I recall reading about, and seeing photos of, an original accessory starter on this Forum. Do these still come up for sale? Do they work? Seems like it would be a neat and useful addition to a non-starter car. Any comments or info out there?
Joe - Jack Putnam has an original accessory starter on his '14 Touring. He restored it and the starter works perfectly. He had it at the Old Car Festival at The Henry Ford a couple of years ago and demonstrated it many times for just about any one who expressed an interest.
Jack is a frequent contributor on this Forum and perhaps he will add to this.
Keith
Joe, the pull starter or electric?
Joe: There were many after market makers of accessory starter system. Westinghouse, Gray-Davis, Bendix, Heinze are a few that come to mind. I have a Hienze-Springfield, made in Springfield, Ohio. (later moved to Detroit) It is a starter/dynamo system. All of these systems are a touch on the experimential/crude side and are not like an automotive starter in use today. My starter system was built in 1913(?). The automobile itself was only a few years old then. Do the systems work, Yes. Do they spin the engine, No. Your engine must be in good order as these starters turn the crank at about hand cranking speed. I have only seen/heard of 3 of the Heinze starters in 20 years. These systems are not common as starter equipped cars put them out of business by the late teens. BTW I hope to bring the 1914 Hienze equipped touring to the OCF in 2013.
Jack, I had an original paper for that unit a few years ago. I may still be able to find it.
I found it! Here is the cover page.
Here is a link to a previous thread on the Heinze Starters.
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/118802/165624.html
Regards
Art
Thanks for the info and link, Gents. Joe
Jack, What's your ball park guess on how much weight the Heinze unit setup adds to the car?
Here's 2 from Clymer's book Wonderful Model T.
Jay: I would guess the weight to be about 30-35 pounds. It is heavy, but manageable. It can be separated into two major parts for assembly. JP