Jack: The hand crank on this truck is fixed in radiator support bracket. The khaki paint is quite solid on it, indicating it was there during service. The photos I see of the 1912 Cadillacs do not show the handcrank being there. Was the handcrank an option or perhaps a retrofit?
I have always found the older starting systems to be marginal at best, and could certainly understand the military maintaining the tried and true (and dangerous) hand crank.
Had a closer look at the starter, and the casting has been broken off that would have held the pinion gear and shaft. A pulley was installed on the shaft, which would make one think the generator/starter had been converted to a straight belt driven generator on some other application.
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