two man job

Pa Joe

Pa Joe

Senior Member
At the risk of asking what might be a really dumb question, I just gotta ask. If I had to start my tudor with the crank, how would I pull the choke rod while I'm out front cranking the motor ? Cold engine. The only thing I can think of is to set the mixture to real rich then crank. Or rigg something up to pull the choke on.
 
Hi, in the old day's people hooked a steel wire to the the lower choke arm and routed the wire through the radiator and some had even a nice copper ring on . Make sure if you follow this route that the choke rod moves freely up and down.
 
Same set-up as the Model T had.

I just did this about a month ago, on my '28, after getting a hand-crank.

You will need to make sure your carb has the choke-lever that has the lower leg with a hole at the end...

I took a wire coat hanger ( the chintzy white kind ), straightented it out, made a loop around a broom handle, with a couple wraps around the "standing end" of the wire, then threaded the free end in under the passenger-side radiator mounting ear, inside the bolt ( don't have the front splash apron installed), then figured-out how much I needed to loop through the hole in the choke lever; since it only has to work on the "pull", I did a simple turn-back of about 3/4 inch.

Works well; the only issue I've had lately is the choker rod is sticky in the rubber bushing, and won't release under spring pressure.

Usually, I turn-on the gas, open the GAV 1 full turn, leave the ignition off, open the hand throttle until I see the foot-feed move, then one more notch, then go 'round front, pull the wire, and crank it until I hear the carb "slurp"... then I go back, push the choke in, make sure the spark is retarded, turn on the ignition, and go back and crank... it usually fires on the first or second pull.

I may re-do mine with a heavier coat-hanger, so that I can "push" the choke open from out front.
 
I open the right side of the hood, then I hold the choke closed with my left hand while I pull up on the crank with my right hand. It'll start on the first or second pull.

If you want to run a wire to the choke, a piece of thin brazing rod would be good.
 
I use this wire, have had it under the seat for at least 25 years, found it in the road in a time of need (weak old battery).
 

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On his web site, Marco, has a rather complete description of how to start a Model A safely using the hand crank.
 
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This brass wire from the model T section of catalogs, connects onto the choke arm of the carb and sticks out the core of the radiator so you can choke the carb while cranking over the motor.
 
Just scanned the postings and no one has mentioned to make sure the A is out of gear in neutral because when it starts it will run over you, not a good scene
Have a Great Day Gord. B by the bay
 
I have come to the beleve that hand cranking is for the birsd im probbly doing something wrong but every time i go to crank it i pull my back out.
 
Gord. B by the bay said:
Just scanned the postings and no one has mentioned to make sure the A is out of gear in neutral because when it starts it will run over you, not a good scene
Have a Great Day Gord. B by the bay
Click to expand...

Yep. Someone in the local club was "run over" by his A (which he was standing in front of) when someone shorted the starter while working under the hood with the car in gear. Crushed pelvis and a trip to the hospital :eek:

As much as I love my A over a modern car, there are things to be said for ignition lock-outs and other safety features. Hand cranking is one of those "Use extreme caution: injury or death may occur" things where you want to be very careful.
 
I'm with you on this hand cranking stuff.I was the youngest guy at the JD dealer years ago,when a stem wind tractor had to be started they would make me do it.I have a knot in my right arm from it. I thought nothing of it at the time,as I had grown up lots of things with my arms.Carried cement blocks to my dad on block jobs,broke down truck tires at a tire place,was called kingpin boy at a garage I worked in,pounded on bulldozer tracks,drill equipment,I was 130 pounds of two arms.Now,30+years later from my right hand to my left hand I am a bunch of knots,knobs,spurs,twisted cartilage and gristle with arthritis.Now when I crank an A to time it I pull the plugs out first.I was just too little then to do what I did,but my arms seemed strong as a horse and I never thought twice about it.
 
Years ago as a 12 yr old I attempted to hand start a Model A, a Farmall Model A that is, and ended up shattering both wrist bones..That hurt for a while.. A couple years ago I again attempted to hand start a Model A parked on Main St due to a failed/ open battery, a Ford this time.. I slipped on the wet pavement and broke my nose on the radiator shell.. The broken nose actually ended up being an improvement,but, that hurt for awhile..As a result, I no longer try to hand start anything..I'm not crazy about hand starting a lawnmower any more.. I think I'd rather just give the old thing a push and jump in, but, I'd probably slip and it would run over me and 3 other people trying to walk across the street.. I think from now on I'll wait for a set of cables and a jumper battery to come to the rescue..
 
Gee I guess there is a knack to it. I just use the same common sense as when I use the starter. Apply parking brake, shift to neutral, retard spark, then get out, insert crank, keep thumb out of the way, and keep my hand on the "outside" of the circle of rotation.
I grew up around crank-start equipment and guess I am used to it. Kids grunt and groan trying to lift the crank up and I just wander over and give it a tug up and away we go. By kids I mean high school football players. Its a different generation now....

Bill
 
A lot of people seem to think they have to spin the engine over like an electric starter.If I try to explain to them you are only trying to lift one piston at a time they look at me like I have two heads.Those guys I give up on and let them spin away.Same thing with two cyl.John Deere flywheel start tractors.After watching somebody spinning that flywheel until they drop it is kind of fun to walk over and start it right up.At that point though they are usually flooded,so you pull the plugs,burn of the gas on them with a match,hold the match to the plug holes and watch the flames whoosh out,put them back in,then start it with a quarter turn of the flywheel.I will never try to crank a Fordson tractor again,it is not the compression,it is the mass of iron that has to be turned over.I used to use both hands to crank one of them.
 
Patrick L. said:
Years ago as a 12 yr old I attempted to hand start a Model A, a Farmall Model A that is, and ended up shattering both wrist bones..That hurt for a while.. A couple years ago I again attempted to hand start a Model A parked on Main St due to a failed/ open battery, a Ford this time.. I slipped on the wet pavement and broke my nose on the radiator shell.. The broken nose actually ended up being an improvement,but, that hurt for awhile..As a result, I no longer try to hand start anything..I'm not crazy about hand starting a lawnmower any more.. I think I'd rather just give the old thing a push and jump in, but, I'd probably slip and it would run over me and 3 other people trying to walk across the street.. I think from now on I'll wait for a set of cables and a jumper battery to come to the rescue..
Click to expand...

I had a starter-less Farmall A too... it could be nasty.

The crank sat high for a 12 year-old...

Our Ford 9N was a little easier for me at the time; the crank was closer to the ground. The starter went south about two years after we got the machine, and my father wasn't interested in fixing it.

Hand-starting the Model A reminds me a lot of the 9N, except havi8ng to make sure I retard the spark first !
 
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