Cheers CaptainSlog.
It’s not as radical as it might sound… On most starter motors there is an electric solenoid. When you turn the key / push the button, the power fed to the solenoid pushes the starter gear out, so it meshes with the flywheel, and also connects the high power contacts inside the starter and feeds power to the motor.
On the 500, Fiat decided to forgo the solenoid, and instead fitted a lever to the side of the starter with a cable that reached into the cabin. So when you pull the lever that moves the gear into mesh and connects the contacts.
This meant I could pull the lever while in the engine bay to start the car.
The cable + lever was simply cheaper than a solenoid! I think the same system was used on some other old engines.
The 500 is full of interesting little engineering solutions to make it cheaper.
I always smile at this with a memory, I was temporarily dailying my wife's 126 which had the same system that used to frequently break the plastic securing tabs for the cable,
One day, outside a bank, it went, at the time my employment required me to carry a stave (truncheon) which I used to push the starter lever to engage,
The look on passer by's faces as I used this to start the car was hilarious, they clearly thought I was beating the car into life,
😜🤪😜🤪
Nigel