1962 I fried the new starter.

[madcap]

First thanks for the site. I’ve found a lot of great info on here. I’ve built quite a few cars over the years and consider myself quite mechanical. That being said I’m an idiot that I can’t figure this out. I had never seen the original “pull” style starter before. It was giving me issues hitting the flywheel and making an awful noise. I ordered the new starter drive from Total Performance and installed it on a big block starter as instructed. The started tested fine on the bench. I installed it and it fired right up. Took it for a test drive and it re-engaged. I shut it off then tried to start it. It “smoke tested” along with negative battery cable.

I little back story. I found this car in a garage after sitting for years after a “restore”. It wouldn’t charge, I took the generator and voltage regulator to a shop that’s been doing these things for years. The generator was fine, but the voltage regulator was toast. I replaced the regulator and horn regulator just to be safe.

Do I normally need to shim the newer style starter? Do I need to ground it differently? Could polarization be an issue? The negative cable is currently attached to the block. (It’s a clean connection)

Could it be the ignition switch? I have the body and electrical manuals that everyone recommended. Just doesn’t make sense to me.
Thanks in advance

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[74 Harley]

You're not an idiot, you probably got a starter that was made in China or India. One of my vintage Ford tractors snapped the armature shaft after 2 months. Pull your starter and tear it down. Yours may have done the same thing.

 

[henro]

You're not an idiot, you probably got a starter that was made in China or India. One of my vintage Ford tractors snapped the armature shaft after 2 months. Pull your starter and tear it down. Yours may have done the same thing.

I think he is saying he replaced the drive, not the starter thing. I would suggest replacing the starter with a later model one, from a 1970 tbird . Much better starter

 

[kbuhagiar]

I think he is saying he replaced the drive, not the starter thing. I would suggest replacing the starter with a later model one, from a 1970 tbird . Much better starter

You can't just bolt in a newer starter - the teeth won't mesh correctly (different flywheels).
Although it will bolt in and (kind of) work, it will make a horrific noise when engaging and will eventually destroy the ring gear on the flex plate.
However there are replacement starters available from aftermarket vendors that use the later internals and have the correct drive gear that will mesh correctly.

I bought mine from RobbMC - and I highly recommend him,

RobbMcPerformance - Ford FE Starter

www.robbmcperformance.com

 

[reevesbird]

I bought one from NAPA. Works and fit perfectly. NAPA has lots of great parts for these old birds.