Coming Up for Air

I come from a Franklin family. Not descended from Ben, the Foster household had several Franklin cars during the 1920s. The last one, a 1928 sedan, was owned by my grandmother into the mid-1930s (interestingly, she never drove, nor did my grandfather; they had a chauffeur and in later years their children took over the driving duties.)

The H.H. Franklin company, of Syracuse, New York, built air-cooled cars from 1902 to 1934, the first being light runabouts with transversely-mounted four-cylinder engines. Though the drive train soon took on a conventional north-south orientation, Franklins retained distinctive looks until the mid-twenties. Because a radiator was not required, the frontal appearance was entirely functional, to 1910 a "barrel front," through 1920 as the "coal scuttle," later the "horse collar."

In order to look more "mainstream," a false radiator was adopted for 1925. Charles Lindberg christened the new Airman model for 1928, the first Franklin with four-wheel hydraulic brakes. Amelia Earhart had one, too, and by accounts she liked it better than her Terraplane.

Pictures of "our" Franklins have not come to light. My late father remembered that the first one was a "horse collar," the 1928 sedan much like Lindberg's, which survives at The Henry Ford museum. When Franklin adopted a mascot in the 1920s, it was a rearing lion, although in the "Lindberg era" some cars had a Spirit of St. Louis ornament. Franklin engines were distinctive, too, all with overhead valves and cooling ducts reminiscent of Briggs and Stratton. Full-elliptic springs were used almost until the end. This chassis dates from 1929, the first year of the steel frame - earlier chassis were made of wood.

By 1930, Franklins were aping the competition, and with the Olympic model of 1933 used bodies and chassis from Reo. Times were tough, but Franklin didn't wince, introducing a huge 144-inch wheelbase V12 model. It didn't help, and after 360 cars in 1934 Mr. Franklin simply gave up.

If I were shopping for an interesting 1920s car, I'd look carefully at this 1929 Franklin rumble seat coupe owned by Pamela Kane. It's an older restoration, but very presentable and practical. Located in Connecticut, it's currently for sale. Contact Pamela and Greg Kane for further particulars, or the H.H. Franklin Club to learn more about Franklin cars.

The Fosters haven't given up on air cooling. What's not to like about a car that never overheats and needs no antifreeze? My daughter Harriet, namesake of her Franklin-owning forebear, has her own fresh-air car, inherited from her grandmother.

Blizzard

The weather forecasters promised us a blizzard this past Sunday, and a blizzard, of a sort, is what we got. "Blizzard" is defined as "a violent windstorm with dry, driving snow and intense cold." The National Weather Service quantifies this as 35 mph winds and quarter mile visibility or less (there is no specific temperature requirement). Most people had hunkered down at home for the storm, so there was little traffic nor need for frantic snow plowing.

Although this was nothing like the Blizzard of 1888, the gold standard for storms in my youth when a few living folk could still remember it, or the Blizzard of 1978, which shut Connecticut down for three days, it was enough to jog my memories of snow removal. I grew up in northwestern Connecticut where it snows more seriously than in this southern corner of the state. Ordinary snow plowing was handled by dump trucks, Chevys, Dodges or Internationals, for example, fitted with snow plows. Some towns had Walter Snow Fighters, at least one of which was equipped with a rotary wing plow.

For really serious snow drifts there was the Klauer SnoGo, which had a front-mounted two- or three-bank auger ahead of a rotary blower. The thing consumed so much power that a dedicated engine, mounted on the rear, was required to drive it. Klauer also built smaller SnoGos, for mounting on standard truck chassis. You can still buy a SnoGo; they're now made by Wausau-Everest of New Berlin, Wisconsin.

My driveway measures some 240 feet from street to garage, too long for a geezer like me to shovel. My venerable Gravely, about which you've read before, sprang to action and had it cleaned up in about two hours. One day I must re-activate the Jeep left to me by my father. With a little work on the brakes, exhaust and generator, it would do much more than occupy a corner of the garage.

By Monday morning, the driveway and the street were both clear, the sun was out and the temperature was rising. Life was back to normal, which includes not working on the Jeep.

Speedy Delivery

Wayne Graefen has a keen eye for old cars. He spotted this Pontiac sedan delivery from the fast lane of I-35 while towing a new acquisition home from his Kansas vacation. Closer investigation showed it to be a 1950 model, of which 2,158 were built, some (perhaps most), like this one, with six-cylinder engines, others with eights.

Sedan deliveries comprise a nearly forgotten art form. Intended for light delivery duties, they were based on car chassis, less commodious but more stylish than the truck-based panel van. The first ones were simply blind-quartered two-door sedans, when all cars were boxes, with barn doors cut into the back. Later, many were based on two-door station wagons, although not this Pontiac as GM didn't build two-door wagons until 1955. It is said that Oldsmobile built one sedan delivery as a feasibility exercise. We don't know if this one is real, or simply a Pontiac with tail- and nose job. It's not a Chevrolet derivative because Chevy, unlike Pontiac, had separable rear fenders.

Ford, which had built sedan deliveries from 1940, abandoned them with the advent of F-series trucks in 1948. It took the new wagons for 1952 to provide a base for the Courier sedan delivery (like this' 53), essentially a Ranch Wagon with a side-hinged rear door. From 1957, the Courier was given a liftgate (check the heavy hinges; the 1959-60 Chev sedan deliveries had a similar arrangement). For 1959, Ford reduced the number of Courier-specific parts, jettisoning the blind quarters and liftgate. In fact, the 5,141 Couriers built that year were simply Ranch Wagons with no rear seat. In 1960, the sedan delivery moved to the Falcon line.

Chrysler Corporation was not a big player in the sedan delivery sweepstakes, but did turn out this handsome 1956 Dodge (or at least someone did).

Ultimately, the light vans, Econoline, Chevy Van and Dodge A100, put the sedan delivery out of business, although the Falcon delivery lasted through 1965. Curiously, Chevrolet resurrected the genre in 1971 with the Vega Panel Express, continued through 1975. Ford's Pinto Cruising Wagon was somewhat reminiscent, too, if one ignored the quirky porthole. CarPort's St. Louis Bureau Chief Fred Summers still has his, purchased new in 1980.

Has Wayne bought the pretty Poncho? Those who should know are being uncannily evasive.

Steaming Sands

On January 26, 1906, Fred Marriott became the first person to drive an automobile more that two miles in a minute, when he was timed at 127.66 mph in the Stanley "Rocket" racer on Ormond Beach, Florida. Exactly a century later, his great-grandson Robert Landry, Jr., re-enacted his feat (at a slower speed) in a 3/4-scale replica Rocket built in 1971. Robert's remarkable resemblance to his forebear gave spectators a sense of re-living history.

Thousands flocked to the beach for the centenary celebrations on January 26, 2006, sponsored jointly the the Stanley Museum and the City of Ormond Beach. Festivities began with a flyover of vintage aircraft, followed by exhibition runs of vintage steam and gasoline cars. Sarah Stanley, great-granddaughter of inventor F.E. Stanley, owner of the original Rocket, also drove the replica, as did Robert's brother Steve Landry. Sarah's sister, Constance Stanley Boudeman, made a beach run in a replica Stanley Vanderbilt racer built by her husband Robert.

Celebrities turning out for the event included drag racing legend Don "Big Daddy" Garlits, in his 1936 Ford hot rod, and vintage auto icon Dave Brownell driving George Dragone's 1914 Hotchkiss. Cameo vehicles included the Leslie Special, film star of The Great Race.

Following the beach runs, members of the Marriott and Stanley families dedicated a monument to the 1906 speed record at Ormond's Birthplace of Speed Park. Chairing the events were Susan Davis (driving) of the Stanley Museum and Dan Smith (directing) for Ormond Beach.

During the week there were several tours for vintage cars, including visits to St. Augustine and its historic lighthouse. Steam cars also dedicated a preserved section of the historic brick-paved Dixie Highway in Flagler County. At festival's end, the replica Rocket was whisked back to the Daytona USA museum where it will be on display until the next anniversary re-enactment.