Smallest Replacement Starter

[The Neck]

Alrighty then. The Wilson 91-27-3323 is a perfect fit. Nice and short. Oh no, O'Rielly's has it for $89. $20 core. Gave them the burned up one and they took it, no problem. Took about half an hour to put the whole mess back together. Added a ground strap from the lower bolt to the frame that was missing and gave it a go. Spins up faster than it ever has and is nice and quiet. Drove it to our local Tuesday night sports car club get together with time to spare. Done and done. Ready for Canby.

Literally found this post a couple days ago and installed this Wilson starter on my 67.5 tonight. I'm in the middle of a suspension job and figured might as well.

[Florida Roadster]

Just reading through this post and it answered one of my questions. When I removed the body this weekend the driver's side triangular piece was significantly bent while the passenger side was straight. (Hard to see the angle in this picture.) I though this was a strange place to have "damage". It must have been one of the previous owner(s) removing the starter here that bent it out of shape. I was going to straighten it out, but maybe I should leave it the way it is?

IMG-2557.jpg

[70MTRoadster]

Most folks, including me, remove this piece for better access to the starter.

[DAC21]

Most folks, including me, remove this piece for better access to the starter.

So to access the starter, does the entire triangle need to be cut out, or just a section as illustrated?

triangleb.jpg

[Florida Roadster]

I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to fabricate a removable section rather than cutting it out altogether. It ties the floor to the inner fender support. Er, um, in my case it ties a big hole to the inner fender support.

[rwmann]

A number of the gear reduction starters are shorter and lighter than the Wilson. Much smaller draw on the battery at start, and easier to R&R.

[Bwk2000]

+1 to what Bob said

Replaced mine last year. A Gear Reduction starter is the way to go.

As for the cut out … same process applies for all years.

http://www.311s.org/PDFs/SB%207_29_64_S64_26.pdf

[Florida Roadster]

+1 to what Bob said

Replaced mine last year. A Gear Reduction starter is the way to go.

As for the cut out … same process applies for all years.

http://www.311s.org/PDFs/SB%207_29_64_S64_26.pdf

So, the factory bulletin said just that, to make it removeable and then re-install. I see it's not really structural, but just a water barrier. So as long as I'm restoring the car I'll drill out the welds and add some bolts for future use, if needed.

[Bwk2000]

So, the factory bulletin said just that, to make it removeable and then re-install. I see it's not really structural, but just a water barrier. So as long as I'm restoring the car I'll drill out the welds and add some bolts for future use, if needed.

Exactly. Just a splash guard. Very few bother to reinstall it though.

[jr02518]

I can confirm that the OE starter can be removed from a stock 1970,1600 in one piece. No, it is not any fun but no metal was harmed during its removal. A numbers of colorful words were used, however.

In anticipation of installing a header at some time in the future I have taken advantage of one of Dean's offerings. The battery leads were next on the list, these are complete overkill. Yes they are welding cable.

[funkaholik]

Hi.

Reviving this thread because I need some starter help. My new gear reduction starter from Datsunparts.com is failing 5 months in. It will spin but the bendix doesn't engage the starter wheel to the flywheel. Of course, this happens now when Dean and company are on vacation until 10/28. Not his fault, just bad timing for me.

Does anyone else sell a gear reduction starter that is this small? Mine is 7 ¼ inches from the mounting flange to the tail end. Even shorter would be better - this one is a tight fit with the header. Looked on ebay as some suggested but none of them have dimensions listed.

[Bwk2000]

Erik. The Wilson Starter Motor (part #91-27-3323) mentioned earlier seems to be a good (small) fit. You could always give Wilson’s a call to find out the exact dimensions (link below). All the others I’ve seen are a bit bigger than the one Dean sells (around 7.5”).

https://wilsonautoelectric.com/ContactUs

https://wilsonautoelectric.com/Starters

[zippy67roadster]

I sell a small gear reduction starter that easily fits even with headers as I run it on my own #13 1600 vintage race car. You can find it here: https://sincitydatsuns.com/store/p239/A ... arter.html

[funkaholik]

Thank you for the replies. As luck would have it, a nearby roadster friend has an extra DB Electric small starter. I should be picking it up tomorrow.