Coleman '299' Frankie

Apologies to the purists who may well take offence at my Frankie but i was given a 295 in a shocking state and wasn't sure what to do with it. It had no glass, the tank had begun to rust, the collar was scratched to hell and one of the three globe support springs was missing. Just about the best part was the hood.

As some of you may know, I generally use kero/paraffin fuelled lanterns (cost, availability and safety being the three main reasons - in order of importance) so I swapped out the 295 generator and replaced it with a 639 which fits perfectly. I thought I had a large Coleman globe handy but after searching for ages I remembered I'd used it on a 220 restoration so I fitted a spare 639 globe I bought cheaply a while ago.













I even found a sticker that was left after as previous fettle.

All in all in pretty happy with it. Granted its ended up more 639 than anything else but I think it looks ok.

 

This is the alteration I had to make with the globe support springs...



You can see the redundant homes where the springs were originally located. I considered making a 3rd replacement but i don't have any thin spring steel and i didn't want to buy one, if you even can. Also, buying a replacement globe support seemed a waste and then maybe i should have replaced the collar... and perhaps a new tank... but no, i enjoyed the challenge of making do with what i had.

 

And here it is working. I performed a few tests first just to make sure there were no interesting surprises in store, but she started perfectly!

 

Colin, I think it looks better as a frankie.

 

A fine creation!

 

Well it ran for two hours without a hitch. I did need to use the control knob to operate the pricker, but that probably means the tank needs washing out.

 

I've got the bulge gloves fitted on both of my 295s an I think they look far better than the standard straight ones.

 

Definitely, they add a bit of class!

 

I run both of mine on holts brake cleaner,that's because I dont have a heating oil tank full of kerosene like you do colin but I must say they do run superbly on the brake cleaner.

 

I do like the paint job, has it been clear coated, very shiny.

 

@ColinG

Well done Colin.
With the new paint and the 639 glass this is an excellent looking Frankie.
This creation you have made is running quite well indeed.

Cheers,
Norman

 

I've run out of lacquer so its straight out of the can... but I'm lucky to have an oven so i can apply 3 or 4 coats in an afternoon.

 

Thanks Norman.

 

This is what it looked like when i got it...

 

That looks like it was well used and abused but it just shows what can be achieved .

 

Now it's time to move on to the 275 tank in the left of the photo. That's been earmarked for another little project I have in mind!

 

Top job on your Frankie. She runs well too.
I enjoyed your write up.
Enjoy
Pete
@ColinG

 

I think I looks great, you have made something out of nothing.