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High Torque Starter from British Starter

J

johnd

Donation Time
Bought a high torque starter made by British Starters and advertised to fit Sunbeam Alpines. However, I cannot seem to make it fit - interferes with the block. It has an adjustable mounting ring but even with the mounting ring off I cannot come close to making it fit. Has anyone had any experience with these starters? Is yes, any advice? Thanks
 
I just installed one, (British Starters) on my rebuilt 1725. you need to rotate the flange so the the Hot terminal post is pointed straight down.
That was the only position I found to work.
 
BEpine said:
I just installed one, (British Starters) on my rebuilt 1725. you need to rotate the flange so the the Hot terminal post is pointed straight down.
That was the only position I found to work.
Click to expand...
Were you able to get both bolts fastened? The bolt holes on the block mounting hole are in a north-south orientation (0 -180 degrees). When I align the starter with the hot terminal post pointing down the adjusting plate hole that would align with the 0 degree(top) block mounting hole becomes inaccessible beacause it is behind and below the starter. Not sure I want to install a starter with only one bolt.
 
You should probably call British Starters and explain what's going on. I've had these that were defective
from the factory. Wrong parts put on the wrong starter.
 
I was able to use both bolts. And yes, the clutch slave is mounted incorrectly in this photo!
Bob
Starter.jpgStarter.jpg
 
Hmm - the starter I received looks different - in that position the top of the starter is 1 inch higher that the top of the mounting plate and the bottom of the mounting plate extends 1 1/2 inches below the bottom of the starter. It looks like my starter is different that yours. I was under the impression it was a universal fit unit - hence the adjustable mounting plate. I sent an email to the seller (classiccarperformance.com) so hopefully they'll respond. Thanks for posting the photos - very mush appreciated.
 
Also - is there a nut between the top mounting bracket and the starter or does your starter have a threaded hole in the starter itself? I can't tell from the photo. Thanks.
 
Bolt and nut. The mounting plate rotates so you can position the starter so the solenoid does not hit the engine block.
I tried several positions and found this one workedEngine.jpg
 
Success! Thank you for the photos. Once I figured out I was misinterpreting the orientation of the starter (the top nut is actually behind the starter in the photo) your process worked perfectly. Thanks again!!
 
BEpine - I am curious why you were stacking washers on the clutch slave bolts.

Thanks,
Mike
 
Finished installing parts in engine and started the car up. Horrible gear grinding noises upon engine firing up. Am assuming the starter gear is not disengaging upon engine start. (Should have stayed with old starter). Anyone have an idea why this would occur? There are 2 options when installing the starter - either use the internal solenoid on the starter or the existing solenoid. If using the existing solenoid, a bypass wire is used that goes from the hot terminal to a terminal that uses a spade connector - I assume this isolates and "disables"the internal starter solenoid. I'm not certain that this spade connector was properly attached when I started the engine (it came loose on installation and requires a "blind" reattachment - a bolt & nut terminal wouldbe much better). If the spade terminal were not attached, would that prevent the starter from disengaging upon engine start? (Are you there Tom??) After all the effort to install the high torque starter I really don'y want to go back to the old one. Thanks
 
If the bypass wire is not connected to the spade terminal and your using the stock solenoid, the starter would not work, If your not using the stock solenoid, you would use that terminal and connect it to the Ign switch start terminal.
 
Hmm - I am definitely using the stock terminal. Assuming the bypass wire was connected properly what else could possibly cause the grinding noise once the engine catches? It does appear that the grinding is the result of the starter not disengaging once the engine fires up. I can't imagine the cause being anything other than starter related.
 
with the ”horrible” noise, it sounds to me as if your problem is not an electrical one. The noise suggests you have power where you need it.
Before you shut the car down for the last time, was the starter still spinning— starter running while the car was running?
Is it possible that the starting gear is stuck onto the flywheel gear?
My thinking : new starter gears- old flywheel gears and there is a jamming that keeps the starter gear from retracting when trying to blend the old with the new. Maybe a new starter and flywheel should be replaced at the same time. I am aware of old gears and new gear notnworking well together in another venue.

I honestly have no clue, but If my thinking has merit, you could try taking the starter back out and seeing if things are jammed or were jamming. At minimum you could reinspect the gears and see if the noise indicated some damage.
Good hunting
 
Most likely the noise is coming from the gear on the starter that's not meshing with the ring gear.
The high torque starters go into the front of the ring gear, the old ones pull in from the back side.

I had one, not from British Starters but the more reputable supplier, that had the wrong gear on it and
once you looked at it you could see it. British Starters don't manufacture these as they're made elsewhere
so the likelihood of that happening is greater.
Pull the starter back out and check the gear.
 
Two scenarios; one is gear noise while cranking-spinning motor with starter motor. (Gears not meshing properly- misaligned,too far apart, or mismatched gears). Second is noise after engine fires/starts and is usually a "yoop" or "yowl" from starter gear not disengaging cleanly. (Gears meshed too tightly). Do you hear noise during cranking/spinning over, or after engine begins running on it's own?
 
johnd said:
Bought a high torque starter made by British Starters and advertised to fit Sunbeam Alpines. However, I cannot seem to make it fit - interferes with the block. It has an adjustable mounting ring but even with the mounting ring off I cannot come close to making it fit. Has anyone had any experience with these starters? Is yes, any advice? Thanks
Click to expand...
Been down this road from misplaced mount holes thru poor clocking design. I just send them all back on their dime until someone pays attention. Modern quality and consideration are questionable at best.
 
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