1916 Franklin Speedster

Make: Franklin
Year: 1916
Mileage: 9,999,999
VIN: 9999999
Engine: 6
Cylinders: 6
Fuel: Gasoline
Transmission: Manual
Vehicle Title: Clear
Item location: Denver, Colorado, United States
Extras

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Description of 1916 Franklin

Fabulous, amazing and powerful speedster that was built from a 1916 Franklin, 1918 Studebaker and 1927 Diamond T hearse by Paul Springer, a metal artist from Vancouver. The engine is a 14.5 L Hall - Scott industrial engine that was on display at a museum for many years. Paul was able to buy the engine, original gauges and original radiator and make this one of the most powerful and fastest speedsters you are going to see from that era. He used a 1947 Hudson hood to form the boat tail rear end. The Diamond T frame has a set of four original Lockheed high volume/low pressure external contracting brakes. The car rides on a set of common radial RV tires, which can handle the immense weight of this car and engine. The Hall-Scott engine is a thing of beauty, engineering and advanced design. Even though it was made in 1928, it has hemispherical combustion chambers -- A HEMI -- and uses loads of shiny aluminum. It's a beautiful, throaty and loud motor that puts out about nearly 800 ft. lbs of torque. The transmission is a Brown & Lipe truck transmission and clutch that can handle the torque. The rear end has been modified into a quick-change racing differential so you can change out the gear ratio as you please. The seats and panels were reupholstered with THICK leather hides that are nicer than my King Ranch. The gauges are original Hall-Scott (try to find those!) and they work. The clock doesn't, however. I ran this car in the 2017 Great Race, and it commanded lots of attention. It was also featured in the Great Race article by Hemmings, in its October, 2017 edition. The car ran flawlessly on the Great Race. So much so that my mechanic was bored. Really. He was. And that caused him to drink too much. But that's another story for another day. Apart from the fear of rain or snow, I'd not hesitate to get into this monster and drive it to New York. It's that reliable. It's currently on display at the Forney Museum of Transportation in Denver, so it's easy to see. That is, if you're in Denver. Good luck on the auction, and ask any reasonable questions.