1904 Franklin Type A Runabout
edited by David Barth, 10 January 2009.
Courtesy The Forney Museum of Transportation at 4303 Brighton Blvd., Denver,
Colorado. Photos were taken in January 2009.
Although Franklin cars are not built any more, we still have air-cooled Franklin engines powering helicopters and
airplanes.
Herbert H. Franklin took a ride in one of John Wilkinson's air-cooled prototype cars and decided that his H. H. Franklin
Company, manufacturer of die castings, should manufacture automobiles, too.
H. H. was a pioneer builder of motorcars and throughout the years manufactured nothing but air-cooled and lightweight
cars. The Franklin air-cooled engine auxiliary exhaust lets out hot, used gases before they have a chance to overheat
the cylinder, preventing flame from being carried out along the main valves to burn them which could cause them to leak.
This also permits the cooler cylinders to accept a larger fuel-air mixture. The cylinders do not underheat or
overheat. The air-cooled engine is simpler to manufacture and maintain and is approximately 200 pounds lighter than it
would be if it were water-cooled.
