Time Flies in a Franklin.(Escape Roads)(vintage car)

Byline: GEORGE P. BLUMBERG

It rained on the Orphan Car Tour through the Ann Arbor, Michigan, countryside, and so every so often, when the 1928 Franklin Airman's single vacuum wiper swept anemically across the windshield, there were glimpses of the 1929 Willys-Knight ahead. The 1954 Hudson and the 1959 Edsel behind were high-powered, and certainly modern by comparison.

Jerry Szostak of Plymouth, Michigan, owns this Franklin, which is in great original condition. The car is a strong driver, and yet there were concerns on the tour about the four-wheel hydraulic brakes. Stopping a 3500-pound car requires some planning-stand on the brakes and wait for a reaction. But on this day, traveling 45 mph, we broke a sweat at the sight of a green traffic light ahead, and the internal debate started: Floor the accelerator and hope to make the light, or start burning off speed now by coasting? Ralph Gack, a Franklin owner and onboard adviser, shared our pain. We floored it and made the green.

The Airman was produced from 1902 to 1934 in Syracuse, New York, by H.H. Franklin, inventor of modern metal die-casting. The air-cooled, 236.4-cid six puts out 46 hp at 2500 rpm, and torque, at about 115 lb-ft at 1700 rpm, is plentiful. By shifting quickly into third as low as 15 mph, the torque pulls the car along. Of greater concern is stripping gears off the floor-mounted three-speed, nonsynchro transmission. Practice is required to gently slide the gears together with a double stab of the clutch and an extra rev of the engine. By the end of the day, shifts were smoother.

Owner Szostak says he loves "unusual engines, especially sleeve-valve Knights and air-cooled Franklins,'' and indeed this engine seems the most contemporary element of the car. Szostak has rebuilt the Franklin's running gear, but the rest of the car is original. Franklins were popular with doctors because they ...