stater motors?

[Denee007]

Howdy and Goodmorning!
I'm trying to figure out which starter motor to put on my engine. The engine came out of a 72 Impala. The starter that was on it did work. I don't know how old it is/was. I thought about putting in back in, but would hate to have to pull it back down if it was shortlived!

I was looking at the mini starters, but unsure of which/what to buy. Plus one for sale on Ebay/Eastwood asked for which flywheel, a 153 tooth or 168 tooth, but I didn't count the teeth on the flywheel! Is there a way to tell which flywheel I have without counting the teeth on it? It does have an automatic th350 transmission.
dne' ; )

[mknittle]

I would count the teeth. you never kmow what got changed in all those years.
i would be pretty easy to do just mark a tooth with a silver sharpie count as far as you can mark that tooth write the number on the flywheel and rotate the engine. and repeat untill you get to where you started.

[mr48chev]

As much trouble as guys seem to have with the mini starters I'd pass on one unless you are just flat cramped for room. Most guys seem to put them on because the "cool guys" have them rather than putting them on because they are cramped for space and on the HAMB at least the guys that have them seem to have a lot of trouble with them.

I'm thinking that if your two bolts that hold the starter to the block are straight across it has the 153 Tooth flywheel and if they are staggered it has the 168 tooth flywheel.
You can put new bushings and brushes in your starter in around an hour's time for about 10 or 12 bucks and have a fresh starter if you want to go that way.


I'

[OrrieG]

I believe if it bolts to the bottom of the block it is 168 tooth. If you have the inspection plate off count the teeth in approximate one quarter x 4. All I know about minis are the are usually used with headers to reduce heat soak problems. I assume they have to be checked for clearance and maybe shimmed like a regular one.
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[mr48chev]

No, both starters for 153 tooth and 268 tooth flywheels can bolt to the bottom of the block Orrie. The difference is in the bolt pattern for the end housing.

There are also light duty starters and heavy duty starters. The heavy duty ones have a larger diameter armature that is also sometimes longer.

[Denee007]

hmm, I was reading some of the reviews on the mini's, some love them, other's hate them! kind of a toss up it seems. The shorty headers or block huggers only come close
(3/4") the the tail end of the starter. I could maybe purchase a rebuilt starter that would be nice and clean for a reasonable cost.

I've another question!
My battery will be under the truck. The battery can be lowered a little for servicing. But how would I jump battery (say it was dead). How would I put a service post somewhere reasonably accessible? Or if I saw some smoking wires, how would I quickly disconnect it?

[Speedbumpauto]

My solution.

[hyatt]

The small flywheels were not used until late 70s If it is the origional it will be the 168 tooth

[hyatt]

For a battery disconnect get a race car on off switch and put under seat It will kill all battery power with flip of switch

[hyatt]

get one of these

[arturo7]

That's pretty slick, speed.

[Denee007]

oh yeah Hyatt! That would work well, if something bad were to happen, I could flick that switch in a jif! I do like Speeds idea too, but the switch would be simpler for me. Thanks!

Originally Posted by hyatt

get one of these

[Tx Firefighter]

Almost all of the mini starters on the market are made in China. The Chinese can't seem to build cheap kid's toys with any quality, much less something made out of various close tolerance components. Your original starter was made with good quality stuff. It has served for many years and is well worth a pair of bushings, brushes and a little bit of effort. Maybe put a new bendix and a solenoid on it at the same time if you're wanting to cover all the bases.

All of those parts are available at any parts store in the western hemisphere.

[mr48chev]

There are "lugs" available that you run a pair of cables up to from the battery to be able to clamp jumper cables on to that are used quite a bit on wreckers and service trucks.

Moroso among a few other makes them. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mo...FUdxQgodIXsAQw You put them a bit out of the way but easily reachable with jumper cables.

[Daze57]

i agree w/ TX Firefighter - rebuild it

[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

No, both starters for 153 tooth and 268 tooth flywheels can bolt to the bottom of the block Orrie. The difference is in the bolt pattern for the end housing.

There are also light duty starters and heavy duty starters. The heavy duty ones have a larger diameter armature that is also sometimes longer.

Thanks for the info, everything I have had always had the 168 tooth. I know from my daughters experience getting the gap is critical to engagement and saving the flywheel teeth.

[ET56]

I have a mini in my 56 for header reasons. Its been in there for almost 10 yrs. Starts that 400 sb every time.

[pgf545]

Look at the old starter and if the bolts are staggered then it is a 168 tooth flywheel and if the bolts are straight across then it is a 153 tooth. We used Tilton mini starters for years on our race stuff and never had any problems. I think they get a bad rap because people are buying the cheap ones on EBay and expecting them to be as good as a top name one. Like others have said unless you need room I would go with a good quality OE one. I think I would take the original one put some new brushes and a bendix in it and put it back on there. You would be surprised how much you can do with a quick rebuild.


Bernie

[pgf545]

Here's a like I found that might help.

http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/sh...hp?tid/171683/

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

Thanks for the info, everything I have had always had the 168 tooth. I know from my daughters experience getting the gap is critical to engagement and saving the flywheel teeth.

The reason I like my old cast iron V8 truck bellhousing with the bellhousing mounted starter. No guessing.

Hunting for something else I see that MSD has a mini starter for a Chevy V8 it isn't cheap but may be a bit better quality than a lot of the Ebay stuff that guys seem to have so much trouble with. http://www.summitracing.com/search/d...-type/starters Scroll down the page a bit.