The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Hand crank for an AD

The grill on my 53 half-ton has a nice little opening for a handcrank. The end of the crankshaft has a fitting to accept a handcrank. I have seen handcranks for sale, so I know they were available. What I can't figure out is how the handcrank can work when the bottom of the radiator sits most stubbornly between the grill opening and the end of the crank. Are these fittings leftover from an earlier model on which the radiatior was mounted higher? Is the handcrank meant to be used only in the shop when the radiator is removed?
Not that I would wish to handcrank a 216, but why the sort of half-option?

I can still remember when the 53 models were in the show room. I never remember seeing anything automotive of that vintage being cranked. Stationary engines were still hand cranked, but they had magnetos. I have never heard a credible reason for the opening in front and a front pulley that would accept a crank and then having the radiator in the way.

I don't know the last year it was actually possible to hand crank a Chevy truck with the radiator in place; 1950 maybe. I know my 50 3600 with the original... everything has a notch in the bottom center of the radiator for crank clearance. Here's a good discussion from awhile back with a link to Denny's pictures of the crank and bracket. Like you I suppose the grille and HB/pulley are carryovers.
If you ever visit youtube there are a few vidoes of hand cranking 216's. In fact there are lots of 216 Chevy stuff on there.

here's the videos one of our stovebolters put up

Bill

My 51 has a hand crank that the PO used routinely. Though I've never had the opportunity to try; he says it was really quite easy.

On my '53, the fan is in the way of the crank.

Hey 1953, just the fan, not the rad?

My 52-3100 can be hand cranked I built a end that fits the front of the harmonic balancer out of a 1/2 inch socket than I put a 12 inch extention and a rachet on it I use it when I adjust the points or the valves makes it easy to turn the engine over so I can get it right where I need to also now in the winter I'll turn the engine over 1/2 a turn once every couple of weeks.

Pete

1952 is the last year of the engine hand crank.The 1953 hand some of the parts used on them until they were used up.I'm not 100% on this but from my 25 years experience this is what I've seen.

My rad is not in the way, but I have a 261 engine instead of the correct 235. I think the water pump is in a different position so the fan is slightly lower.

If your 1947-53 truck has the harmonic balancer that has the fittings on the front for the crank-rod, you should be able to hand crank it. Some 1953 models and all 1954 and later models had a flat "face" on the front of the harmonic balancer and the crank would not work. Also, the 1954 and later grills would not allow the crank-rod to reach the balancer, even if an older-style balancer was/is used.

There is no way a crank-rod can be inserted into the harmonic balancer of my '53 without drilling a hole through the radiator. I did change the radiator a few years back, but the old one was about the same size and was mounted the same. I would tend to believe 53 panel, and accept that 52 was the last year hand-cranking was possible.

Jim Carter shows the hand crank as being usable from 32-52 trucks.

Even if some 1953 trucks came with the old style harmonic balancer, something else must have changed that year. If anyone has used a hand crank on a 47-52 truck, how did the crank get through the radiator (was there a hump/opening in the base of the radiator prior to 1953)?

Here we go again, can’t really go by what the books say can we. My ‘54 cooling system is the original one. The numbers match, the year, it’s a 54C R-11 Harrison with the right part number. The original owner who bought it new in ‘54 was over last Monday to look at the truck and we talked about what was done to the truck over the years. So I’m 100% sure that the original radiator in the picture is the one that came in the truck in the spring of 1954, the new one is from US Radiator: http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/131160297/large
Even though the grill was not punched out for a hand crank and the balancer does not have a dog for the crank, the radiator lower tank was still indented for crank clearance in ’54. Harrison must have needed to use up the surplus lower tanks.
All of the earlier AD’s (pre 1954) that I’ve seen with the correct factory installed radiators have had the radiators with the indented lower tanks.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL