Hello, I'm writing a novel that is a blend of family stories and invention on my part. I want to have my main character drive a hand-crank car and I'd like to merge it with things I do know about my family, which is namely that an uncle used to sell Star cars here in Mobile, AL and that we used to have one. So, I see that a 1923 model had one, but did any of the later ones have a hand-crank?

Thank you!

Where Are You From? Mobile, AL

Do You own a car built by Durant? no

Hi Angela.....

Actually all the Star cars had a hand crank. But unlike other cars of the era, the Star ALWAYS came with an electric starter.

So the only time you had to hand crank a Star was when the battery was dead.

Good luck with the novel.......

Frank ---

Where Are You From? Hookstown, Pennsylvania

Do You own a car built by Durant? 16 Durant & Star cars & a Durant Dort buggy (one horse power)

Thanks Frank!!

Do you think for the purposes of the novel, which takes place in 1940, that it could be a reasonable scenario that a family member had fixed up their old 1928 Star but couldn't get the electric starter repaired/fixed and so they had to resort to use the hand-crank to use it?

Where Are You From? Mobile, AL

Do You own a car built by Durant? no

Sure that sounds like a possibility. A starter was an expensive item and the Star was not a difficult car to start with a hand crank.

Where I live we just parked on a hill and drifted the car down hill and popped the clutch. Worked most of the time......

You might want to change the date of the Star. The Last Star was made in 1927.

Let me know when your novel is available, would love to read it!

Frank ---

Where Are You From? Hookstown, Pennsylvania

Do You own a car built by Durant? 16 Durant & Star cars & a Durant Dort buggy (one horse power)

Thanks Frank!! I definitely will let you know if it gets published! And will mention you in the credits :-)

Where Are You From? Mobile, AL

Do You own a car built by Durant? no

My aunt just told me that our old Star would sometimes stall and that you'd have to get out of the car and hit a black box with your shoe to make it start. The car's name was Mephistopheles (our family always names its cars) and was called Meffie for short...

Where Are You From? Mobile, AL

Do You own a car built by Durant? no

Hi Angela, There are not a lot of black boxes under the hood of a STAR. I will take a guess and suggest that Mephie may have benefited from a few raps from a shoe right on the fuel pump. It is located on the firewall,directly in front of the driver and it is black.

Where Are You From? Prescott,Arizona

Do You own a car built by Durant? 1925 Star touring

awesome, thanks Rusty!

Where Are You From? Mobile, AL

Do You own a car built by Durant? no

Hi Angela
Good luck with your book. What information do you have on your families Star Dealership. Do you have the name and location. Is the building still standing? We in the Durant club like to keep track of these things.

Where Are You From? Oviedo (near Orlando) Florida

Do You own a car built by Durant? 1928 Durant Model 65 4 dr

Hi Angela.....

My wife Cathy also names our cars. Here is a picture of our 1927 Star 4 dr sedan "Gracie" Named after one of the caracters in the Canadian TV series "Wind At My Back" in which our car appeared.

The other picture is an under hood view. The round black canister on the drivers side is the vacuum fuel pump.

Enjoy.....Frank ---

Where Are You From? Hookstown, Pennsylvania

Do You own a car built by Durant? 16 Durant & Star cars and a Durant-Dort buggy (one horse power)

Didn't they make the Star until 1928??

Dave

The last of the true Stars was 1927, then for a few months in 1928 they made the Durant~Star. Then dropped the Star badge :-(

Where Are You From? Fremont, California USA

Do You own a car built by Durant? 1929 Model 60 Sport Roadster

Star sales literature for 28 shows brochures for both the "Star" and the "Durant-Star". Possibly started as the "Star then morphed into the "Durant-Star" later into the production.

Dave

From something I read several years ago, the company was trying to decide if they should drop the Durant or Star line altogether. From what I remember they had decided to drop the Durant and keep the Star and compete with the Ford Model A. But then they changed their corporate mind and dropped the Star. I’ve wondered if by introducing the Durant-Star, they weren’t just buying time until they made a decision one way or the other. I have photographs taken in 1928 of the Durant Star and all of them had the same sheet metal as the Durant. The hub caps and radiator badges were the only things different from a Durant. I can not say if any of them had a six.

Interestingly, the hubcaps and radiator badges said "Star" not "Durant-Star"

Dave

My pics show Star on the hubcaps and the more I think about it I wonder if their marketing department meant to add value to the Star brand by placing the word Durant in front of Star for marketing purposes, like Ford Mustang or Chevrolet Silverado. Maybe whatever I read was just plain wrong or confused, my vote is for confused. I have a picture of a 1928 roadster that was taken by either the factory or a local dealer. The windshield has the words Durant Star on it and the Hubcaps have just a D on them. I have two more pictures of 1928 Stars with the word Star on their hubcaps.

So why would a Durant have Star on its windshield?

Oh well, I guess it safer to say that the first part of the 1928 model year was the last for the Star line. Maybe 1928 was the rebirth of the Durant line, after all has anyone ever seen a 1927 Durant?


Sorry Angela for getting off track here.

The fuel "pump" is actually a vaccum tank with floats and valves. It is conceivable that it could get gunked up with crude from the gas tank or even rust and then one of these get stuck. If so, the car would soon run out of gas. Pounding on it might loosen things up so the car could start.

It's a little high to kick but one could easily bang on it with a fist.

Where Are You From? San Francisco, CA

Do You own a car built by Durant? 1925 Star

Mike, asked my great aunt about the autodealership, and all she can remember was that it was in downtown Mobile, and it was her uncle Rex Rapier who sold cars there. She said it was a high end car dealership that sold different kinds of cars, including the Star...

Where Are You From? Mobile, AL

Do You own a car built by Durant? no

Angela
Maybe when your downtown you can check out the library while doing research for your book. The probably have old city directories from that time period that might hold some advertising from your Great Uncle's business and the address. Last time I was in Mobile a lot of the old buildings were still standing. Might still be there.

Where Are You From? Oviedo (near Orlando) Florida

Do You own a car built by Durant? 1928 Durant Model 65 4 dr