Franklin innovations Franklin (automobile)

franklin automobile company of syracuse, new york - showing longitudinal mounting of 4 cylinder engine.

franklin automobile company leader in innovation. franklin cars air-cooled, considered simpler , more reliable water cooling. company s advertisements , brochures explained air cooling did away radiators, hoses, water pumps , headaches of normal engine boiling , freezing.

in july 1902, h. h. franklin manufacturing company introduced constant level carburetor. designed enable engine operate through great ranges of speed , throttle without change in quality of mixture compensate problem earlier carburetors speed of engine limited amount of gasoline engine drew differing amounts of air.

franklin cars technological leaders, first six-cylinders (by 1905) , later year, first eight-cylinder engine built wilkinson in preparation vanderbilt cup race placing 2 four-cylinder engines in tandem. automatic spark advance introduced in 1907. undisputed leaders in air-cooled cars @ time when virtually every other manufacturer had adopted water cooling cheaper , easier manufacture. before invention of antifreeze, air-cooled car had huge advantage in cold weather, , franklins popular among people such doctors, needed all-weather machine. limitation of air-cooling size of cylinder bore , available area valves, limited power output of earlier franklins. 1921, change in cooling—moving fan sucking hot air blowing cool air—led way gradual increase in power.

h. h. franklin mfg. co. - franklin 4-cylinder vertical air-cooled motor - august 17, 1905

the automobile lightweight, critical determinant in well-performing car time, given limited power of engines available. franklins wood-framed, although first model in 1902 constructed angle iron frame. beginning in 1928, heavier franklin models adopted conventional pressed-steel frame.

franklin s wooden frames, along full-elliptic leaf springs, offered baby buggy ride on unpaved roads of day. wilkinson used wooden frame constructed of three-ply laminated ash. benefits twofold: decreasing weight of vehicle , providing better material absorb shocks.

aluminum bodies part of john wilkinson s obsessive quest scientific light weight strived in franklin vehicles. lightweight aluminum used in quantity, extent franklin believed largest user of aluminum in world. franklin offered scientific light weight , flexible construction @ time when other luxury car manufacturers making ponderous machines.

through 1915, franklin models capable of top speed on 65 mph (105 km/h) , others provide 32 miles per gallon (7.4 l/100 km) under conditions. last year of exposed valves in engine, exposed points meant lubricated every day @ noon, according car s manual , 1914. subsequently valves enclosed in individual dustproof chambers or rocker boxes , lubricated oil-soaked felt pads.

change in oiling system

in 1912, franklin introduced change in air-cooled motor when began using re-circulating type of oiling system on 10-horsepower model. in re-circulating system, oil carried in sub-base bolted regular engine base , forced gear driven pump through individual leads each of main bearings of motor , sight feed on dash. . designed james albert smith, design known colloquially—and descriptively—as smith s urinal .

it intention of designers of franklin motor oiling system not reduce possibility of smoking add economy of motor, , average consumption of oil in new models between 400 500 us gal (1,500 1,900 l; 330 420 imp gal). convenience of new type of oiling system leads placed outside of engine base, readily accessible in case of difficulty.

doman s list of firsts

carl doman franklin automobile company chief engineer in latter days of company. in 1954 cited list of franklin firsts:

first 4-cylinder engine (1902). original model built in 1898.
first in scientific light weight , flexible construction (1902).
fundamental features (1902), such light unsprung weight, full elliptic springs , air-cooling appeared in first car marketed.
first in valve-in-head cylinder (1902).
first in throttle control (1902).
first float-feed carburetor (1902).
first 6-cylinder engine (1905). engine exhibited @ 1906 auto show in new york.
first employ drive through springs (1906).
first use transmission service brake (1906).
first adopt automatic spark advance (1907).
first use individual re-circulating pressure feed oiling system engine (1912).
first use exhaust jacket heating intake gases (1913).
pioneered closed bodies. first production sedan (1913).
pioneered aluminum pistons (1915).
first use electric carburetor primer facilitate cold weather starting (1917).
first use case-hardened crankshaft in regular production (1921).
first use centrifugal air-cleaner carburetor (1922).
first use duralumin connecting rods in regular production (1922).
first employ narrow steel front body pillar construction (1925).