Smaller, lighter gear-red. starter

Fixitoni · Post by **Fixitoni** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:45 pm

Hello all, my car is in storage so I'm wanking in a way, but seriously, the aussie guys talk about other starters but I never heard of the cars they take them from! Anybody know of taking a commonly available gear-reduction unit and adapting it to fit? I'm in the U.S.

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:54 pm

this is something I've been investigating for over a year. The problem is the nose piece. I'm to the point with a mfg that the next step is to have nose pieces cast. Unfortunately with the quantity required, it's going to require about a $5000 investment to make the new nose.

Fixitoni · Post by **Fixitoni** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 3:26 pm

Just found a spot about thomsonmotors (New Zealand) who had a Denso unit with what looks like an adaptor on the nose. 400$ in N.Z. money plus shipping.....not bad if you look at the plus sides, but i would rather buy just the adaptor and get a starter off a toyota or whatever he used dor the base unit to avoid shipping costs. Not sure if still in business. Here:http://www.thomsonmotors.net/shop/Compe ... otors.html

Fixitoni · Post by **Fixitoni** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 8:31 pm

Occured to my I should say I'm sorry, not trying to rain on your hard work, I'm sure with the custom-cast nose piece the unit would be even smaller. Would like to see someone make such a thing. Factory part is SO blasted heavy and big... And gear-red. types are so much better. Other than abnormal damage pretty much the only thing that ever goes wrong is the solenoid contacts, and they souceable and easy to replace. I only found the N.Z. unit by accident, never seen a post about it in the U.S.

E Prod Racer · Post by **E Prod Racer** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:12 am

A good solution for someone needing a starter is the ditch the Magnetti Spaghetti (new or reman'd), and get the Bosch unit used on the Pinin Spiders, and later Lancias, and later 131/Brava cars. A 20 year old original, or a reman, will make the engine spin like a top, even on a cold day.

No lighter than the M/S starter, but it works. Got a reman Bosch from Vick's, and own an original Bosch for the racer - both work on 9.8 CR, and 13:1 CR engines respectively. The original Bosch starter on the racer needed a clean-up recently, and a $37 solenoid, and now works like new again.

I bought 2 reman M/S units before getting the latest Bosch, and both failed right out of the box - junk.

Fixitoni · Post by **Fixitoni** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 12:40 pm

Thanks for the tip. After taking my starter off three times in one week without a hoist, just floor jack and stands, I was getting a serious attitude problem about these units. Been so long now I don't remember what kind of used part I wound up with. Also forgot that it mounts with bolts in from the bell side, so I can see why that would require a custom nosepiece to make sense. I used to drink to forget, now it just comes naturally with age...A rack and pinion is looking like the first thing to do after removing engine and tranny for resealing. SO much more room for exhaust routing, ...and starter work easier too!

Fylde5 · Post by **Fylde5** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 11:36 pm

E Prod Racer wrote:A good solution for someone needing a starter is the ditch the Magnetti Spaghetti (new or reman'd), and get the Bosch unit used on the Pinin Spiders, and later Lancias, and later 131/Brava cars. A 20 year old original, or a reman, will make the engine spin like a top, even on a cold day.

Would this unit work in a 69' spider with the 1400 engine?

E Prod Racer · Post by **E Prod Racer** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 10:05 am

Bo,
All 124, 125, and 132 series engines will use the same starter.

Fylde5 · Post by **Fylde5** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 10:54 am

Thanks for the info Bill.