*** Answering a msg posted in area MEMORIES (MEMORIES).


Mark Hofmann wrote to Bob Breed:


 BB>>  Chrome plated button, maybe 3/8th of an inch in diameter.  Mounted
 BB>> under the dash, driver side.  I think they started that with the
 BB>> 1940 models, and not sure when they dropped it.
 BB>>
 BB>> Inet probably has the story?

 MH> I saw some pictures of the push button start from the late 40s/early
 MH> 50s.

Last early 50s Ford I had was a 51 and it no longer had the push button
starter switch. The ignition switch was keyed and it worked like GM cars,
except that the Ford keys were inserted upside down (tumblers up locks).

 MH> I assume they stopped using them for security reasons, but not sure.

If you note the steering wheel lock mechanism on the right hand side of
the steering column at the dash, it has a key and an ignition on/off
switch. The car couldn't be driven when locked, except in a straight line
or a circle, depending on the wheel position. Most Ford owners disabled
the lock by unlocking the column and breaking off the key (the lock and
switch worked independently of each other). Thus, the car could easily be
started with a flip of the on/off switch and a push of the starter button.
Everybody knew this and still Ford cars were hardly ever stolen. Clyde
Barrow probably knew this feature and was the reason why he preferred to
drive Henry's best. This system wasn't in the Model A Fords, but it did
appear within a year or two after the new Model Bs debuted - c1932.


         R\%/itt


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