Franklin Auto Air-Cooled Model IIB Six
It can be said that when it comes to early American auto production and classic brand name US made cars that the American auto maker” Franklin’s” claim to fame in the classic and vintage automobile history books is that they were definitely America’s most successful producer of air-cooled cars. Most (if not almost all) cars on the road are water cooled with a radiator. Older classic first generation Volkswagen Beetles (Bugs) with their aluminum air-cooled rear engine was one exception. So is your gas lawn motor. Yet the example best known to domestic motorists in the good old USA of a locally made air-cooled engine car was the Franklin branded product.
In a full span of time, for more than 30 years of manufacture, Franklin never made one single water-cooled machine and sold in total more than 150,000 units all said. Indeed at their peak of final development of the six-cylinder engines they sold 14,000 alone in 1929, just before the stock market crash decimated sales in the auto industry. Not only this but until 1927, even with the large cars of that vintage age , they stayed loyal to a chassis frame with wooden side members and used full –elliptic springs to give the best possible ride ( without losing out much in the process on losses of precision handling or steering what so ever).
Externally a vintage Franklin car looked relatively run of the mill and fully conventional, with a dummy radiator grill “hiding” the big engine-driven cooling fan. This engine driven cooling fan worked to impel air along the top of the engine , where ducts then channeled the cooling flow down the finned sides of the individually cast power plant cylinders. The rest of the chassis and layout was entirely 100 % conventional and none the worse what-so-ever for this.
Before the end of decade of the 1920’s Franklin had espoused full four-wheel hydraulic brakes. Finally they went mainstream (partially), threw in the wood rails, and adopted a pressed-steel chassis. By 1932, indeed synchromesh gearing transmissions had been fitted into place. Indeed the cherry on top of the icing for Franklin autos was a 1932 “white elephant” of a 6.8 liter supercharged V12, amazingly still with full air cooling and no radiator,
However as with many domestic American auto makers the economic depression of the 1930’s put an end to Franklin as an auto maker and producer. However all was not lost – as the technology was fully utilized in aircraft engine technology and the manufacture of fine aero-engines.
by Ike B. Glesby
Autoworld Mazda sales and service of Mazda3 in Edmonton Mazda 3 Parts Sevice Northern Alberta Fort McMurray
Product Review Tags:early american car that was air cooled, car reviews write for us, wooden classic cars
