Alright Chevy experts, I need some help, I built a 383 stroker for a buddy, 10:1 compression. We've put 2 Summit "sfi" flexplates in and ripped the teeth out of both. We shimmed the starter, looking at whats left of the teeth, we have good engagement. The starter is a rebuilt factory unit. Any ideas? Thanks, JB
Try a name brand flexplate? The Summit house brand parts are generally the lowest quality suff they sell.
Make sure its not an autozone or advance auto "rebuilt" starter... I had the same problem with them not meshing with the flywheel correctly, and found the whole problem was the "Brand new" rebuilt starter... actually went through 3 of them... finally did get one that worked, but my suggestion would be to try a different starter. In most cases you shouldn't need any shims on a SBC starter...
That's what I told him when he bought a second one. I swear those things are out of round. The starter is from AZ or Advance. Thanks for the fast replies.
Oooooff... mix and match flex plates and Foofnick brand starters, what a recipe for disaster. Especially with a SBC, tons of variants of nose cones with those. I'd go with a real auto electric starter, even if you have to eat the core on it. Bob
You don't mention it, but what tooth count flexplate are you using? Also is the starter the correct one for that tooth count? There are two different ones for the SBC, 153 tooth and 168 tooth. A mismatch will do exactly what you have described. You might look into that.
Check it out !! Check to see if it tracks true as in the run-out and the out of round. If it passes these tests engage the drive into the flywheel manually to check the gap. And last but not least "QUIT BUYING CHEEP SHIT" >>>>.
Starter. I had one (rebuilt) that the mounting boss was built up or something..not sure what the problem was but was crooked also. Bought a new one and compared..it was very obvious.
the best way to solve your dilemma is to find an original cast iron starter nose cone they made them in single and multi bolt patterns. and as everyone else has suggested buy a "good" flex plate, i have had good luck with napa ones but not there second line stuff. from what i remember on all these nose cones it takes a 168 tooth flexplate. GUARANTEE this will fix your problem.
i though it was 158 and 162 tooth. Im having problems with my starter. keep frying mine every 2 months. People told me i have the wrong flywheel.. Imput????????????/
Is that engine kicking back? The only catastrophic SBC starter/plate failures I've had like that involved a backfire while cranking.
Just went thru a couple of "rebuilt" starters from Checker Auto Parts. Neither starter would mesh right with the flexplate without at least 3 shims. I guess when they rebuild those things they routinely machine of a bunch of metal off the mounting boss. Doing that requires shims to make up the difference, and in many cases you have to put half shims to get a correct fit. I figure if a starter needs 3 or more shims, then I don't want it, cause it's unlikely to ever mesh well and will almost certainly destroy teeth. I finally found a starter where the mounting boss hadn't been machined (so no shims were required), and it worked fine. I will always check for machining before buying another rebuilt starter.
Thanks for the great info guys. It backfired, but only 2 or 3 times during the first starting/break-in. When you hit the starter it sounds like the teeth are not meshing. The guy that owns the motor bought all his parts. I asked him about the tooth count too. He said all his parts were ordered for a 78 Camaro with a 350 as this was the block he used. Again thanks for the good info. Unfortunately, he hasn't worked on it in 4 months. I'm just trying to get it out of my shop before the snow flies.
Hot Rust was probably right I had trouble with starters on my '72 pu talked to the old guys put on a cast starter no more problems. You can order a new one with a cast nose but you have to ask for it and make sure thats what you get.
If you've got a 168 tooth to 153 tooth mismatch, either the starter won't bolt up, or it won't engage at all. Can probably rule that one out. If it's in the budget, I'd go to a gear reduction ministarter right now before he backs into it with a summers worth of hot start issues. good luck
x2 in a way. I have had good luck with the 95 and newer factory gear reduction truck starters on anything with a 168 tooth flywheel.
The NAPA starter is 246-1091 with a cast iron nose, fits only a 168 tooth flywheel. Just put one on a 64 imapala ss. Worked great. I run the NAPA here in Jacksonville Ar. If any questions just pm me. The 98 up vortec 350 truck starters work great but be carefull they have a 10mm hole instead of a 3/8 hole and can be tricky to line up. They work great otherwise, we have one on a 454 with a 871 supercharger with no problems at all.
Raised a little red flag in my feeble brain...did you use an externally-balanced 400 crank in this 383? If so, you would need the 400 flexplate with the weights, correct? I don't think this would cause starter issues, but would wreak havoc on the engine's guts in a hurry.
One other thing to note since this turned into a cast iron thread- Use the support bracket on the backend of the starter! Aluminum starter noses worked just fine for 30 years of GM production, and continue to work fine today when supported the way they were engineered to be. GM even uses a support on ministarters that weigh half of a conventional unit.
I've had nothing but bad luck with recon starters. Try a new AC Delco starter from a Chevy dealership, they're not as expensive as you think!
I had starter problems with the 350 SBC in my '36 3-window. I must've used at least 3 or more starter noses and shimed, but it eventual ate up the ring gear on the flexplate. I installed a new flexplate and then tried the cast iron nose. It still made noise. Not wanting to destroy the new flexplate I finally decided to try something different. I machined the starter nose mounting surface where it meets the engine block, the exact reverse of shiming. Problem solved. Ya' never hear anyone talk about doing it this way, but it worked for me. The 350 in this case had an engine rebuilders tag riveted to the block. Maybe they aligned bored the hell outa' it and that recessed the crank in the block. I'm building a 383 right now. I'm using a stock used GM 400 flexplate and a mini-starter. I hope I get lucky
Not sure which crank he used, I just did the assembly and install w/ the parts given. We have about an hour and a half run time on the engine, so I think the balance is OK. Once it's running, it's a monster, getting it started is the problem. Thanks for the input JB
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