Home
Posted By: SAcharlie Last hand crank autos? - 04/03/11
Just watched "The Defiant Ones" again.grin
What was the car in the garage started with the hand crank due to a dead battery? Looked like a '30s something Buick. Got me to wonder what were the last years and makes to still have a hand crank feature.
Many years ago I had a 35 Ford PU that had a hand crank. Never used it.
Butch
Posted By: derby_dude Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/03/11
Originally Posted by SAcharlie
Just watched "The Defiant Ones" again.grin
What was the car in the garage started with the hand crank due to a dead battery? Looked like a '30s something Buick. Got me to wonder what were the last years and makes to still have a hand crank feature.


It appears from a Google search that most cars had a self-starter usually electric by 1920.
Posted By: WyoCowboy Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/03/11
my 1940 ford has hand crank as a backup
Posted By: djs Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/03/11
I've had later model cars that could have used a hand crank - then I could have started them!
Posted By: SAcharlie Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/03/11
Originally Posted by derby_dude
Originally Posted by SAcharlie
Just watched "The Defiant Ones" again.grin
What was the car in the garage started with the hand crank due to a dead battery? Looked like a '30s something Buick. Got me to wonder what were the last years and makes to still have a hand crank feature.


It appears from a Google search that most cars had a self-starter usually electric by 1920.


'30s or '40s as a back up feature. Latest so far is Cowboy's '40 Ford.
Posted By: P_Weed Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/03/11
Also, grandpa's 40 ford pickup. I remember one cold blizzard morning in the late 40's he had to crank it to start it.
Posted By: 44henry Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
I've been wanting a 1950s Chevy/GMC pickup for awhile, and the early '50s pickups have a provision for a hand starter. There is a hole under the radiator and a screw looking receptacle on the front of the crankshaft/harmonic balancer. Not sure if the handle was included with every sale or if you had to purchase it extra, but there you go.

I think the practice ended in '54, but it was certainly gone by '55.

44henry
Posted By: Backroads Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
I had a 1987 60 series Landcruiser that you could start with a handcrank. The A/C condenser was in the way, but you could punch through it in a pinch.
The 40 series with the 2f all had a hole in the front valance for the handcrank.
Borrowed a friends old alum body land rover that had a hand crank and a magneto ignition.

That stupid little thing was fun.

Posted By: Steve Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
Originally Posted by Backroads
I had a 1987 60 series Landcruiser that you could start with a handcrank. The A/C condenser was in the way, but you could punch through it in a pinch.
The 40 series with the 2f all had a hole in the front valance for the handcrank.


I was going to say I thought my 62 FJ40 Landcruiser had a hole for a hand crank.
I think I remember a hand crank to go with a 1940 Ford pickup my folks were driving in 1962. But it was not a permanent fixture hanging out the front of the rig.

Tractors are another matter. I was still using a hand crank to start one of these in the late seventies. I think ours was built in 56. [Linked Image]
Originally Posted by Idaho_Shooter
I think I remember a hand crank to go with a 1940 Ford pickup my folks were driving in 1962. But it was not a permanent fixture hanging out the front of the rig.

Tractors are another matter. I was still using a hand crank to start one of these in the late seventies. I think ours was built in 56. [Linked Image]


I've got that same tractor, mine's a 54 but you can't hand crank it no more, hell the 6 volt wont even crank it. You need 12 volt now. I bumped up the compression a lot grin

Posted By: bcolorado Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
61 Renault came with a crank in the emergency kit.

Posted By: WyoCowboy Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
my "40 ford the Jack handle double as the crank never tried to start it that way but i have turned the motor with it
Posted By: joken2 Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
My wife had an old Volkswagen Beetle, early 60's model I believe, that had rope start pulley on the engine.
Posted By: Rock Chuck Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
My '87 Bronco II has an inertia starter...assuming you park at the top of a hill.
Posted By: BC30cal Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
SACharlie;
An friend of the family had a mid '80's Lada Niva and believe it or not, it was equipped with a crank.

Seeing as how completely sketchy the electrical system was, it was needed. frown

Sorry that I can't say when we quit them on North American vehicles.

Thanks for the interesting post and thanks to all who have responded. Have a good week all.

Regards,
Dwayne
Posted By: RickyD Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
Originally Posted by joken2
My wife had an old Volkswagen Beetle, early 60's model I believe, that had rope start pulley on the engine.
I remember those.
Posted By: Birdwatcher Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
In England in the '60's, hand cranks were still a way of life. Both of the cars we had when I was a kid (same models as the ones below) had hand cranks, and I still remember my dad cranking on 'em out front while my mom worked the gas (tho' I'll admit they were both old, even at the time)...

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

Didn't matter, we were about the only people on our street who actually owned a car.

Heck, the first one even had turn signals that flipped out from the side grin

Birdwatcher
My Granddad had an big ole John deer tractor that we always hand cranked .... he laughed as some "youngsters"�came up and offered him $600 for it much later when it was "wore out" .....
Posted By: Seafire Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
I remember those when we lived in England..

for the last 6 months we were there, we had a 53 Humber that had those signals with the little arms that came out between the front and back door..

the old man wrecked our family car 6 months before we were to leave, and his tour was over...

Friend of the family came to visit frequently, who was a tech rep for McDonnell A/C when the base had just gotten the F4 Phantoms... he had a 56 Caddy 4 door... you should have seen the reaction of the neighborhood Limeys when he had that there...

I don't think there was a person in the neighborhood that didn't want a ride in that car.... when the trunk was open and the hood up, their jaws just hit the ground... "gor Blimey" was about all they could say..
Posted By: FVA Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
Originally Posted by bcolorado
61 Renault came with a crank in the emergency kit.



My cousin's first car was a early 70's Renault with a hand crank.
Posted By: FVA Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
Originally Posted by Idaho_Shooter
I think I remember a hand crank to go with a 1940 Ford pickup my folks were driving in 1962. But it was not a permanent fixture hanging out the front of the rig.

Tractors are another matter. I was still using a hand crank to start one of these in the late seventies. I think ours was built in 56. [Linked Image]


That picture brings back the memories. Growing up on the farm we had a WD 45 that was only used in the fall for being hooked up to the silo blower, to blow the chopped corn up the silo.

It sat in the back corner of the shed the rest of the year.

Every year just before harvest started, usually late August/Sept., a afternoon chore was to get it started for the first time. Usually it was a bit of a chore as the battery was dead, often the carburetor needed attention.

One year my my Dad had a particulary tough time but got it going and was pretty proud. I was 13 or 14. Getting home from school I decided to take my friend on "a rip".
From the farm we had a woods road that went downhill through a big woods to a fork that went three ways. Coming back towards the farm from any of those three ways it really wasn't the easiest turn to go anyways but up towards the farm.

I went flying down the fork on the right, turned around at the end and came flying back up the in high gear. When I came to the fork I tried to make the the R turn to the road going opposite rather than back up to the farm. This caused the R front tire to hit a depression between the roads, pop up a pretty fair wheely, and the right front tire to end up off the right side of the road which was sloped down,woods, and overgrown with grape vines-still flying along in high gear with my friend sitting and hanging on the fender.

No problem. Just turn out of it and use the brake to pull the front end back on the road. Well, there was a stump covered by the grapevines I couldn't see.
Next thing I know everything was quiet and I'm still on the tractor sideways in the woods with the rear axle hooked on that stump.

My friend somehow managed to hang on the fender and is still there white faced with his mouth hung open. The front end laying on the road behind me along with some pieces. The new battery my Dad put in laying down the road a bit with both posts busted out.
That was not a good walk home or a pleasant conversation.
My Dad was PO'd but kept together pretty well considering.
He actually got it fixed while I was in school the next day as he knew of a parts tractor.
I see that friend once every 4 or 5 years but it always comes up pretty quick.
Posted By: Naphtali Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
Originally Posted by SAcharlie
Just watched "The Defiant Ones" again.grin
What was the car in the garage started with the hand crank due to a dead battery? Looked like a '30s something Buick. Got me to wonder what were the last years and makes to still have a hand crank feature.
Volkswagen beetles had provision to hand crank into the 1950s. Beyond that time, you could still hand crank them - but you had to create a hole in the engine cover then alter a long-stemmed wrench that would fit the crank shaft nut.

I think I remember that crank starts were possible until VW changed from a magneto to ???

Hope this helps.
Posted By: SonnyO Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
I too had a Renault in the late sixties. It had a hand crank that I used numerous times due to a bad starter.
Posted By: tex_n_cal Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
When the topic came up, Dad warned me that if I ever tried to crank start an old beast, to make sure I was pulling UP on the handle. That way if it backfired, it would only jerk the handle out of your hand, and not break your arm!

He took apart the family car when he was about 12, and it worked well when he got it reassembled, so I reckon he knew what he was doing!
Posted By: jpb Re: Last hand crank autos? - 04/04/11
Originally Posted by northern_dave
Borrowed a friends old alum body land rover that had a hand crank and a magneto ignition.

That stupid little thing was fun.

That takes me back! For a job I had in the '80s I drove a '62 Landrover and it had a crank.

I needed the crank too -- the vehicle still had the original "Lucas -- Prince of Darkness" electrical system that the Brits are so famous for.

Say, perhaps I should include some Lucas jokes here:

� The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark."
� Lucas is the patent holder for the short circuit.
� Lucas - Inventor of the first intermittent wiper.
� Lucas - Inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.
� The three position Lucas switch - Dim, Flicker and Off.
� The Original Anti-Theft Device - Lucas Electrics.
� If Lucas made guns, wars would not start.
� Back in the 70's, Lucas decided to diversify its product line and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners. It was the only product they offered which did not suck.

Thread highjack over...

John
© 24hourcampfire