It takes optimism to hand crank a 3,468cc engine. Possibly the fact that it is very smooth-running helped. A great car! The Empress has to be the most elegant bodywork design ever.
Indeed, because the coachwork of the Empress was not an in-house Daimler confection , but was coach-built by Hooper, largely in aluminium. It is one of the last Empresses ,by the look of it , so would have been soon superceded by the Maj Maj in late '59 with the 4561 cc Edward Turner V8.This Empress would have been slightly larger than 4600 cc ...but still a straight six.,...larger than the Majestic's 3.8 litre , Yes, the Nipponese can be very foolhardily brave,.... sometimes ...
Anda Salah ! Tidak 1964 ,but 1956-1960. This is an Empress , not a Regency , nor a Majestic , so has the larger straight six engine of 4.6 litres , bigger than the Majestic's 3.8 litres , and slightly larger than the Majestic Major's V8,..4561cc . The last Empress made was in late 1959 or very early 1960,, the coachbuilder was Hooper,not Daimler .
Lovely car! Hand cranking to start a car should be done with care and an understanding of the danger should the engine backfires. The way the operator is holding the cranking handle, it is highly probable he may sustain a severe injury to his wrists should the crankshaft 'kick back' in the opposite direction.
That's interesting but they do have a starter motor. The battery is under the passenger side front seat. This was one of the most expensive cars in the world at the time they were built. I hope no one thinks that this is the actual method of starting the engine. The hand crank is mostly used for tuning or adjusting things. I've owned these cars they really are beautiful and incredibly reliable.
Sadly from 2030 on all the combustion cars including classics will be banned from public streets in EU :-( In Germany the Green party gave order to shorten fuel supply from 2025 on by reducing petrol stations to only one single station per city or county...allmost same story with the USA (califorina banns combustion cars from 2027 on and stops selling fuel and oils...)
yes William Harley I was just going to say that I've never seen anybody hand crank a car like that. The gentleman should have positioned himself to the left and away from the crankshaft. Also the effort should be away from your chest. And even then the engine may catch and surprise you. But , I've never had the need to do this exercise.
