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Jul 21st, 2025 | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 28,674 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 28,674 | How about the inertia starter on a Stearman? Crank the handle about 100 revolutions to wind up a spring, then get a big flywheel spinning and engage a clutch to spin the prop. Then there was the shotgun shell start on some of the big radials. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNARZLVEYYEJerry
"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!
| | | | | Joined: Oct 2021 Posts: 5,684 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Oct 2021 Posts: 5,684 |
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1956 Cadillac Sixty Special Fleetwood (The Godfather) | 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado (The Purple Knif) | 1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe | 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
| | | | | Joined: Aug 2018 Posts: 1,003 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Aug 2018 Posts: 1,003 | I had a lawnmower like that
You hand crank up the spring then turn a knob to let it go and hopefully it would start
Fun times
Man I hated mowing the farm lawn
-s | | | | | Joined: Dec 2018 Posts: 2,451 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Dec 2018 Posts: 2,451 | Truckrolet A friend had a 1946 Aronca champ hand crank airplane,we'd chain it to a utility pole,start it,hold the brakes take off the chain,fly !! | | | | | Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 2,715 Carburetion specialist | | Carburetion specialist Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 2,715 | Never cranked a Chevy; but in a different lifetime before I was bitten by the "buy American" bug, I hand-cranked a number of British sports cars, and before that lots of tractors.
The British cars all had electric starters, so it wasn't necessary, but the looks from bystanders were fabulous!
To add to Jerry's comment about cranking only 1/2 turn (or less) and cranking up (ALWAYS), not down; do not wrap your thumb around the crank handle. Hold the crank in your palm, with four fingers, and your thumb should be under the crank, never wrapped around it. I was taught this on cranking tractors 65 years ago. I do not remember anyone that had a bad experience if the engine were cranked correctly.
Jerry - it wasn't Lucas cranks that didn't work in the rain; it was older Plymouths. It was common knowledge in north central Missouri 65 years ago that an older Plymouth wouldn't start if a dog lifted his leg against a tire! Maybe 30 years ago, a Plymouth enthusiast found the mounting of the coil was in a spot where condensation from the hood would drip on the coil terminals, shorting it out. Moving the coil fixed the problem.
Jon
Good carburetion is fuelish hot airThe most expensive carburetor is the wrong one you attempt to modify. If you truly believe "one size fits all," try walking a mile in your spouse's shoes!The Carburetor Shop | | | | | Joined: May 2015 Posts: 9,830 Housekeeping (Moderator) Making a Stovebolt Bed & Paint and Body Shop Forums | | Housekeeping (Moderator) Making a Stovebolt Bed & Paint and Body Shop Forums Joined: May 2015 Posts: 9,830 | What happened to the link to the picture of the handle with the dimensions? It seems to have disappeared. Apparently buoymaker(?) deleted it.  Anyway, HERE is a link to Denny's picture with dimensions.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truckFollow this saga in Project JournalPhotos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together. | | | | | Joined: Jan 2014 Posts: 3,504 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Jan 2014 Posts: 3,504 | Never cranked a Chevy; but in a different lifetime before I was bitten by the "buy American" bug, I hand-cranked a number of British sports cars, and before that lots of tractors.
The British cars all had electric starters, so it wasn't necessary, but the looks from bystanders were fabulous!
To add to Jerry's comment about cranking only 1/2 turn (or less) and cranking up (ALWAYS), not down; do not wrap your thumb around the crank handle. Hold the crank in your palm, with four fingers, and your thumb should be under the crank, never wrapped around it. I was taught this on cranking tractors 65 years ago. I do not remember anyone that had a bad experience if the engine were cranked correctly.
Jerry - it wasn't Lucas cranks that didn't work in the rain; it was older Plymouths. It was common knowledge in north central Missouri 65 years ago that an older Plymouth wouldn't start if a dog lifted his leg against a tire! Maybe 30 years ago, a Plymouth enthusiast found the mounting of the coil was in a spot where condensation from the hood would drip on the coil terminals, shorting it out. Moving the coil fixed the problem.
Jon Did you grow up in north central Missouri, carbking? My hometown is Trenton.
1951 3100
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