*** 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   
      
      
   --- GoldED+/W32 1.1.5-31012   
    * Origin: Texas Lone-Star - Texan, American, USAian  (1:387/22)