History Last hand crank

When and what was the last vehicle the "factory" produced, US and foreign, that had provisions for a hand crank starting system?

My feeble 5 remaining 'brane sells' keeps picturing the '41 to 46 Chevy trucks, with a 'crank hole' in the grille and inner splash apron. The OM motors also had a "slot" on the end of the crankshaft pulley to insert the hand crank.

Anything newer than 1946 had a hand crank staring system?

 

I did a bunch of sheetmetal work (omg a BUNCH, in fact I almost built a new one from scratch) on a 58 MGA and it has a crank start. Handle stores in the trunk for when you don't need it.

 

Some air cooled VW powered equipment still had the hand crank into the 60's, but I don't know when VW quit putting them on their cars/trucks/busses.

 

My 72 Citroen DS has a crank hole. The last DS was built in 75.

 

A lot of car makers had crank handles up unto the 60s, and French Citroens 2CV had em until end of production in 1990.

At least that's Wikipedia's version of events.

 

I had a 1962 Austin A60 sedan with a crank. I used it too, on some cold winter days, until I found out the previous owner filled the crankcase with 30wt oil.

They continued making the model until 1969 so unless they dispensed with the crank, that is probably the last car made with one, outside the Soviet Union.

 

Renault Dauphines had a crank

 

My uncles Lada(Russian Fiat?) in the 80's had provisiion for hand crank.

 

So, the 'furrin' vehicles had provisions for a hand crank clear up in the '80's? Wow!
Wonder what the last American made vehicle was, that could be started with a hand crank?

 

I had a 1962 MGA in the ea5rly 70's (Still love that model) that had a factory hand crank and on numerous occasions I would start that sucker with the crank which amazed those who watched.
The key was to have the car well warmed up and even I a 140 lb string bean could do it.
From cold....no way.

 

what the hell does your screen name mean?

 

Willys jeeps in the 50's had crank hole. 49 International KB trucks also.

 

They actually had a pull rope and it was an add on not factory.

Morgan had a hand crank on the 4 cylinder models in the '50s (4 wheel models). My '59 Rilley when I was a kid had a crank hole, but no hand crank or hand crank hardware on the engine, so I have to guess that it was an option. Symcas had them pretty last as well.

As side note Isetta was powered by a motor cycle engine (BMW) but I don't recall ever seeing one with a kicker.

 

The cranks on later model French cars and fat fendered Fords were not intended to be used in place of the starter so much as to "unstick" the engine in very cold weather. The idea being to turn the engine over until it could be spun by the starter without discharging the battery too much.. Remember reading that in French vehicle owner's manuals (Citroen DS, Peugeot, etc.).

 

Toyota Land Cruisers up till 1980 had the nut on the crank and the hole in the grill (so I hear, never noticed it in the wild)

 

lucas that makes very good sense.
I have a friend that owned a model A with an electric start and a crank. If he left it parked for more then a week or so (which was common) his starter would not turn it until he rotated it a couple of times with the crank. I am not sure if that was the original intended use for the ford but that was what it took to get him up on the trailer or to the parade.

This thread reminds me of something that I haven't thought about in a long time. When I was young people with electric start bikes were sissies. (Not really it was just a stigma) My old bike is electric and kick start, one of the last models to come this way. When my bike was new we used to say that they came this way so that you could start it with the electric starter when it was cold and no one was around and then when you got out with the fellas and it was warmed up you could kick it to be cool.

 

I had a '57 MG Magnette with a crank. It was real handy to have in a Minnesota winter, especially if you had a burly friend. Domestic vehicle? I have a 1948 Seagrave open cab pumper with a 468 CI Pierce Arrow sourced V12 that has a hand crank. It really starts quite easily with all of those cylinders and dual coil, dual point ignition system. Won a lot of bets at cars shows a few years back on whether it could be started with just the crank.

 

my morris minor van had 1.60 something

 

"ask, and ye shall receive" This is rather long, so I'll try and do the "Reader's Digest" version.
When I was a kid, I received one of those fancy JC Higgins bicycles for Christmas.
Had the big "Nooze Boy" (not sure of the brand name spelling) front basket, plus the saddle baskets in the back.
Now this was in the mid '50's so the "road rage, idiot drivers, drive by shootings, etc" wasn't invented yet.
I would ride the rural road ways picking up discarded pop bottles, and sell 'em for three cents each.
When I got a dollar, I would ride my bike 10 miles to the nice big public swimming pool in Sistersville WV, or to New Martinsville WV. It was a TREAT to be able to spend the whole afternoon in a public pool instead of swimming in Middle Island Creek where Farmer Chew Tobaccy's cows were shitting/pissing in the same creek up around the bend somewhere. Or getting a foot cut of some discarded piece of metal or glass.
Well, that 'free money' so to speak, has kept with me most of my life. I would 'root' in the dumpsters, car shows, (Carlisle shows, it took a week end to completely fill the back of a 8' fiberglass camper topped PU bed, and only one day to fill the same PU at National Trail. MoPar Nats) wherever people gathered, for 'loom-num' (Appalachia pronunciation for 'aluminum.') cans, copper, brass, batterys, Anything that could be sold for scrap/re-cycling.
The only (honest) place I sold to, got caught dumping battery acid in the stream out back of his place and got shut down.
Every other (local) re-cyclers would cheat you in some way. Scales would be off, subtract a pound or more for a garbage bag that weighed only 1 oz, or any of the other dozens of ways they made "your" load light.
Most famous, was a gizzled, crotchety junk dealer that advertised, state of the art digital scales, that were calibrated PUBLICALLY on a daily basis! He did a HUGE business. Didn't charge, subtract, for garbage bags or cardboard boxes one bought their cans to him in. You carried whatever material your container was made of over to that pile and throwed it in.
It took about decade or more to find out how he as cheating people big time! He ALWAYS was chewing on some big, fat, short cigar. I think they buried him with that cigar too. Well, when he would bend over to read the digital screen, he would pace that cigar on top of the scale housing, remove the print out, and "proudly exclaim" showing everyone how the printed read out and screen matched!
What someone found out, was. Depending on where he placed that cigar on top of the scale housing caused the scale to 'read light' from 1 pound to a 1000 pounds!
So for around 8 years there I collected, and mashed cans, etc, but never sold.
I had slowly taken over my wife's 24'X24' building. Got the usual "me or your junk" routine,,,,,. Did several PERCISELY 10 pound test bags (on WVU scales set to "tenths of ounces") went around to all the "buyers" found out who (only 1) said, I had exactly 10 pounds of cans.
Went back to him with detailed pictures of my "hord" and asked how much over the going price would he give me.
Now let me explain something to you guys, who might be "scrap dealer/buyers" ANY and ALL brass, copper, aluminum shavings was dumped out on a large sheet of wax paper and carefully gone through with a strong magnet. Each piece of aluminum, copper, brass item was carefully gone over with a magnet to remove ANY steel that shouldn't be there. In other words my huge pile was "clean"! I also had within 5-10 pounds of what each barrel/container weighed, and what that container weighed empty!
In spring of '97 I cashed in TWO and a QUARTER TONS of mashed aluminum cans! That was roughly 108,000 indivudial cans! Average back then, was 24 cans made a pound. Took 27 Silver Bullet cans to make a pound. 22 Bud/Pepsi cans to make a pound.
I had $10,400 in my pocket from all that junk.
The "alumcan TandT hd" is also my email addy "@aol.com"
The "alumcan" is from me gathering up, sorting, mashing those cans.
The "TandT" stands for Titties and Tailfins. (The Virgil Exner styled MoPars. The Tailfin years '55-'61)
The "hd" is what I bought with all that junk. A Harley-Davidson! Ironic about that bike. It cost $10,500 new in 1990. I paid $10,500 for it in '97, and I could have sold it (but didn't)for $10,500 in '05.
So,,,,,,. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

As for American cars my 1947 Chevrolet coupe has a crank snout with two tapered slots in it and holes in the sheet metal in front of it to slide the hand starting crank bar in through. Chevs of the 40's sells a repro crank https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detai...k_For_Engine_Manual_Start_Hardened_Steel.html
they list it as fitting through 1947 only.

 

Damn, Larry, are you sorry you axed em?

 

Zzzz...what!?...huh?

 

Ford trucks up to 52 have a provision for a hand crank.

 

my 1965 Datsun Pickup had a hand crank. they came with a 1200 cc motor I believe was from an MG or something

 

I owned a 74 land cruiser and mine was equipped with a provision for a hand crank. HRP

 

I'm sure glad he did, one of the best HAMB ID's stories I've ever read. Bob

 

Rumour I heard is that Rolls Royce had a provosion for a hand crank into the 80's.

If you tried starting an engine using the hex nut on the end of the crank, you would end up snapping your wrist, and you wouldnt be able to remove the handle fast enough = big mess. Be a sissy and hit the electric starter!

 

My grandfathers 48 Chevrolet one ton had a hand crank with it and an opening in the grill and a setup on the damper to turn it. I sure wouldn't want to hand crank it though.

 

I think the cranks were there to help time the engine not start it after the era of the Model T Ford. Bob

 

Still attached to a 1956 Dodge medium duty truck short block. American iron for sure. VT346-1591