My friend's Dad has a 39 Ford with an 303 Olds motor that was put in there sometime in the late 50s. He just recently took it out of storage and is working on getting it back on the road. The problem is that he had to have the heads milled to seal on the block and that has caused the compression to come up and now the stock starter won't spin the thing over anymore. I know he's converted it over to 12 volts already. I'm wondering if the starter is just tired and needs a good rebuild? He's really trying to find a good modified high torque starter but doesn't want anything modern looking. He's kept the 50s vibe to it with everything else. Any ideas? Thanks in advance guys and gals!
Tried to use my 6v starter with a '53 12v solenoid but had the same problem. the starter motor would have had to been rebuilt so I popped for a Ross reduction gear starter. Works great and solved a clearance problem too.
If you do have an old time electrical rebuilder near you, have them check it out. If he wants the stock look, that's what I'd do. 49-52 303 was 6v starter which should have the power if it is good. 53 303 was 12v, and that might be a bit slower with high compression, but still should do it, if it was good. Out of 3 staters I tried for my 40, only one was not shorted in the fields. Those other 2, turned too slow on a tired 303.
When I was in high school I put a 53 303 in a 50 Ford. The engine came from a car that Dad had. It was 6 volt not 12 volt. I used a starter from a 54 to get rid of the 6 volt mess
No stuck valves, all of that has been checked. I suggested he have one of his rebuilt and see if that solves the problem.
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