Franklin 137 Sport, 1929 137 Sport Pictures, News, Reviews, and Info | Conceptcarz.com - Pictures, Wallpaper, Pricing, Information, History

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Sport Phaeton

The H.H. Franklin Manufacturing Company built the most successful American direct air-cooled cars from 1902 to 1934. John Wilkinson was the engineer who built the first Franklin car and whose design principles combining high quality with light weight gave Franklin their distinct reputation for dependability and long life. All Franklins utilized air-cooled engines and double elliptical springs on all four wheels. Their legacy has been one of successful innovations and, of course, the unusual vehicles that survived.

By the time Franklin ceased manufacturing automobiles, approximately 150,000 vehicles were produced. Unfortunately, Franklin was one of the many automobile manufactures that were not able to survive the depression years.

This automobile was manufactured in 1929 and is a model 137, Sport Touring. When new this car sold for around $2,200. There are presently only six surviving of this model.

When new, the automobile was exported by the factory to the Franklin distributor in Uruguay, Fresnado and Crow, where it was converted to right-hand drive prior to being sold to a local industrialist and was in constant use until the 1950s. It was imported to the United States in 1989 and has passed through several owners and received a total restoration in 1992. During this restoration, it was converted back to left-hand drive.

Reportedly, the automobile saw extensive use as a taxi for a long period of time in South America.

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Sport Phaeton

The H.H. Franklin Company started manufacturing unconventional looking air-cooled automobiles in 1902, in Syracuse, New York. In 1925 noted designer Frank De Causse was hired at the urging of disgruntled dealers who felt Franklin's unusual styling was hurting sales. De Causse and later Raymond Dietrich went on to create some beautiful in-house designs that creased Franklin sales to a peak of 14,000 cars in 1929. The model 137 had a six-cylinder air-cooled engine base on a 132-inche wheelbase chassis. This particular car wears an attractive dual cowl phaeton body by Franklin.

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Touring
Chassis Num: 37189744L1
Engine Num: 35-137749

Automobile designer John Wilkinson was a pioneer in the automobile industry during the early dawn of the vehicle revolution. He was a proponent of air-cooling methods and lightweight designs. He preferred tubular axles and flexible, full-elliptic springs, as well as aluminum clad bodies and laminated ash frames to help reduce weight. New York Industrialist Herbert Henry Flanklin agreed with Wilkinson, and put his ideas on wheels in 1902. The name of the vehicle was called the 'Franklin' and it's appearance was unlike anything else on the roadways of the time.

From 1910 through the mid 1920s, most of the Franklin's were bodied by the Walker Body Company of Amesbury, Massachusetts. In 1926, Raymond Dietrich was hired as a consultant for many of the Franklin designs.

By 1925, Franklin had hired J. Frank de Causse, of Kellner and Locomobile frame, as designer. The result was the Series 11, introduced in March of 1925. It was a modern design that had a conventional-looking radiator, which served little purpose other than aesthetics. Since the cars were air-cooled, a radiator was not required. Further development of the Series 11 led to custom bodied cars created by renowned coachbuilders such as Locke and Willoughby.

The Series 13, introduced near the close of the 1920s, sat on a steel chassis that was suspended by the traditional full-elliptic springs. There were four-wheel hydraulic brakes which had been introduced to the Franklin line-up in 1928. Customers could chose from three wheelbase sizes and a larger 274 cubic-inch six-cylinder engine with overhead valves and an available sixty horsepower.

This 1929 Franklin Model 137 Dual Cowl Sport Touring was designed by Dietrich and constructed by the Walker Body Company. It has a wheelbase that measures 132-inches and powered by the 60 horsepower air-cooled six. There is a three-speed manual gearbox with a solid front axle and a live rear axle. Four-wheel hydraulic brakes keep the car in the drivers control. It has recently been treated to a complete restoration and finished in deep red with fine beige pinstriping. There are tan leather interior seats with a matching canvas top. The engine has driven around 150 miles since the completion of the restoration. In 2008 it was brought to the Automobiles of Amelia auction run by RM Auctions. This car was estimated to sell for $120,000 - $140,000. Bidding reached $85,000 but was not enough to settle the vehicles reserve.

Photos grouped by event
Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance	Automobiles of Amelia Island, RM Auctions	Radnor Hunt Concours d'Elegance	18th Annual Burn Prevention Foundation Concours d'Elegance of the Eastern United States
Ault Park Concours d'Elegance	2006 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance

1929 Franklin 137 Sport
Year	1929
Make	Franklin
Model	137 Sport
Body Style	Touring
Engine Location	Front
Drive Type	Rear Wheel
Weight	3930 lbs \| 1782.6 kg
Combined MPG	0.00

Chassis / Engine Numbers Shown
Chassis Number	37189744L1
Engine Number	35-137749

Engine
Engine Configuration	S
Cylinders	6
Engine	Franklin Airman
	Air-Cooled
Aspiration/Induction	Normal
Displacement	274.00 CU IN. \| 4490.9 cc. \| 4.5 L.
Valves	12 valves. 2 valves per cylinder.
Valvetrain	OHV
Horsepower	60.00 HP (44.2 KW) @ 2500.00 RPM
HP to Weight Ratio	65.5 LB / HP (Vehicles with similar ratio)
HP / Liter	13.3 BHP / Liter
Fuel Type	Gasoline - Petrol
	Vehicles with similar horsepower and weight

Standard Transmission
Gears	3
Transmission	Manual

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1929 Franklin 137 Sport