Morris Minor Owners Club

My car came with two starting handles, the end of one can be used to undo the wheel bolts. Would that be the original one?

The one that can remove your wheel is original specification.

Saying that a lot of people favour the ones with rotating handles, my wheel brace for the Minor has one and I’ve seen starting handle the same. It’s all down to personal preference.

It depends on the age of the car, later ones had the wheel brace starting handle. I would never rely on a wheel brace to tighten wheel nuts and if they are tightened up correctly you should not be able to undo them with a wheel brace

Agree with that - the 'wheel brace' part is useless!

I;ve never even tried using the wheel brace part of the starting handle ... that said I've never acyually sterted my car using the handle either, it only ever comes out for setting the tappetts/points.

I'm not so sure about the 'if they are tightened up correctly you should not be able to undo them with a wheel brace' though ... wheel nuts only need to be tight enough to hold the wheel on, they dont need to be taken to the point of FT*, which is what most garages seem to think they need to be tightened to!

* FT - expletive Tight

I tighten mine with a ratchet and socket. 3/4 A/F on the Series MM, 11/16 A/F on the Traveller. Before anyone says anything, I know they are not the normal sizes.

I regularly use the wheel brace on the starting handle.
The wheels don't fall off and I've never snapped a wheel stud.
It is on there far a reason, not for show.
I'm sure people who bought the car new didn't rush out and buy socket sets to go with them.

Until they got stuck at the roadside with a flat ...........

I always set my air gun back to #1 befoe doing up my wheel nuts!

The air gun should only be used as a nut runner. Wheel nuts should then be tightened with a torque wrench.

Of course! On setting #1 it's not much more than a nut runner!

I use a torque wrench to fit the wheels but I have used the wheel brace in an emergency. Clearly it depends on how much force an individual can apply. I have seen telescopic wheel braces for those who need it.

The starting handle is really useful. I use it for servicing but when my solenoid packed up recently (Not even the button under the bonnet worked), the handle got me going (Started the car from cold too!). Try that in a Passat (I picked on the Passat because of the electric handbrake, that won't release unless the engine is running....so no chance of a push start either ).

the electric handbrake, that won't release unless the engine is running

That's the silliest invention I have heard of for a long time. Sounds like a good candidate for the scrappage scheme!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is it worth mentioning good procedure for starting with the starting handle? -I always keep my thumb on the same side of the handle as my fingers, in case of kick-back.

In a former job, one of my routine tasks was to start up lifeboat engines- they had to be run once a week, just to make sure they'd start if really needed. We had the occasional mishap with people misusing the starting handle; broken thumbs, broken arms... I guess that twin-pot Lister diesels are a bit more mule-like than a Moggy, but Can't Be Too Careful

Good point! I put the handle in just past BDC and pull upwards on it, with my thumb out of the way and just my four fingers around the handle.

I can imagine that trying to start a diesel would be hard work. I'm surprised they didn't have self starters (I know there's the flat battery issue but battery savers should take care of that). My father's last outboard (circa 1972 60hp Johnson) didn't even have a string pull.

One of our customers had a Harley Davidson and opted not to have the electric start. That took some kicking over. Some of the early cars, with big engines, of not many cylinders, could also be hard to start. In the case of one Napier racing car, you had to stand on the handle to shift it a couple of compressions when cold and unless you were 12 stone, it wouldn't move. Having done that (Plus one or two other procedures) however, you could simply switch on the trembler coil and it would just go.

Big diesels should have a decompression lever to allow you to get the handle spinning

As a 'lad' (16) I used to clean and polish a local doctors car, which progressed to minor servicing, checking oils etc
I would frequently start it on the handle to move it about (it was the first car I drove!)
The car was a 1936 Rolls Royce, I can't remember the engine size (quite big) but it was a piece of cake to swing over and fire up!

Yes, there were decompressors on the Listers, but they could still bite...