Best FE starter ???

[wicked fast]

Hey.

I would like to replace the 4 year old stock Ford starter on my
428 PI with a heavy duty/mini/gear reduction unit.

What brands have you guys had the best luck with ??

Which one fit the best ??

And yes, I tried the search feature with no results.

Thanks in advance,
BC

[cobrakiwi]

RobbMc Performance Products - Ford FE Starter

[ZOERA-SC7XX]

Why do you need the special unit? I use a NAPA rebuilt starter that cost about 39 bucks. No problems for five years.

[Kramer]

Second the robbmc starters

[RICK LAKE]

wicked fast BC Unless you are looking to remove any extra weight from the car or building a 500 inch motor with 11.0 compression, a oem starter will work just fine. You buy a mini and you have to do a couple of things
Get the air gap between teeth about .035-.050" clearance, any more or less and you will get starter noise or chew teeth on both starter and flywheel. What bell housing are you running and does it have a block plate saver?? if yes you may have to remove this part of the saver to get FULL contact range of the starter toi the flywheel. Alot of guys have learned to the hard way. Have seen broken bendix drives on mini with wrong setups. Most motors where assemblied without block protectors and this .120-.180" removes the extra distance that a mini starter extends. Only about 50% of the teeths have contact. Over timing stripping on both parts. If you are running a street motor with mild compression and camshaft, stay with what works. If you have a hot soak problem with the starter, then try shielding to reflect the heat or a small fan to cool the starter down. I tell people to crack the hoods and this gives the heat a way out of the engine compartment. Choice is yours. Your question is I ran a oem starter for 1 year and hot soaks made me switch to a tilton mini Ran this for another year until I broke the bendix drive and found that the problem was no enough contact. Repaired the problem and ran the same starter for 13 years. I went to a 482 motor and got a new starter. The tilton still works fine. Rick L. Ps some companies have a lifetime warrantity on their starters. Others have 1 year only. Prices are all over the place too, shop hard and save some money.

[DougD]

Originally Posted by wicked fast

Hey.

I would like to replace the 4 year old stock Ford starter on my
428 PI with a heavy duty/mini/gear reduction unit.

What brands have you guys had the best luck with ??

Which one fit the best ??

And yes, I tried the search feature with no results.

Thanks in advance,
BC

I'm using a CVR I bought from Gessford. It works fine, but they are pricey. Others seem to have good luck with the RobbMc starter.

Read some of the threads on the many troubles others have had with the various brands of mini starters. Most seem to revolve around the fitment to the bellhousing and the engagement of the starter drive gear with the flywheel. Beware. Double check it.

Honestly, though, unless you are having some kind of problem, why the heck would you change the stock Ford one? Simpler is nearly always better. Just wanting to be a good citizen and stimulate the economy?

[bulletbrown]

Wicked Fast, I have seen alot of problems with these min- starters from working loose to failures . I do not know the reasons for our club members problems with these units but I have a stock Ford unit now for eight years and know problems .

[wrench87]

powermaster makes a retro series it is a stock looking starter but is suppose to have more power and it is alos brand new not remanafactured part #3131.
i dont like the new powermaster starters they have to small allen head bolts with a round aluminum piece that you loosen so you can clock the starter in different positions to clear the block or headers.

[bret a ewing]

I run a Tilton with no issues.

[wicked fast]

Thanks guys....

The stock unit was a remand Bosch unit that worked fine for 4 years. If you went to get gas you had to wait 10 minutes before it would turn over. It's just a huge heat sink. Timing is on the money, so I know that's not the issue.

I went to put a starter blanket on it this past Friday,seems the starter is just a hair away from the block. Don't think it would mount up with it installed.

So I asked here, checked a few sites, and ordered a CVR starter (thanks DougD). If it's good enough for George at Gessford to run on his engines, it should be outstanding for my little ole' 428.

Best,
BC

[wicked fast]

Got it installed today.

Best $250.00 that I have spent in a long time.

Starts without a whimper when hot !!

Get rid of that old antique starter and upgrade.

Most people do it to their ignition....and other systems.

Best,
BC

[Jeff Frigo]

Stock starter for 20 years, never misses a beat, hot or cold. 10.8 to 1.

[undy]

The problem with the stock starters is that the 352s, 360s, 390s, 428s and 427s all cam with the same, externally speaking, physically same sized starter. It was the internal windings and armatures that were different (427s had larger windings that the 352s, for instance) Once these starters hit the rebuilding main stream they lost their true identity. When you go to your store and ask for a 427 starter chances are you're going to get a 390 starter with a smaller winding that may/may not adequately crank your 427.

There-in lies the problem with OEM starters.

[Bill Bess]

One thing to consider that is paramount, when the dam thing stops working out in the middle of no-where....where you going to go, local parts store and get an OEM starter.
Too many of my hot rod friends have spent big bucks on mini- starters, fly wheels and alignment problems.
Five years on my OEM, seems to work just fine and no worry about replacement, same with fuel pump. I believe in the KISS method (Keep It Simple Stupid)

Old School Guy!