As Michal Velebny, the Restoration Workshops Coordinator at the Skoda Museum, explains in this video, starting a car is like the machine comes to life. Then he proceeds to take us on a history of the car starter, illustrating its evolution with a series of vintage cars in the museum's collection.
The process for starting a 1905 Laurin & Klement Voiturette was complex involving five steps before turning the crank. It included opening the brass petrol tap, moving the electric spark plug advance lever to start, adjusting the hand throttle, turning a key to switch on the electric circuit, and checking that the gear level was in neutral. Only then could you turn the crank, which required strength and a feel for the compression cycle of the engine.
