The 1911 Franklin - Huntsville Paddy Wagon By: Kelly Wood <<<--- back Initial DRAFT in Progress - 7:28 PM 11/29/2022 Early in the 1900's, an automobile company came along that... for a time... was quite the deal. Their cars commonly were a most luxurious and fine riding vehicle. The Franklin Automobile Company was a marketer of automobiles in the United States between 1902 and 1934 in Syracuse, New York. Herbert H. Franklin, the founder, began his career in the metal die casting business before establishing his automobile enterprise. Controlled by Herbert H. Franklin it had very few other significant shareholders. Franklin bought its vehicles from the H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Company which was only moderately profitable and frequently missed dividends on common stock. The two major characteristics of their automobiles were their air-cooled engines and in the early years their lightness and responsiveness when compared with other luxury cars. The Franklin companies suffered financial collapse in April 1934. Aside from his consequent retirement CEO Herbert Franklin's lifestyle was unaffected. They were usually owned by people of wealth and/or doctors as the need for reliability was paramount. ... Yep, they're rich folk. All Franklin cars were air-cooled, which the company considered simpler and more reliable than water cooling, and the company considered light weight to be critical in making a well-performing car given the limited power of the engines then available. Most Franklins were wood-framed, though the very first used an angle iron frame (1902) and, beginning in 1928, the heavier cars adopted a conventional pressed-steel frame. Lightweight aluminum was used in quantity, to the extent that Franklin was reckoned to be the largest user of aluminum in the world in the early years of the company. They even got into the racing scene with those very cars. Franklins were often rather odd-looking cars, although some were distinctly handsome with Renault-style hoods. 1912 Franklin Torpedo Phaeton Starting in 1925, at the demand of dealers, Franklins were redesigned to look like conventional cars sporting a massive nickel-plated "dummy radiator" which served as an air intake and was called a "hoodfront". This design by J. Frank DeCausse enabled the Franklin to employ classic styling. The same year, Franklin introduced the boat-tail to car design. And as a result of that, the cars started looking just like other normal cars and the advertising was extremely classy... catering to an upscale buyer. It's too bad it didn't continue. But... what's not mentioned much when one "Googles" their way to happiness, is the other things they did. They made other vehicles it appears. Don't get me wrong, you can find it if you dig... but initally you may not realize just how much they did. Among the expected mention of Sedans, touring cars and coupes... limousines, speedsters, taxis, and light trucks appear. ... nothing that hot mess in the whitest-of-all-white dresses would ever be in the market for I'm sure. She couldn't even smile for that, as fortunate as she must have been. Nifty. I could go digging for months, but it's not necessary. If it's your fancy... these days images always a click away... you'll find em. So... With 6 well known Cyclekarts under my belt, I decided to go a wholy-different direction... and make a Franklin. But which one? I certainly didn't want to make anything normal...as weird as "Some" of the cars were. No. I considered all Franklins to be ugly turds honestly. I'd seen so many different builds at the time, I just didn't want to make something expected. It seemed most cyclekart builders wanted to focus on the sexy and sleek race car... forgetting the heart of the hobby. So... I decided to do something rarely done in the cyclekart realm... and make a truck. And I found this. And Franklin made those... After looking at them (and falling in love with the danger it would pose if done as a cyclekart) I went further. So I went digging to see what the other trucks of the period looked like. There were all kinds. Still with the franklin police wagon at heart, I found a few other trucks that had certain features I wanted to incorporate. Not a franklin, but a Baker electric truck here... What a cool cab that is... and that's a lot of beer. More of that cabover approach appeared in most of them because this was right near the end of the horse-drawn wagon days as the automotive industry rose. I fell for the design. Why? Because of the car I learned to drive in. The 1969 Chevrolet Van... a flat front ended, sitting on the wheels... three-on-the-tree, box of death. (especially in the snow) It was silly-dangerous. That's why. So, with a direction in mind, I set out to create just such a Cyclekart... a Cyclekart that captured this fun time in automotive history. A photoshopped version, over the existing car to see that we're heading the right direction. Where the car is now. To be continued, the build is in progress as of: 7:33 PM 11/29/2022 Car Specs Width: 39" front and rear. Wheelbase: 76" Power: Duromax 212, electric start Drivetrain: Standard Cheap Tav, #41 chain, 10T up front, 66T on Axle Weight: 320 lbs. The Parts Used: Front and Rear Wheels: Early 1970's Yamaha LS2 100 18" wheels. Fronts are fronts, rear's are rears. A special hub was created to use them. Main Frame: Two 3" x 1" (1/16th wall) steel rails common on most cyclekarts. The rest of the main framework consists of 5 box spring frames. An entire box of welding rods was used to get it into one piece and 6 straight hours of welding. Front Axle: 1 1/4" chromemoly tubing, standard azusa spindles. Front Suspension: Quarter Eliptic leaf coupled with two 5" harley barrel seat springs, adjustable height. Rear Axle: Stock 1" kart axle with 3/4" stepped ends. Length: 38" Steering column: 2 pieces of steering rod welded together, coupled with the holders which are really go kart hubs with bearings in them. The steering is rock solid. Brakes: Standard mechanical disc, left brake lever actuates them. Tires: MMG, 2.75 x 18 street tread All Body Panels: 5/16 ply, finished sides, painted twice with primer, then sanded... then 2 coats of Rustoleum Glosss Navy Blue. Headlight: Base was once an ambulance light base, the glass was missing so it was modified to house a glass lense from another broken light. Fuel tubing surrounds the light and the cover smashes it in place, never to move. It bears the original Federal signal badge on top. Radiator & Gauge: Removed from a junked mini-refridgerator and painted. The gauge was a rusty air gauge found on a camper that didn't work. It was torn apart and recreated with a backing with C, W, and H hand stamped in it. (means cold, warm & hot) Brass Handles: Some handles from Home Depot. The appearance of hinges: Cut from vintage rusty hinges on an old cabinet, then painted. Stenciling: Hand cut stencils, font was Engravers MT... then sprayed perfectly. The number 135 came from a vintage badge found when "googling" vintage police badges... otherwise has no actual meaning. It just looked right. <<<--- back