Bell housing starter question

[wolfthing2000]

Well, I have the 383 going in before too long and I am a little confused as to which parts I can use or not. First off, I have the flywheel and ring gear form the 400 engine I aquired from a parts truck. This is on the 383 of course. I also have the starter and bell from same 400. The starter is the shim up style mounted from bottom of engine and the bell is aluminum.
Now the bellhousing in my truck now is the cast iron one ( stronger??? I'm not sure) with the oldstyle bolt from front of starter with the snout that registers for location and gear mesh. I was told this is a 350 motor but not the original that was in the 69 truck Yet another clue: the truck had a 327 in it at one time. My old 66 with 327 had this same bell and starter style. I realy like the positioning and fastening of this style starter.

Common scence tells me go with all of the 400 stuff. The unknown: is the cast iron bell better and will that starter work on the 400 ring gear. ( I haven't started counting teeth yet),

I remember that the 400s might have different tooth count????

Help please!!
Thank you.

[LockDoc]

wolfthing,

I cant help you myself but maybe one of these threads will help.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...arter+flywheel

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...arter+flywheel

LockDoc

[NitroMike]

Safest bet. . . spend the extra dough for a mini hi-tork starter. The fit 153 or 168 tooth flywheels, crank like crazy and eliminate the old "hot start" problem if you run headers. I love mine.
Just my .02 cents.

[wolfthing2000]

So what will interchange with what?? Is the cast iron bell better than the aluminum?? Is the style of starter that is on the 350 with the cast iron bell usable on the 350 block that has been used for the 383??? This is a manul shift tranny, by the way.

[wolfthing2000]

I googled around and found that the 400 and 383 ( which are the same thing at the flywheel end) are sold as a seperate starter. I believe the blocks ( like mine) are almost all drilled for a staggered or a straight pattern.
I see prices from 75.00 to 400.00 dollars for the torquer starters. and am totaly lost on what is good or not. Summit has some for 135 to 175 that sound okay.

Does anyone reccomend any????

[crazy longhorn]

You need a 14" diameter (168 tooth) ring to run the cast truck bell. I like the truck bell/ starter setup, it gives zero problems with starter alignment. My 383 is setup this way, & on the budget I would reccomend it......otherwise, you might think about a scattersheild, with a high tork mini starter. L

[wolfthing2000]

So does the 400 flywheel qualify for the cast bell? I agree about the pinion alignment.

[wolfthing2000]

I will count teeth tonight, but I would believe it is the big one.

[crazy longhorn]

For a quick check, the smaller (153 t flywheel) measures 12 3/4" OD, vs the 14" od on the 168 t version. If you got the 400 sb flywheel from a truck.....it should be the right one L

[wolfthing2000]

Yes it is!!!! I counted. 168 Now, which starter do I shop for?? All of the hi-torqu that are available seem to be the new style, bolt from bottom with shims.. How much compression on your 383?? I am set up with 9:1.. Is there a heavy duty truck starter..? Weight is not a big deal, i am not planning on racing.

[crazy longhorn]

If you use the truck bell, just order the starter for a 350/stick, you should do fine with the stocker. My 383 runs around 9.8 to 1 , & does fine with an Oreillys rebuilt starter..... L

[Green Machine]

If you want a high torque starter fairly cheap, pick up a big block starter say for a 1978 454 C10. A big block starter will have a 1/2 in long tube between the field terminal and the solenoid because the winding are longer and the armature is larger diameter. Just remove whatever nose is on that starter and put on your 3 bolt cast nose for the cast bellhousing, best to put a new bushing in the nose if it is used.

[crazy longhorn]

Actually, the last couple starters I picked up for 350 app, were high tork starters.....