed out that told us Long- nal one at Bob and Kitty Wil- mont was our next stop. Leon- son’s. The header above shows ard Johnson had assembled a a small portion of one of their number of ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s buildings, and there were four Cadillacs that were replace- of them! ments for lost cars. I say lost but they really were replace- pril 30th sounded ments after the car fire that like a good weath- made national headlines at the Aer date. But every- time. He detailed the trage- thing is not within our con- dy for us that terrible morning trol as the forecast of snow when the fire department called and rain held. We didn’t him to tell about the fire. There care, however, as the an- were beautiful ‘50s and ‘60s nual Garage Tour happened Terry Johnson, our intrepid Tour Chairman on the right Cadillacs that were virtually ir- anyway. Three stops were with Lonnie Fallin, Regional Director. replaceable. They were next to a on the agenda starting with chicken-coop type building that the Man Cave on 92nd and had one end exposed and caught on fire. Leonard is not a Wadsworth. Our plan was to have Mike bring over about man to be discouraged and cry over the loss. No, once the 20 or 30 client’s cars for us to see. Mike’s list of clients insurance company said they were covered he set out to re- numbers in the thousands so we expected quite a few WOW place them with maybe not the same years and models but cars for our members to see. But this was not to be. No one other ‘50s and ‘60s cars. He must have bought 20 of the

8 The Colorado Classicist Top row, we enjoy burritos, rolls and coffee provided by The Man Cave while Terry gives us directions for the day. Second and third rows, a Cadillac collection in Longmont. Second row left is Leonard Johnson describing the fire which destroyed his collection; third row right is Lonnie’s 14 year-old grandson, Ethan trying out a ‘56 Caddy for size. It seems to fit...watch out, Dad. Below, Bob and Kitty Wilson (and web man assistant) at their 150-car collection near Johnson’s Corner.

Colorado Region Classic Car Club of America 9 Here are three of Bob and Kitty’s movie ephemera collection. There are museum-quality signed photos and collectibles and art work on every wall.

The placard at the bottom quotes Dean Martin, Trousers worn by John Wayne in the “If you drink don’t drive. Don’t even putt.” movie, “The Sea Chase.”

30 cars destroyed and is still looking. What he told me is knows production totals, you have to be impressed. There that cars are his passion and this process is all fun for him. were collectible muscle cars, hot rods, sports cars and almost Although not all of them are in great shape, he has hired anything you could imagine. He would say, “There were a couple of restorers to work in his newly-purchased steel five of these made and three of them are here.” Some cars building. He retired from his CPA business and is doing this were one-offs. Owning these cars allowed him to research full time now. the history of many of the cars which he had memorized and related to us to made it more interesting. If a rare and well- Our last stop will probably go down as the best collection known car is described by an auction company and made we have ever seen on our garage tours. It is our purpose to available to him he would be there to bid on it. In addition take the club to garages that they have never seen before. to the cars, he had memorabilia on all the walls to tell about This was a challenge. But we did it. [Terry is being modest... a car owned by someone famous. Everywhere were inter- there is no “we” here. HE did it. -ed.] This last stop could esting wall mounts and photos. But it was impossible for a not have been better because 150 cars in 4 different build- person to see everything. He formally invited us to come ings on a ranch in Weld county was what we needed with back in a couple of years to see the changes that will occur the weather as it was. Bob Wilson was totally organized in his interests. I will remember to do that. for us and his wife Kitty helped direct traffic and people. We found afterwards at lunch that words could not convey Lunch at Johnson’s Corner was the final stop, which was the excitement of seeing these cars. It is true, they were not right around the corner. There we could chat about the tour classics but when the owner takes you around to the cars with the 50 people who joined us. The talk was about Bob and can give you a story of any car you are interested in and Wilson and his cars. What fun!

10 The Colorado Classicist More from the Wilson collection. Previous page shows an impressive two-high display. This page top row, rare mini-versions of the real thing. Second row a ‘54 Merc and a ‘Vette. Third row showing underbodies as detailed as the top side, and the prettiest Corvette of all. Bottom is lunch at Johnson’s Corners. Yum!

Colorado Region Classic Car Club of America 11 Franklin The Depression Years

By Tom Goyne

We continue the earlier series on the Franklin Automobile Compa- 1930 offerings from Franklin were top notch. ny. The last article ended with the onset of the Great Depression where Franklin had in 1929 produced some 14,432 vehicles, a new Even with all of these improvements, sales for 1930 slumped record, but sold fewer than 11,000 of them. To make this record, to 6,043, about half of 1929. 1931 through 1934 saw the H. H. Franklin had taken on significant new debt through a Chica- same yearly halving progression when sales reached only go consortium and had to guarantee additional loans the dealers 2,851, 1,905, 1,011 and 360, respectively. In 1932, of all of had taken on to finance their inventory. There were large unsold inventories, a drastically reduced market for the cars and no cash the new cars sold in the US, 81% were the low-priced three, reserves. The company began 1930 in a precarious position. Ford, Chevrolet and Plymouth, at prices ranging from $500 to $650. Franklin’s offerings were right in the middle of the he Franklin model offerings for 1930 were dramati- mid-price range at around $2,500 and there were precious cally new. Ray Dietrich had been hired in the fall of few buyers for anything five times as much as a V-8 Ford. T1926 as a design consultant when it became apparent Something had to be done at Franklin, but what? that Frank DeCausse, Franklin’s chief of design, was having health problems. (He died in 1928.) The 1930 Franklin line During the late-twenties, conventional thinking said that introduced in January was the first that Dietrich had fully de- more cylinders was better, and an overabundance of cylin- signed, and they had all of the grace and pizazz he is so well ders was better yet. This, of course, led to the Cadillac and known for. It is generally conceded that Dietrich’s efforts Marmon 16s, the Packard, Lincoln, Cadillac, Auburn 12s for Franklin resulted in some of the finest classic car designs and to most mid-priced cars moving to straight eights. HH ever produced. decided to bypass the straight eight because of crankshaft whip problems and build a V-12. (The space required between cylinders for air flow means that an air-cooled engine and its crank are longer than a water-cooled equivalent, thus the concern over whip.) Glen Shoemaker was hired and given the V-12 assignment in 1927.

Soon after Shoemaker arrived, he offered up three possible plans for an air-cooled V-12. All three were to be built on the same-sized crankcase, but the cylinder bores were different resulting in displacements of 340, 398 and 544 CID. Two of these V-12s were based on the bore and stroke of The 1931 Franklin Pirate, a particularly daring design by Franklin’s six-cylinder production engines, and the 398 kept Ray Dietrich. Note the concealed running boards. the 5 inch centerline spacing so was the chosen one.

Also new for 1930 was a completely redesigned air-cooled Shoemaker left in 1930 for GM and the project was taken engine. It was conceived in 1927-‘28 by Glen Shoemaker over by John Rogers, but progress remained slow. Rogers, and changed the cooling path from the conventional top-to- in studying Shoemaker’s V-12 designs, soon discovered that bottom to horizontal, which meant much improved cooling when it came to building actual running V-12 prototypes, for the valves. And a first for Franklin this year was detach- there was no room inside the 60-degree vee for lifters and able cylinder heads, which allowed larger intake valves. The push rods. The intake manifold and cooling fins took up too result of the changes was a whopping 50% increase in pow- much space. So he ended up with the odd configuration of er, from 67 to 95 (and then 100 in 1931), and a more compact two camshafts nestled low in the crankcase and push rods engine which allowed the lower hood line Dietrich wanted. running up the outside of the cylinder barrels. Thus, from the mechanical and appearance standpoints, the

12 The Colorado Classicist Just before Shoemaker left Franklin, several carburetor were being shown in New York, McEwan decided that the manufacturers announced downdraft carburetors, so he car in its final form would not be an Airman clone but rather chose a Stromberg two-barrel carburetor that stood outside would emerge as an entirely new and different automobile. the V-12’s cooling system. Then Shoemaker took air from Apparently, soon after he arrived in Syracuse, McEwen got the fan cage, brought it up through a duct into the air cleaner. in touch with the Briggs Manufacturing Company in Detroit. Franklin marketed this intake system as “supercharging,” Through Briggs’ LeBaron subsidiary, McEwen acquired an but it wasn’t supercharging in any conventional sense since all-new body design for the V-12. He bought the design it had almost no effect on performance. only, with no intention of having Briggs build the V-12 bodies. The design he bought had already been detailed but then HH intended to offer the V-12 in a stretched standard Air- discarded by Briggs. Who they did the design for is un- man chassis in late-1931, but before this time Franklin’s had known, but it is conjectured it was for Edsel Ford’s Lincoln defaulted on some of its loans and the banks got in the act. division because of the similarity to the ‘33-‘34 Ford. They sent a representative to manage the company, Edwin McEwan. He took over most of H. H. Franklin’s duties leav- McEwen’s decision to scrap the Airman heritage meant that ing him all but powerless. Those who worked with McEwan nearly every component would be different from the -Air said he had a way of stepping on toes. When he arrived man. The new V-12 would now use a heavy 144-inch chas- in Syracuse he clearly understood that he couldn’t compete sis supplied by Parrish, much different than the Airman’s with HH in a popularity contest. So he took the opposite ap- 132-inch flexible steel frame. It would use front and rear proach: to be ruthless and confrontational, and that he was. axles purchased from E. L. Cord’s Columbia Axle Company (Franklin traditionally built its own axles, including hous- To be sure, the banks had given McEwen conflicting instruc- ings and differential gears.) It would use driver-adjustable, tions. The first was to save Franklin as an automaker. If that double-acting Delco shocks and semi-elliptic leaf springs in- didn’t work then he was to extract as much cash as possible stead of the Airman’s full ellipticals. And with other Frank- out of the company for the banks. That it was apparent to lins, the three-speed transmission came from Warner Gear. the staff at Franklin that the company would not survive as Oberdorfer Foundries of Syracuse would cast the V-12’s alu- a car maker is obvious by the nickname given to McEwan, minum crankcase and oil pan. Very little about the new car “The Undertaker.” was genuinely Franklin. Undoubtedly there were strong ar- guments between HH and McEwan on this issue, but McE- One of McEwen’s first acts was to cut costs. He laid off as wen knew he held the cards and, in the end, it was he who many workers as he could, especially in administration and dictated every design detail of the 12-cylinder car. engineering. To help further reduce expenses, H.H. Franklin and other company executives volunteered to work without Michael Lamm writing in Collectible Automobile describes pay, and that is what they did throughout 1932-’33. McE- the first outing for the V-12, which by then had been named wen canceled Franklin’s longstanding contract with its body the Series 17, “The first LeBaron-styled prototype was hur- supplier, the Walker Body Company of Amesbury, Massa- riedly assembled and stood ready to drive on the chilly af- chusetts, and this put Walker out of business. But to build ternoon of March 24, 1932. Edwin McEwen inspected it and the Franklin bodies in-house, McEwen hired a number of then ordered John Burns, Franklin’s experimental engineer, former Walker craftsmen and brought them to Syracuse. and research engineer Carl Doman to give the car a rigor- ous shakedown run. ‘Take it to California and back,’ he told At the factory the V-12 program was pretty stagnant until them. McEwen arrived. Why McEwen turned his attention to the V-12 can be guessed at...he saw it as the only salvation for “March 24 was a bitter cold day after a heavy snowstorm, the sinking company. He certainly was not alone in this line and 3:30 p.m. didn’t seem like the best time to start such a of thought. Marmon, Auburn, Packard all felt that a new long journey. Why not wait until the next morning? Burns hot V-12 or V-16 would save their bacon. McEwan dived and Doman put this question to McEwen, but The Undertak- into the V-12 program and progress accelerated such that in er stood firm. He ordered Burns and Doman into the car, and March 1932, two V-12 Airmen were exhibited at the New away they drove toward California. York auto show. These were essentially the standard 6-cylinder cars with 5.5 inches added to the hood to allow the “The pair made the round trip in a little less than two weeks, V-12 to be installed. This was the first time the public saw and they quickly discovered all sorts of problems. The car’s that Franklin was working on a V-12. It is thought that one front brakes grabbed violently, and Doman wrote later that, of the main reasons for this showing was to pump-up the ‘…in high-speed driving, with sudden application of the dealer organization. But even as the Airman-based V-12s brakes, the car would dive left or right with great severity.

Colorado Region Classic Car Club of America 13 If care was not taken, the car would many times have turned Club, Franklin collector and restorer) says, “The reveals over.’ The brakes wouldn’t be fixed until the trip was nearly around the windows and some of the moldings are formed over. entirely of lead.” He estimates the amount of lead in each body at 300 pounds. In the course of restoring several V-12s, “Meanwhile, rain water gushed in through the doors, a tie Hubbard found bodies with large sections of the wood fram- rod slapped against the oil pan, the springs were so soft that ing scorched where the sheet metal had been leaded over. on a rutted dirt road Doman was thrown up off his seat and Exterior locks were set into different parts of the doors on cut his scalp on a roof bow, the carburetor ran rich and the different cars, and bodies could be off dimensionally by engine burned a quart of oil every 50 miles. On the other more than an inch, side to side. hand, Burns, who did most of the driving, averaged 84 mph across the Mojave Desert and experienced no heating prob- “The Franklin Twelve is fundamentally an airplane type en- lems in Death Valley. gine, with all its inherent reliability and high power char- acteristics,” so stated the factory literature, this time with a “The test car reached Los Angeles on March 31, turned right large measure of truth. The engine was made up of a cast around and arrived back in Syracuse on April 7. The next aluminum crankcase with an aluminum oil pan, individual morning at eight o’clock, Burns and Doman drove to Frank- chrome-nickel iron cylinder barrels and aluminum heads lin headquarters and were immediately summoned to McE- with ni-resist valve inserts. The heads and cylinders were wen’s office. Wrote Doman in 1954: ‘…he [McEwen] start- liberally finned. ed to criticize everything we had done on the trip…including accusing us of being out on a joyride, when we had been to The chassis, however, certainly was not “airplane-like.” California and back in approximately 13 days, slept little, The Series 17 weighed in at three tons, some 1,800 lbs more and worked on the car every minute that we could spare to that the original Airman-based V-12 that Franklin engineers keep it going.’” Burns and Doman had designed. That earlier car had, of course, much better performance than the final configura- Earlier, in 1928, H. H. Franklin had hired Erwin “Cannon tion. The weight penalty of the Series 17 chassis resulted Ball” Baker to establish a transcontinental record in the then- in a disappointing power-to-weight ratio nearly exactly the new Airman Limited. Baker did indeed set a new record, av- same as the standard 6-cylinder Airman and about 8% less eraging 42.5 mph. He said of the car, “That old waffle iron than the newly released Packard Twin-six. was the greatest car I ever drove.” Afterward, Franklin hired Baker full time, paid him well and set up an office for him in In the end, however, last-minute fixes by Burns and Doman Syracuse. Cannon Ball’s main function was to generate pub- turned the Franklin V-12 from a half-baked automobile into licity by setting records and driving Franklin automobiles to a very decent one. Chassis problems were fixed, engine tol- odd and unlikely places. erances were tightened up to produce the industry norm of 750-1000 miles per quart of oil instead of the previous 50. Then in 1932, Cannon Ball drove one of the V-12 prototypes Nearly all V-12s came with a Columbia two-speed “Double to Daytona Beach, Florida, on to California and back to Syr- High” rear axle. The Columbia’s top ratio of 3.4:1 boost- acuse. Baker made some high-speed runs at Daytona, prob- ed fuel economy, helped acceleration and gave a claimed ably just for the fun of it, but he didn’t try to set any records. 100-mph top speed at 3470 rpm. A number of owner/restor- Not much information remains on this run. ers, among them D. Cameron Peck, preferred driving their Franklin Twelves to other classics in their collections, saying By the middle of April 1932, the factory already had 49 more the Franklin V-12 handled better, had a more comfortable Series 17s in various stages of assembly. All Twelves were ride and was simply more fun on the road. built very much by hand. Body assembly occupied the top floor of Franklin’s main plant, and here a group of workmen The Franklin V-12 arrived in dealer showrooms in late April hand formed the body panels over wooden bucks. Each front 1932, priced at $3885 to $4185, about the same as a Cadil- fender was made up of four or five separate small stampings lac V-12, Lincoln V-12, Packard Twin-six and Pierce-Arrow butt-welded together because Franklin did not have presses V-12, and four times that of an Auburn V-12. The competi- large enough to do the full fender. Door skins consisted of tion was fierce. During its two-year life from 1932 to ‘34, a at least two stampings. Despite this shortcoming, a factory paltry 200 Franklin 12 cylinder cars were built in four body brochure stated that major body stampings were turned out styles: 2-door club brougham, 5-passenger sedan, 7-passen- by Franklin’s “large sheet metal presses.” ger sedan and limousine. At the end, a hefty $1,000 discount was offered to clear out the inventory. Of the 200, 18 sur- Tom Hubbard (the founding father of the H. H. Franklin vive.

14 The Colorado Classicist Despite the disastrous flop of the Series 17 V-12, the Airman Real assets of the company were bought by Ward Cana- 6-cylinder continued to be produced and sold. But by 1933 day, the Toledo entrepreneur who later bought the assets of most of the Franklin dealership organization had evaporated the bankrupt Willys-Overland Company. Canaday sold off and no matter how good the car was or how many of them Franklin’s real estate and plant machinery and put the money the factory produced, there was no market for them and no into Willys-Overland. He guided that struggling automak- way to sell them...in the hardest years of the Depression, er into the profitable manufacture of Jeeps during the war they just cost too much. and then the first SUV just afterward. It is now part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. HH conceived of a less expensive Franklin with the Reo Automobile Company of Lansing Michigan. It was named Former Franklin engineers Ed Marks and Carl Doman acquired the Franklin name and in 1937 started Aircooled Mo- tors, Inc. Aircooled Motors made airplane and helicopter engines during the war. Preston Tucker bought Aircooled Motors in 1947 for the Tucker automobile. It, of course, failed. The Tucker family continued to own Aircooled Mo- tors until 1961, when they sold it to Aero Industries, which restored the name, The Franklin Engine Company. In 1975 the government of Poland bought the company and moved it to Rzeszów, under the name PZL-F. The company is now called Franklin Aircraft Engines Sp. z.o.o. and continues to build and sell airplane engines.

This (n.c.) Olympic of 1933 was built with a Reo chassis and body but looked and ran like an Airman. the Olympic and debuted in late 1932 to try to reverse the unhappy sales trend. It was a standard Reo Flying Cloud chassis and body with the Airman hood, grille and lights in place of the Reo’s. Most importantly, the air-cooled Airman engine was installed. It was a handsome, zippy car being light in weight with a powerful engine. They were priced $1,000 less than the Airman and sold fairly well, some 1,500 being produced over its 1 1/2-year life. The Olympic made up the bulk of Franklin’s sales during 1933 and ‘34. It is thought that had these cars been introduced earlier instead The Tucker flat-six was actually a Franklin helicopter of the V-12, the fate of Franklin might have been different, engine modified to water cooling though Franklin’s massive debt load probably made that un- Following the centerfold on pages 18-19 is a series of 1929- likely. It is interesting to note that in 1932 Marmon did a 1933 models, all very handsome offerings. They undoubt- similar transformation of a Reo chassis calling it the Model edly would have sold well had not the Depression inter- 8-125. vened. But Franklin’s fate was not unique. Marmon, ACD, Pierce-Arrow, Peerless, and many others were gone by the EPILOGUE Edwin McEwan contracted pneumonia and late-30s. Of the independents, only Packard, Studebaker, died in January 1934. Sadly, during his tumultuous time at Nash, Hudson and Willys survived the Great Depression and Franklin he did nothing useful to help the company survive. World War II. The H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Company declared bank- ruptcy on April 3, 1934. H. H. Franklin was then 67. Un- Sinclair Powell’s outstanding book, The Franklin Automobile believably, he insisted to the end the company was entirely Company has provided most of the information contained herein. solvent despite its huge debts and no cash flow. On the last Additional has been gleaned from The Franklin Story by Thomas Hill Hubbard and from an October 2003 article by Michael Lamm day at the office he simply got up from the desk, took his hat in Collectible Automobile magazine. from the hook, walked out the door, left everything behind and never looked back. He lived comfortably in Syracuse The Franklin Automobile Museum was founded by Tom Hubbard and never had to work again. In April 1956, after suffering a in Tucson, AZ; The H. H. Franklin Club was also founded by him series of strokes, HH passed away at home at age 89. and has headquarters in Cazenovia, NY.

Colorado Region Classic Car Club of America 15 Jim and Betty Hull’s 1933 Franklin V-12 7-Passenger Sedan Series 17

16 The Colorado Classicist Colorado Region Classic Car Club of America 17 Airmans, 1929 to 1932

Above is the 1932 “Super-Waterhouse” V-12 Phaeton, which in the ‘70s was rec- reated by Tom Hubbard for Bill Harrah. The finished car is essentially identical to the original Franklin V-12 prototype cars shown at the New York auto show in 1932. It has been described as the ultimate Frank- lin and according to a Special Interest Auto report drives and handles wonderfully.

Clockwise from the right are particularly handsome Airmans: a 1931 model 153 Con- vertible Speedster, 1931 model 153 Mer- rimac Sport Phaeton, and 1929 model 137 Sport Runabout.

18 The Colorado Classicist Series 17 V-12s

Top is a 1934 Club Brougham dis- played at the Franklin Museum in Tucson. Tom Hubbard restored it.

Middle is a 1932 5-passenger sedan restored by Tom Rasmussen for Alex Marshall. It was donated by his widow to the Franklin Automobile Collection at Hickory Corners.

Bottom is a 1933 Club Brougham in the Nethercutt collection all decked-out for Christmas with a red bow. The interior shot shows how elegant these cars were.

Colorado Region Classic Car Club of America 19 Big Guy Jim and Betty Hull’s 1933 Franklin V-12 by Jim Hull with photos by Tom Goyne

ig Guy is an apt moniker for this 5,900-pound behemoth. It Bis the name Jim and Betty Hull bestowed on their 1933 Franklin Se- ries 17 V-12 7-passenger sedan. They have owned it (him?) for eleven years and drive it often on CARavans, to car shows and other events. Here, Jim tells what he knows about the car:

“I first saw my 1933 V-12, 7-passenger sedan at the Harrah’s collection in 1980. A couple of years later, I was showing my 1926 Franklin at the Forest Grove Concours in Oregon. Imagine my surprise when that very same V-12 from Harrah’s parked right next to me.

“Fast forward to the Harrah’s dis- persal auctions in the mid 1980’s. Above is the magnificent V-12 with the top and side air shrouds removed. The There was my V-12 again. It sold to chrome valve covers on each cylinder hide the overhead valves and adjusters. a fellow from (I’m not making this To the right is the engine with the shrouds in place, which makes for a very tidy up) Uncertain, Texas. As with most engine compartment. cars at this auction, the price was through the roof. After the death of the owner, the car then where he received a first place, Senior. After Len’s untimely went to CCCA member, Len Urlich in Los Angeles. Len death, the car languished in Los Angeles several years with drove the car to the CCCA Annual Meeting in San Francisco his sons, during that time spending 5 years at the Peterson

20 The Colorado Classicist Left, Betty is aiming toward her favorite seat in the car and at the right Jim is already in his.

for years is not one you immediately put out on the road. So, off it went to Franklin guru, Tom Rasmussen at Odyssey Restorations for the necessary tweaking it to make it road-worthy; fuel system; brakes; a stuck valve or two; properly tuned, etc, etc, etc. What came back from Tom’s was an extremely road-worthy Classic. Despite its enormous size, it is very easy to drive, although you don’t want to get into a parallel park- ing contest. But. . . it does have difficulty passing a gas station. It gets about 7 MPG, but who cares? We have driven the car approximately 3,000 miles in- Museum. cluding two CCCA CARavans.

“Fellow CCCA member and friend, Rick Zieger, told me the “I have tried to trace the ownership of my car, but came to car might be available. After over a year of phone calls, a dead end prior to 1952. I wonder if it was a funeral car; trips to Los Angeles, and frustrating negotiations, the car be- many 7-passenger cars were.” came mine in 2005. As those of us who have been around for a while know, a car that has been sitting in museums

Colorado Region Classic Car Club of America 21 Jim shares with us this series of six letters between Fred O. Benson of Wheaton, IL and Ed Catlett of the Harrah’s Collection in Sparks, NV relating to the sale of the Franklin in 1961.

Fred Benson was trying to sell the Franklin to the Harrah Collec- tion, as you can see in letter number 1. Ed Catlett, the man in charge of purchases for Harrah responds in letter 2, and so on. This exchange 1 is fascinating and shows how casual it was to buy and sell cars in that period. The price Benson was asking was $1,200, which probably was about right for a closed car in 1961, even a V-12.

Fred Benson was, Jim believes, a national board member sometime in the sixties. He owned a number of nice Duesies including a rebodied road- ster A773 and the Beverly he mentions in his letter. By the eighties he was in ill health. Ed Catlett was a key man for Bill Harrah from the fifties onward, and was in charge of buying cars. He passed away in 2003.

22 The Colorado Classicist Details of the Hull’s V-12

Check out the view from the Hull’s front yard in the picture below...Colorado at its best!

Colorado Region Classic Car Club of America 23 South Dakota Mini-CARavan Mt. Rushmore & The Black Hills

Story by Lonnie Fallin, photos by Tom Goyne

he Mini-CARavan this year was held June 9th-12th. about the history of Custer State Park but we were taken to We went from Denver to the Black Hills of South Da- the center of a buffalo herd grazing on the plains. Some of Tkota. Our first night was spent in Lusk, Wyoming. the animals were no more than 20 to 30 feet from our jeeps, The motel was great but the dining experience was some- but did not seem to pay much attention to us. There were thing else. Tom Goyne will tell you about that in the inset a number of nursing calves, but the jeep drivers told us if at the end. We continued to Custer, South Dakota where we we didn’t come between mothers and babies they were not stayed two nights and then returned on Sunday the 12th. likely to charge us. It is a good thing because they are large, very large animals. Both the male and females have horns There is a lot to see and do there and I had events planned and have gored a few people that got too near to them. The for both Friday and Saturday evenings in Custer State Park. chuck wagon cookout food was good, it was very organized, Otherwise we were on our own to go to Mt. Rushmore and to and there was live entertainment. see and do all the other things available in the area. On Saturday most of us went to Mt. Rushmore. What a place Most of us arrived around noon, which gave us time to start that is and the video explaining how it came to be is really

Here are some of the participants...It’s a cheerful crowd ready to be on their way. seeing the sights in the area before we met to go on a jeep interesting too. There is a different mountain carving in pro- ride and join a chuck wagon cookout that evening. cess not far from Mt. Rushmore. It is of Chief Crazy Horse and has been under construction for years and will not be This turned out to be a great event. We not only learned done by the time most of our kids are dead, but it was in-

24 The Colorado Classicist teresting to see what plans they have and how far they have resulted in overheating of some of the cars and other prob- come. It is an overwhelming undertaking. The video there lems. is also very interesting. The participants on the tour were as follows. Rod Brewer In Hot Springs, SD, the Mammoth Site has one of the world’s and his daughter and her husband and their baby were in a greatest fossil finds where the Mammoths fell into a large new Cadillac Escalade since Rod’s 1947 Cadillac Fastback sink hole and were unable to get out. There is a lot to see decided to heat up before they even started the trip. Art Cut- there. A number of us visited it. ler drove his always reliable 1941 Cadillac 62 Coupe. Ron and Jeanne Damiana drove a 1934 Packard 12 Club Sedan. Saturday evening we had a group buffet dinner at the Sylvan Betsy and I were in a modern car since our 1947 Packard Lake Lodge before we drove to the Black Hills Playhouse had water pump problems and did not even leave the garage. for the start of their season. It was packed, and the play, Our car became the support vehicle. This turned out to be “Jeeves Intervenes,” was entertaining and funny. a good thing depending on your point of view since Tony

Above left is our motel in Lusk, WY. It featured a large open-air space for their chuck wagon breakfasts with indi- vidually cooked omelets. Upper right is city hall at Lusk. I wish other governments would follow Lusk’s guidance on public office. Below is a jeep tour vehicle and the excellent cookout afterwards.

and Jonna Ficco were driving a 1946 Cadillac Convertible Sunday we had a long drive back to Denver. Some of us and the heat cooked the coil. The car was left in Lusk and drove through South Dakota, Nebraska and Colorado. Oth- they finished the rest of the tour riding with Betsy and me. ers went back to Lusk and drove to I-25 and came down to Lou and Kathy Ficco drove a 1937 Packard 12 Convertible Denver that way. A few people broke up the days and stayed Coupe. Tim and Nancy Gilmartin drove a 1936 Cord West- at Scottsbluff, NE, or Cheyenne, WY. The weather was cool chester Sedan. Tom Goyne and his friend Maury Wilson and everyone made it back without any problems. were in Tom’s 1941 Lincoln Continental Coupe. Kent and Shiela Koppenheffer also had problems at the road construc- However, on the way up there the temperature was in the tion by Ault and had to return their 1941 Cadillac 63 Sedan high 90’s and we were caught in a large highway construc- to Denver and drive a modern car. Tom and Kathy Kost- tion delay just after Ault, CO, on our way to Cheyenne. This elecky were in a 1947 Packard Touring Sedan. Davis and

Colorado Region Classic Car Club of America 25 Lorraine McCann were driving a 1935 Auburn 851 Cabrio- unexpected medical event come up that required treatment. let. Gerry and Sharon Oleszek were driving a 1947 Cadillac Convertible. Bill and Jo Ann St. Clair drove down from Tu- Everyone seemed to have a great time. Some days were hot lare, SD to join us and drove around in the oldest car on the but it could have been raining and hailing, and that would tour, a 1929 Rolls Royce P-1 Derby Phaeton. Gene and Lyn have been a real downer. Osborne had planned on touring with us, but Gene had an

Photo by Art Cutler The evening drive up to the Black Hills Playhouse via the Needles Highway was spectacular. Perils of the Road--A Dining Nightmare Our first clue should have been the For Sale sign in front, but we missed that. We went into the restaurant at Lusk, WY, which on a previous club visit had been excellent. This time, however, it was less so. The Brewers arrived first and then Art Cutler, Maury Wilson and I got there. We were met by a waitress who in a former life must have been Nurse Ratched*. She slammed the menus on the table and glared menacingly. We were taken aback, but ordered anyway...margaritas on the rocks without salt. Eventually they came, not on the rocks but frozen and generously covered with salt. We had the sense not to complain. Soon after, others in our group arrived. Betsy Fallin and Jonna Ficco saw our margaritas and decided to order the same. After a wait Nurse Ratched came back and told them there were no more margarita glasses so what else did they want. Being open minded, Jonna and Betsy said regular glasses were OK but they still wanted margaritas. After another long wait the waitress came back and told them there was no tequila left. Meanwhile, the restaurant had filled up and the waitress was grumpily taking meal orders. I ordered pork chops and when they came I thought they looked good, but taking a bite learned differently. I don’t ever remember having a pork chop so tough I couldn’t chew it. How did they do that? The steaks were the same. The mixed veggies looked OK but the carrots tasted just like the broccoli and both were dried out... they’d been waaaay too long in the microwave. We left most of the meal on our plates. The sight of our not-quite-empty margarita glasses caused great unrest at the next table. Maury and I had to fight off Jonna and Betsy until they finally got a glass of wine. Most people were ready to leave, although finally after about an hour, the same tough steaks, mystery vegetables and bad wine came to the tables. Fortunately, good humor took over and we laughed a lot about the Restaurant in Lusk for the rest of the tour. I’ve heard, however, that Jonna and Betsy are still honked off because Maury and I had the only two margaritas in town that night. -ed. *Nurse Ratched was a spiteful insane asylum attendant in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

26 The Colorado Classicist Saturday night’s banquet was held at the Sylvan Lake Lodge on their veranda among the ponderosas. The setting was as outstanding as the dinner. Afterward we attended a high-energy comedy play at the Black Hills Playhouse by the English author P. G. Wodehouse, featuring his inimical butler, Jeeves. The set is pictured above.

On the way back home, a group of four cars stopped at Ardmore, ND to poke around this ghost town. In it were a doz- en or more tumble-down houses and stores plus an abandoned collection of Hudsons, Ramblers and other cars of the ‘50s. In the lower right photo, it looks like Lorraine McCann is considering listing this as “Fixer-upper, needs paint”.

Colorado Region Classic Car Club of America 27 Woodgraining by Tom Goyne

Have you considered doing your own woodgraining on the dash and window moldings of your Classic? If you are at all artistically inclined and patient then you can do it. I did it on the dashboard and moldings of a 1934 Packard Coupe-Road- Autumn Tour ster and am very pleased with the way it came out. It may not be quite as good as a pro would do, but it ain’t bad either! Early October A basic woodgraining kit is available from Grain-It Tech- nologies (www.woodgraining.com) for $349. It includes all you will need to do a single pattern, such as the Carpath- ian elm dash on a Packard. It does not include primer, the base coat color or topcoat, but spray cans of these can be ordered from Grain-It as well. If you need to do two pat- terns, such as straight-grain plus Carpathian elm on window moldings, then you will need to get a second graining platen. On Grain-It’s web site, there is a good introduction video that I recommend you watch. The pictures below show the process I went through.

Tech Tips

John Washburn writes...In the Bulletin, Number 3, April First step is bodywork. After sanding or bead blasting 2016, on page 22 there is an article titled: “DO YOU HAVE all rust and old paint off, spray with a light coat of ac- GOOD BRAKES ON YOUR CLASSIC? ARE YOU id-etch primer. Do this before the Bondo to insure good SURE?” His recommendation is OK but this is better. I did adhesion. Block sand the surface smooth after filling. an article some years ago on a product called BrakeStrip, by Note that I left a border of the original woodgraining at Phoenix Systems. It is basically like a litmus test, a strip you the top to act as a color guide. Next (below) is sanding stick into the old brake fluid and read the result to determine primer and then the base color coat. if the fluid is still good. Their website is: www.brakestrip. net. There are also electronic brake fluid testers for sale on amazon.com. ______

From Terry Anderson, 1927 Cadillac owner...I have installed rotary fuel pumps in my older cars and found them to be better than pulse types. I use a Carter P60430. It is designed for 12V but works perfectly on 6V positive ground and gives the correct 1.5 - 2 psi pressure. They are available on eBay or at Summit Racing (www.summitracing.com).

28 The Colorado Classicist After the ink is left to dry for two days, a “lockcoat” is sprayed on. This is a special thin layer of urethane that keeps the ink in place. Next is to wipe-on a “toner.” It is put on with a paper towel and then immediately wiped off to get that nice rich wood color. It also helps camou- flage any join lines that are not perfect. This needs to dry overnight and then the final urethane clearcoat is sprayed on. You can use any high quality urethane spray For parts such as these window moldings that have two can varnish. I wanted a hand-rubbed look so used semi- different grains, mask around the area you are going to gloss but gloss is more popular. Both look good. work on. I masked the center area so that I could do the straight-grain pattern first. A lesson I learned is to not use normal blue masking tape. Instead use a “delicate” tape which will not pull-off the already inked area.

The basic graining process is to first squeegee ink onto a platen which has the woodgrain pattern etched into it. Then pick up the ink on a soft roller and transfer to the part. Above I am doing the squeegeeing process. Here are some completed parts up close. The dash is at the bottom with a section of the original graining along the upper edge. The pattern, as you can see, is not an exact match, but is quite close. All-in-all, I am very pleased with the results.

On the right side of the part I have transferred the pattern one turn of the roller. Next I put a masking paper (220-grit sandpaper) over the wet ink and repeat the squeegee/roll process on the adjacent section.

Thanks to our sponsors To place an ad here After each roll, touch-up the join line by dabbing ink on with a small brush and/or removing it with a pencil call or email the editor eraser. When the touch-up done as Grain-It instructs, the line is all but invisible.

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30 The Colorado Classicist Colorado Region Classic Car Club of America 31