Just curious who here, has experience using the hand crank that came with your old truck. I know its not safe or practical but I've always loved them but dont want to mess up my grill in the process
You shouldn't mess up the grill if you use the hand crank. One end is supported in the damper, the other end is thru the support bracket bolted thru the center bumper bolt: http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/122270845
Whomever that is in the video, he's living dangerously. Pushing down on a crank is an open invitation to getting a broken wrist, jaw, or worse if the engine happens to kick back. When I was learning to use a hand crank, my mentors were adamant about pulling UP on the crank, with all my fingers and my thumb wrapped around the same side of the handle so if a kickback happens, the fingers straighten out without injuring anything.
Pull up with a quick 1/2 turn, and if the engine doesn't fire off, do it again. Don't grab the crank handle in a death grip, and definitely don't push it down! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
He's a young man from Wisconsin that started posting some to the bolt about a truck he was doing a great job of restoring. He got so much negative feed back from the forum that I pretty sure he hasn't been back. Our loss, he was a true craftsmen and understood restoration as opposed to hacking a truck apart to make it his own abomination.
We went thru this discussion a few years back Jerry, he later posted a video with him starting it to everyone's satisfaction.
Fact remains, he's the only one with enough hootspa to post a hand start of a Stovebolt.
And if your Stovebolt isn't starting that well Michigan, then you need to do some tune up work on it, they should start first turn over if all is right.
Dont get me wrong if I run it regularly, then it starts up quickly....but if i let it sit for awhile like 2 weeks or so then it takes forever to finally start, is that just bcs it needs to pump more gas up....is your truck like that too? My tuck starts up like your when its already warmed up.
For example, started my truck for the first time in a while and took a bit to get going, ran it good...now this morning I started it cold (1/2 choke & a little throttle) pumped the gas...sputters a bit, two more tries like that turning and pumping the pedal and the third time she lights up....now if i were to shut her off after a good run & turn her back on then she will crank to life like your truck...is this pretty normal, or is a tune necessary? I cant imagine starting it with a hand crank like that bcs it puts the 6v to work
Sound like your float bowl is going dry. That's normal for these trucks if they sit for a few weeks. Should have fuel up to the carb in 5-10 seconds. Choke is usually only necessary when temps are low. A pump or two on the pedal should supply enough fuel to start them right off after sitting over night or a day or two.
I have hand cranked mine a few times over the years, saved me once when the starter decided it wanted a rebuild - NOW - but I wasn't home yet. My truck starts easy, and usually does in a pull or two, however, I find hand cranking it awkward. There are only two positions to put the crank into the front of the engine, and with 6 cylinders, you don't really get to pull up through the compression in a nice upward half turn like your supposed to, at least not on every pull, because the crank handle doesn't always end up there when a cylinder is compressing. My engine is in good shape, and thus has good compression, its a workout especially when your having to pull through either past the 6 o'clock or 12 o'clock handle position, and keep everything held so that if there were to be a kickback your arm and hands stand a chance of deflecting out of the way without bones giving up.
I've cranked some old 4 cylinder tractors and the crank always lines up on the compression starting at 6 o'clock and is through it by 12 o'clock - makes it easy to follow the recommended posture and upward pull.
I do carry the crank handle, but it is only used as an emergency backup.
Jumped in with ya and took the ride Tex. That's one heck of a shifting pattern, what's that give you, 12 speeds forward? And what about the axle, is that a 2 speed, thought I saw you flippin' a switch there a couple of times?? That original 235 sounds really great.
Looks like it rides about like my 3/4 ton, a little rough.
Now, is that a GoPro you're doing the video with? Sound is real clear also. Been looking at adding one of them to the inventory, could be useful in solving suspension or drive line questions.
Back on the crank. I've never had the occasion to use the crank to start my '50, but I do keep it under the seat and use it when doing a tune up. Since I installed the new US Radiator the crank is useless because they bottom tank isn't notched out for clearance like the original radiator was. Just one more screw up to add to the list on a reproduction part. DG
A good machinist/welder could add a few inches of length to the crank and make the modification virtually invisible. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
I too bought a repo hand crank for my '48 1.5ton like 32vid says its too short. I have started the truck a few times using only the hand crank. Like others have said only pull up don't push down.
The axle in my truck is a single speed. The lever you see getting moved periodically is the turn signal. They were added in 1948 by my grandpa when the laws were changing and I guess they hadn't standardized on having them on the left, so they are still on the right of the column. Yes, the 4 and 3 speed transmissions give 12 forward and 3 reverse gears. I have a few posts in the big bolt section with more details. Check the downshifting a 46 2 ton thread for a bit more explanation. The camera is a go pro hero 4 mounted on a homemade magnetic mount just above the seat back. It is ok for close work, but has too much of a fisheye lens for general use.
Cool, thanks. And a great piece of equipment to have in the family for so many years. 69 years in the same family is truly remarkable.
That wide angle lens is one of the things that I'm not to nuts about either. Might be one of the reasons I'm hesitating buying one.
Jerry's right one with the addition of a couple of inches to that crank. Simple cut and weld job, shouldn't take more then 20 or 30 minutes to do the job.
