Automobiles

This is a list of the automobiles I have owned and driven. The Chevrolet Corvette is my favorite.

The GTO was built into a hotrod by me in the late 70’s. It was Elimination Orange in color. It started with a Rochester Quadrajet. I then removed and installed a Holley 780 Double Pumper. Next I tried the Tri Power Three Duece setup. Adjusting the linkages were always a problem. I preferred the mechanical secondaries over the vacuum secondaries.

I installed a Accel Super Coil and Champion High Performance Plugs. The Hedman equal length headers increased the performance considerably. It had a Muncie 4 speed. I installed a Vertical Gate Shifter to slam gears. I installed a techometer to monitor Rpms. I had F60 Firestones on the front and L60 Firestones on the rear.

I owned the car for 6 years and only lost one race. That was to a mystery LeManns on Interstate 80 late one night. I lost a drive shaft on the freeway. The rear u-joint cut lose and shot out of the back never to be seen again. I drove that car from Sacramento to Riverside towing a U-haul at freeway speeds without a burp.

Franklin Ride List

63 Chevrolet Impala
63 Chevrolet Corvair
68 Dodge Coronet 383
68 Pontiac GTO – 400 custom
76 Honda Accord LX
74 Volvo 160e
78 Toyota Celica GT Lift back
81 BMW 320i
85 Ford Galaxie 500
85 BMW 325e
86 Nissan 300ZX
92 Mercury Cougar White
96 Mercury Cougar Bronze
89 Chevrolet Corvette

On the Corvette, I had the performance chip installed. The 160 degree thermostat allowed the car to run cooler. Custom Corvette short headers were installed by McJacks Corvettes. This has been a real fun car.

The Bright Red is my reminder all Corvettes are Red under the rest of that paint. Red stands for the Raging Racer. The C4 Corvette was designed with the Ferrari in mind. It has the 4 round tail lights and was built to handle curves. It started with about 250 HP. With my modifications, I am up to about 300 HP. It runs 275x45x16 radials on all corners. The removable top and automatic 4 speed transmission make it an excellent city car. It is fast. I never regret returning to the car every time I park it. Nice

Bruce R. Franklin, # OCPA, USNAAA, NALA, Seeker, PADI, USGA, CSULB, USAF, USN,