They may sound like shit, but is one of the best Oem starters ever made. If Chrysler would have beveled the gears and put in some thrust washers, it would have been hailed as the best starter in the universe. The hot rod starters today are made off the exact same principle. Bones
Damn it UPS Pirate, I had to explain to my wife why I was sitting here laughing my ass off on that one.
..........They are distinctive though. You can always tell from half a block away when a MoPar starts up.
That sound graced every movie car from around 1960 into the mid '70's or longer. You just knew the squealing tires on wet pavement was coming next. A sound I haven't heard in the real world for many years now.
I always like the sound tracks like Gator McClusky I think it was where the chase scene show them rowing through the gears on a Hurst shifter complete with stick sound tract, then pulling up and putting the column shift in park.
The one I always liked was the LTD four door detective cars with a four speed sound track. Think it was Streets of San Francisco.
The older Mopars need a really good starter in case it had rained in the last few weeks or a dog pissed on a tire. Any moisture in the air and you had to crank for a long time.
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Mopar engine starts.
The HAMB knows all - gear reduction is why Mopar starters have their distinctive whine. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-gives-mopar-starters-their-sound.543491/
Hey Dude, that Monkey got some rythm. Or of George might sing it as "If you're gonna play outside of Texas you gotta have a Monkey in the band". Jimmie
They cranked too slow. Always hated them when trying to start a flooded car in the winter and it seemed that Mopar owners were adept at flooding them. If it had a stick and we could find a street that wasn't covered in ice, we'd pull start it to get it cranking faster.
I think the OP's picture has gone viral. It was just sent to me by test message from a friend who is not even a HAMB member.
In the 80's when automotive diesels were just becoming popular they (Fords anyway) had huge 40 pound Delco direct drive starters that were a pain in the butt to hold up and get the bolts started. They eventually switched over to small 10 pound reduction gear starters that are cheaper to build and spin the engine faster than the older direct drive models. Big improvement. I'm sure all the diesels are using reduction gear starters currently. Must have really high speed motors.
The starting fluid goes in the big end. You have to wait a while before you try to start it so the fluid settles down to the proper level, other wise, its pretty hard on the starter. With over 40 years of Mopar ownership, I've have very little problems with old gear reduction starters, the newer mini ones have had more issues. If you took the time to learn how each motor needed to be started, it took very little cranking to start one in any weather condition. Most of the starting problems with Mopars was lack of proper tune, and some fool that thought you had to do a rain dance on the gas pedal every time before you cranked it over. Gene
In my long ago association with demo derbies, we always felt that a 318, with the gear reduction starter, was the hot ticket for hot starting. We even went so far as to install 318's in Chevy wagons for just that reason. I wonder if a hidden ether injection system would have made them even better.
Oh great, I just got the winter air put in my tires and now I find out I have to top off the fluid in my starter?!?!?! The maintenance on these old cars is killing me.... Chappy
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