We got a 65 Chevy truck on the shop that the starter quit working,it has a later 350 hooked to the original manual trans bellhousing. It came in with a starter that bolts to the block .and they can not find one that will work and I told them that they need to find one that bolts to the bellhousing but no one is listening. Can a block mounted starter be used with the truck bellhousing where the starter bolts to it.
It depends....but usually, yes it can. Does it have the large flywheel? Can you post a picture of the starter they took off?
that's the big flywheel. I'd just try the 60s version...but the 70s version with two staggered, long bolts should also fit, if the nose housing doesn't hit the bellhousing or dust shield. Why is someone giving a core away before they get the job finished?
I would have kept the core, and matched up pieces, to build replacement starter. Most of the noses can be changed out. As @squirrel said, later starter "should" fit.
check to see if the nose had been ground down, if it's aluminum. Also, I think the cast iron nose (used on early big blocks, among others) block mount starters have a smaller nose, that would be more likely to fit. But I think they use different bolts than the aluminum nose? been a while since I had one of them.
Got the starter back and the nose has not been ground and might be cast iron and is much smaller then what is on the replacement starters,I am trying to get them to just get the correct starter for the bellhousing but the so called sbc experts that work there are trying to tell me they never made starters that bolt to the bellhousing even though there is a 69 c 10 sitting next to it with that starter the 65 needs.
55-72 on the V8s, 63-72 on the six cylinders, the manual trans trucks all used the 3 bolt bellhousing mount starter. I guess you have to be an old geezer to remember that.
Since they do not want to listen to me I am going to let them struggle with that starter,they keep saying the engine is from a Chevelle but I told them the bellhousing and flywheel are from a 65 truck and that is what the starter needs to be. They act like they know it all and I am tired of talking if they are not going to listen.
Did the starter (core) work up until now? If so, just grab another early/similar starter that's good, and swap the nose. Try that, I know, it's worked for me in the past. If they are "experts", they should know that too! Oops, I'm not trying to infer that I'm an expert. Please don't take me the wrong way.
To use an aluminum nose that bolts to the block you have to screw up the bellhousing by cutting the bottom corner where that bolt goes. O'Reilly's shows two options that bolt to the bellhousing for under 70 bucks take your choice. Starter - 1965 Chevrolet C10 Pickup RWD | O'Reilly Auto Parts (oreillyauto.com) I'd have some real wondering about guys who can't figure something out that simple and won't listen to what you tell them. The best thing about those three bolt starters is that they line up perfectly with the ring gear every time and you don't have to fight drive to ring gear issues because the starter has been rebuilt several times and hit a lick on the belt sander to spiff it up every time. Rock auto shows a couple of Delco or Remy numbers that can cross at any parts house. 1965 CHEVROLET C10 PICKUP 4.6L 283cid V8 Starter Motor | RockAuto
I use a truck set up in my car, bell housing is actually a '55 Chevy car piece once I ran the numbers. I have had it in a few cars and I have 2 or 3 starters on hand. I picked the best one to get rebuilt. I'm a bug about retaining the right starter to go with any engine.
Three starters and three different noses and this for a staggered bolt,I thought there were only two staggered and straight.
Unfortunately there are a zillions of different designs all a little different. GM, Korean, Japanese, Taiwan and China. All a little different to avoid pattent problems.
Some of the starters that bolt to the block need to be shimmed for proper clearance. In the past you could count the teeth on the flywheel to determine the diameter of the flywheel which determines what starter it needs. A starter rebuilder could give you the correct one but they are few and far between these days. The parts people who knew which starters fit which application have long since retired or died. There hasn't been much need to know those things for many years as there has been less mixing and matching of parts. If I remember correctly [I'm old so that's a big question mark] to use a larger flywheel I think the starters have the staggered bolt pattern and a cast iron nose. If the engine doesn't have the staggered pattern, it can be drilled if you can find the correct starter and bolt it on with one bolt. You might be able to use a starter that bolts to the bell housing but only if the flywheel has the same number of teeth as the flywheel originally used with the bell housing has. Back in the day, parts stores usually had all of the various GM starters in stock so they could match one up. There isn't a reason to stock starters from the 50s and 60s anymore so matching one up is more difficult.
I read somewhere that there can be 30-odd nose cones for a GM starter. This is why I like to get a starter with any core engine I buy. Wards off evil spirits.
Am I the only one old enough to remember having to grind a small flat on the top bolt tab on the starter that bolts to the bellhousing? I think it was only on earlier blocks-so common that it had already been done on most re-built starters you picked up.Now if I could just remember what I did yesterday.
and yet you can't find a cast iron starter nose with the bolts straight across for the small flywheel!sigh
It might just be a matter of shimming it. It may have been shimmed and the shims were removed or wore out. You would need the staggered shims. and a shimmed starter should also have a brace on the end. Some Corvettes may have used that starter because they had larger flywheels to use a bigger clutch. Trucks had the bigger flywheel and clutch setup but they usually used the starter bolted to the bell housing.
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