Hello! I have a 57 371, a starter crossover, 176 tooth flywheel, and what I think is a 53 trans. Need help as to what starter I need. I have a new starter from a 57 starfire, and the bolt holes don't match. Can I modify it? Or what starter will fit, and where do i get it? Any help is appreciated! Thanks, Daniel
I had the same problem. You can put an indentation in the oil pan so the solenoid will clear or call Tony at Ross Racing Engines and get one of his mini hi torque starters. 330 544 4466. I've done both
I have a starter switch over on an earler olds and I found a gm starter( possibly buick) that I switched the nose cone on and it sits right side up and works great. Gary
What transmission are you using? And what lower bell housing are you using? If you are using a 53 hydro, then they came with a course tooth flywheel (155-165 teeth), therefore you will need to use a starter with pinion that matches up. In my case, I had a 53 flywheel with a 54 slantpan hydro, bolted to a 60 371. I used the early 53 Olds lower bell housing and the 53 starter with no problems. Now if you have the lower bell housing with the starter on the passenger side, then you might want to check out a 53 Cadillac starter, as the 49-(early)54 blocks had the integral top bell housing, bolt holes suppose to be the same as the Rockets. I plan on putting a 54 Cadillac hydro up to a 59 371 and might just use the 54 Cadillac starter as it has a flywheel with more teeth.
I know that some people used a similar year Cadillac starter with starter crossovers on Olds engines, since the Caddy used a RH starter from the factory.
I am going down this road right now and pulling what little hair I have left out. The only reason I am avoiding buying a mini starter from Ross is that I am trying to get away cheaper, but I may have to bite the bullet and simply order one. All he needs to know is how many teeth are on your flywheel. The problem with turning the stock Olds starter over is that the solenoid bumps into the oil pan. Some people have cut out and welded a pocket in there to clear it, but I am not wanting to do that. I also heard a mid 60's Chevy 6 cylinder starter works, so I picked up one. It does not, the solenoid still hits the pan. The Caddy starter may work, but they are difficult to find and $$$$$$$. No one seems to remember exactly what starters were used back in the day, and neither do I. There was an excellent article on here about how the builder modified the little arm on the solenoid to make it fit, but my stock starter has the arm inside a cast piece that can not be modified. So I guess I am going to have to start saving my money for one from Ross and just get it done. Don Here is where that little sucker goes, now if I could just find a cheap one to fit it.
I hauled a '50 303 out of a '50 Hudson Commodore a few years ago, and it had a 145 tooth flywheel and a starter crossover, and when I checked the tag number on the starter, it was the '50 Olds starter turned upside down.
that sure looks alot different, having the mounting holes vertical like that. What crossover was that made by? Any numbers, name on it? I know that Ansen used to make them for Olds engines, but I was pretty sure that you used a 49-54 Cadillac starter.
Yeah the crossovers were originally designed to use the cad starter but the are few and far between these days. I went with a starter from Goatroaper on mine because the crossover castings are kind of light and I really didn't like having to depend on finding a old starter then worring about the weight on it.
They used a flathead Cadillac starter, with 1953 Oldsmobile solenoid if 12V. It's in the famous Hurst swap notes. Solenoid on top, clears all with this deal.
Flatness cad.upside down.I've heard in rumor. But no first hand experience. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
As I recall (I took that picture about a year ago) the holes are not exactly vertical to one another, the top one is slightly more to the outside than the bottom one. Not sure who made this one, no name on it. I bought it a bunch of years ago at Turkey Run, the guy wanted $50 and wouldn't budge, so I still bought it. Didn't even have a use for it at that time, but now I see the prices on Ebay are in the $200 on up range, when they do show up. So, if it takes a flathead Cad starter, where do you find those ? The more I think about it, I am just going to have to give Tony some business. Not that I mind doing that, I am just trying to get by cheaper, and there is lots of room over there for a full sized one. Don
Seems to me that early ,(pre 49) flathead 6 cyl . Olds was an interchange , 6 volt but it will spin the heck out of the v8 on 12 volts.
I found a picture of your adapter, Offenhauser made one that looks pretty much like your pic. If you could find a starter that had a longer throw (perhaps a Mopar) you could make another adapter plate that would line things up. But at that time, it might be better to just get the Tony Ross starter.
All I can contribute is some standard shift and automatic transmissions use different starter drives.
I modified the solenoid lever, solenoid mount and snout to use the stock starter on one of my cross overs posted this in my roadster build thread; ........................... found a decent starter, solenoid kicks hard, starter spins smooth, looks ok inside, no bad signs at all, it should be a candidate for a simple clean up with new bushings and brushes but when mounted in the switch over the solenoid hits the oil pan and the snout hit the flywheel no big deal right? grind a bit off the snout, modify the solenoid lever, modify the solenoid mount and make a brass strap to get power to it and bolt it in.. bada bing one little step closer again
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