TAKerry Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 I was watching 'Nancy Drew Mystery' on TCM the other evening. I think it was from 1935. The car she was driving looked new, I am assuming a '35 Ford Cabriolet (good looking auto). There was a scene in which the 'starter died', So she grabbed the crank from the rumble seat area and proceeded to crank the motor over. Made me wonder when/what was the last car with a hand crank? I would have thought by 1935 that would have been a thing of the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Bond Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 (edited) The MGA had the hand crank until its production ceased in 1962. Terry Edited June 29, 2022 by Terry Bond (see edit history) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex D. Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 My 46 Willys Jeep can be started with a hand crank. It actually starts fairly easy. Done it many times for kicks and giggles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 5 hours ago, Terry Bond said: The MGA had the hand crank until its production ceased in 1962. Terry Would that crank clockwise or anticlockwise?🧐 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlLaFong Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 My Renault Dauphine had a crank 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Bond Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 1 hour ago, rocketraider said: Would that crank clockwise or anticlockwise?🧐 Nearside or offside? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 I had a 1964 Austin A60 sedan with a hand crank. It was handy for doing tuneups, setting timing, adjusting valves etc. but I never tried to start the engine with it. Even though it was only a 1600cc 4 cylinder. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimKB1MCV Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 66 Sunbeam saloon (OK, its a rebadged Hillman, But...) has a crank. BL engineering at its best. 😁 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brass is Best Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 Ford had a crank hole until 1941. The reason was a lot of older customers would not buy a car without a crank. They had learned to drive crank starting cars. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex D. Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 Has a multi cylinder classic ever been successfully started with a hand crank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipdang Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 My 1958 Citroen 2cv van has a crank hole and crank. I WOULD NOT want to try to start it that way. It would take stamina... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlespetty Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 Not all that hard. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JV Puleo Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 1 hour ago, Alex D. said: Has a multi cylinder classic ever been successfully started with a hand crank? Yes... It isn't hard if you know what you are doing and the car is properly tuned. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Mellor NJ Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 3 hours ago, Brass is Best said: Ford had a crank hole until 1941. The reason was a lot of older customers would not buy a car without a crank. They had learned to drive crank starting cars. The 48-50 Ford trucks still had the crankhole and the 51-52 had a knockout Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 P4 Rover has a hand crank 1949 VW beetle last hand crank 1959 VW Bus last year hand crank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 3 hours ago, zipdang said: My 1958 Citroen 2cv van has a crank hole and crank. I WOULD NOT want to try to start it that way. It would take stamina... My dad and uncle had a hay baler with a hand cranked Wisconsin V-2 engine. You needed a whole lot of stamina to get that thing started. Neither my dad or uncle was much given to swearing but when they were trying to start that Wisconsin the swearing got inventive. They finally rigged up a flat belt pulley to its flywheel and used the PTO on a Super A Farmall to crank it. And they still spent more time trying to crank that ornery thing than they did baling hay. I think it influenced their decision to quit fooling with livestock. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 9 hours ago, rocketraider said: Would that crank clockwise or anticlockwise?🧐 Near side or far side? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 Even by 1922 the manual for Cadillac told you not to attempt to hand crank it and it was only there for maintenance, which I suspect is the case with a lot of the later vehicles as well You'd have to be stronger than me to hand crank it, it requires a lot of effort if you don't release the compression cocks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yachtflame Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 My 1949 Jaguar MK V with 6 cylinders has a hand crank mounted in the tool compartment. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted June 30, 2022 Author Share Posted June 30, 2022 10 hours ago, Alex D. said: Has a multi cylinder classic ever been successfully started with a hand crank? Dad was friends with a local Packard collector. I was around 17 or 18, and we stopped by for a visit. He had a running display motor (no idea of the configuration) and the fellow challenged me to hand crank it and get it running. I couldnt get that thing to budge!! I was not weak, but not Arnold either. Would there have been a compression release? On this motor or others? Interesting answers, I guess after reading through the responses I am not surprised that so many European models continued with them for as long as they did. Ford Pass car into 1941, how about the other big names, Chevy, Chryslers, etc.? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 All I know for certain is I broke my right arm badly while cranking a 1928 Autocar. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ipeeforward Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 (edited) My 1960 Beford CA Van has a hand crank. I have used it when the battery is almost flat, usually starts on the first compression. Still always keep my thumb on the same side as my fingers save any kickback breaking it. Edited June 30, 2022 by ipeeforward (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Bond Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 Using the left hand is recommended. And ALWAYS pull up!!! NEVER push down or try to :spin" the engine. Make sure the spark is fully retarded too. There have been many broken arms and wrists for those who don't Remember this. Ask the Model T guys. Terry 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 17 hours ago, zipdang said: My 1958 Citroen 2cv van has a crank hole and crank. I WOULD NOT want to try to start it that way. It would take stamina... My 1971 Citroen D-21 Station wagons (both of them- My 1964 Citroen 2-CV My 1968 Citroen Ami-6 all were able to start with their (included in tool kit) crank 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 8 hours ago, Terry Bond said: Using the left hand is recommended. And ALWAYS pull up!!! NEVER push down or try to :spin" the engine. Make sure the spark is fully retarded too. There have been many broken arms and wrists for those who don't Remember this. Ask the Model T guys. Terry Apparently, Siegfried Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small didn't get it as he ends up in a pile of manure while hand cranking his Rover. Around 42:18 in the episode A Dogs Life. All Creatures Great And Small S02E13 A Dog's Life - video ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JV Puleo Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 I've never broken anything but I did get hit with the crank once. I was holding it the correct way so all it got me was the most colorful bruise I've ever seen. My right arm that looked like a purple Popeye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akstraw Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 I have read that the Russian LADA automobile had a hand crank feature well into the nineties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 6 hours ago, Akstraw said: I have read that the Russian LADA automobile had a hand crank feature well into the nineties. They've apprarently been restarting some of the production lines for the old soviet era cars because they can't get parts due to sanctions, so I wonder if they'll have the handcrank on them 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akstraw Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 (edited) On 6/29/2022 at 8:47 PM, Alex D. said: Has a multi cylinder classic ever been successfully started with a hand crank? By 1910 almost all vehicles were multi cylinder cars and were started with a crank. The one and two cylinder vehicles were by then were a thing of the past. Cadillac had an electric starter in 1912 and Buick in 1914 for cars. Model T's I believe did not get a starter option until I think 1919. During this time most of the vehicles were 4 cylinder vehicles with the growing number of 6 cylinder vehicles. Vehicles with electric starters began to proliferate in the teens and eventually became standard equipment by the manufacturers to remain competitive in the car business. Edited July 1, 2022 by Larry Schramm (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sftamx1 Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 Going the opposite way, the first car WITHOUT a provision for a hand crank was the 1932 Terraplane. Not sure of the reasoning (high compression maybe?) Soon, buyers must have complained because the factory offered a pull start using a rope and pulley that attached to the square shaft of the starter end! The following year the crank hole reappeared. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 There's an old crank behind the steering wheel of my car. Some say you could get a broken arm or worse if you don't handle it right. 1 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrbartlett Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 Back in the 1960s, my father routinely entered our '29 Packard Super 8 (384.5 cubic inches) into antique car cranking contests vs. Model T's and A's and a few others, and was competitive, though the T's were generally the winners. I also crank started it myself a number of times, but never from cold. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 I saw a video not so long ago where a guy jacked up one front wheel and wrapped a rope around the circumference of the tire and started the engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzBob Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 On 6/29/2022 at 12:28 PM, CarlLaFong said: My Renault Dauphine had a crank X2, My '68 Renault R10 came with a crank as well. 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Bond Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 2 hours ago, JACK M said: I saw a video not so long ago where a guy jacked up one front wheel and wrapped a rope around the circumference of the tire and started the engine. What kind of car was that??? Front wheel drive??? Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Gregush Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 My 48 F2 has one, as did my 58 Morris Minor. The 48 is a bugger to turn over and it's a 6, the Morris I had to use it more than a few times, mostly for show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete O Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 On 6/29/2022 at 8:47 PM, Alex D. said: Has a multi cylinder classic ever been successfully started with a hand crank? I saw a 1907 Ford Model K being started by hand crank once. 405 cid 6 cylinder. Don't know what the compression ratio is, but it can't be much. Still, that's a lot of piston and crank mass to turn by hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcarfudd Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 I've seen a video where a guy's girlfriend cranked a Ford K! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40phil41 Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 On 6/30/2022 at 7:44 AM, TAKerry said: Dad was friends with a local Packard collector. I was around 17 or 18, and we stopped by for a visit. He had a running display motor (no idea of the configuration) and the fellow challenged me to hand crank it and get it running. I couldnt get that thing to budge!! I was not weak, but not Arnold either. Would there have been a compression release? On this motor or others? Interesting answers, I guess after reading through the responses I am not surprised that so many European models continued with them for as long as they did. Ford Pass car into 1941, how about the other big names, Chevy, Chryslers, etc.? Both my 1940 and 1941 Dodge cars have crank holes with snap in covers. I have never seen an actual crank handle for these cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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