Like that old eccentric who starts his car by hand? (6)
I believe the answer is:
cranky
'eccentric who starts his car by hand?' is the definition.
'cranky' can be an answer for 'eccentric' (I've seen this before). I am unsure of the remainder of the definition.
'like that old' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'like' could be 'y' (similar in meaning) and 'y' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'crank' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for cranky that I've seen before include "Oddball" , "Grumpy, irritable" , "'Fractious, irritable (6)'" , "Crotchety" , "Eccentric, odd (colloq.)" .)