It had a standard starter but they didnt use the bracket causing the housing to break, they tried another but had a gap of about 3mm between the starter and block till it engaged, again they didnt use the bracket as they had lost it and broke that as well, bought the starter with me with the hope someone can tig weld it back up and if i make a spacer out of 3mm ali or something, that may fix it, has 2 bolts to bolt it up, 1 longer than the other, not sure where the longer one goes (havnt had a good look yet), will have a look for the engine numbers tomorrow after i attack it with the degreaser and water blaster
joanie32,
Jul 9, 3:38pm
its an ally housing! If so I have had better luck with mig. Tig draws out too much crap. Grind a good V first.
whqqsh,
Jul 9, 3:39pm
Ive had a few SBC & never had or needed a rear bracket. Most are pretty good but I did have constant probs with my T bucket motor & starter, various combinations of flex plates (2), starters (5) & spacers made little or no difference. Start fine cold or hot but left for 10-20 minutes when hot then try to start & either all sorts of grinding/grunching noises or total lockup, but left for another 20 & good as gold. Also starters are 2 bolt patterns, straight & offset boltholes
whqqsh,
Jul 9, 3:40pm
oh, & Ive got a spare nose/housing if you want but its offset pattern
mk3zephyr,
Jul 9, 3:49pm
i'll take a photo and post it up, photo is better than describing it
lookoutas,
Jul 9, 3:52pm
They are special bolts - slightly thicker shank than standard off-the-shelf bolts, which will cause problems if used. Won't hold it square. The results of which have already been described - jamming up and then breaking. Good idea to splash out for a hi-torque starter.
mk3zephyr,
Jul 9, 4:03pm
Yea was looking at a high torque starter but was going to try and get the one that came with it fixed just so i can get the engine running sweet then look at one, just havnt had a toy to play around with for a while and, well you know how it is lol
stevo2,
Jul 9, 4:24pm
There are 2 different bolt patterns for bolting them in. The high torques nowadays are generally ex Asia After rebuilding the original a few times I used a "Tilton Super Starter" It wasnt cheap but it was very impressive. That was the last starter rebuild I ever needed. A good welder should have no problems creating a lasting weld. Cheers Stevo
lookoutas,
Jul 9, 4:35pm
There's a place in TePuna that builds good Kiwi Hi-torque's. Problem with welding is if ya got the wrong bolts you're back to square-one. Easy way to check is put the bolts into the holes and see if there's any slop. The difference in the proper bolts is visually noticable when comparing them with standard. I've seen studs machined to fit, with two nuts locked onto the bottom.
extrayda,
Jul 9, 5:00pm
Also I think there is a 158 & 164 tooth flywheel! (could be wrong on that). Most new aftermarket starters come with shims to get the alignment right.
rob_man,
Jul 9, 5:36pm
Those bolts don't look right, they should have gnurling on the shanks.
extrayda,
Jul 9, 5:51pm
yep, bolts look dodgy - whats with the tape!Looks like they might have allowed the starter to move about when it shouldn't, which probably caused it to break the housing. I've never used a strap, and never broken a starter. Personally I would get some correct (new) bolts for the job. You could probably also replace that part of the starter housing with one off a stuffed one (didn't check TM, but I'm sure there will be some here). I think I sold an old one for about $10 ages back. Most likely easier/stronger & cheaper than getting that one fixed. Or just get a replacement starter (which should come with bolts).
extrayda,
Jul 9, 5:52pm
May just be the photo, or my eyesight, but one of them looks bent too.
mk3zephyr,
Jul 9, 6:06pm
nah they arnt bent and the tape was just so they stayed together and didnt lose them while the car was on the trailer for its 5 hour trip home, only got home this arvo and already asking questions, keen lol
74nova,
Jul 9, 7:41pm
No real way to see if its 2 or 4 bolt unless the sump is dropped. If its still got the engine number stamped on the front left tab just below the left head then you can look that up. timing is usually about 10 initial and 32-36 total, you may have to play with the total timing abit.
extrayda,
Jul 9, 7:55pm
Some numbers are 4 bolt only, most are 2 or either. See here (Block casting nmumbers) http://www.73-87.com/chevy_ids/sbcid2.htm. Remember drivers side will probably be passengers side over here (LHD vs RHD)
As said though, best way is to drop sump, but if you aren't taking the engine out, thats not a very good option :-)
Though unless you want heaps of HP a 2 bolt is fine. Also a good idea to check the plugs if it's running rough, they may be dirty/fouled. plus check leads. plus points / rotor (if applicable). etc etc etc.the list of fun goes on (but it is quite satisfying to fix things yourself !).
74nova,
Jul 9, 8:09pm
Yes and you learn alot while playing!
NZTools,
Jul 10, 6:23am
Get the threads in the bell housing cleaned up before you before you fit your new starter and bolts. One of those bolts picktured has a stuffed thread. The thread it screws into wotn look any better at the moment.
NZTools,
Jul 10, 6:44am
Where's the edit button gone! I meant block, not Bell housing. (too used to Fords. lol)
alltorque350,
Jul 10, 6:48am
IMHO get a mini starter such as listing 302021257. providing your block has bolt holes that will allow the non offset bolt pattern. It comes with new bolts and shims so it can be set up properly. as for setting up the timing see http://outintheshop.com/faq/hei.htm . Basically you want about 34 degrees total mechanical advance (revs up, no vacuum)
extrayda,
Jul 11, 8:42pm
I think smoke out of the breathers would be caused by blowby from bad rings (not an expert though).Valve guides would show as exhaust smoke! I would expect a dirt track engine to have had quite a hard life, hope it works out ok for you, and you don't find it's already +60 !Any smoke from the exhaust!
mk3zephyr,
Jul 12, 1:19am
no smoke from the exhaust
mk3zephyr,
Jul 12, 3:20pm
nah no pcv valve, just got an inch breather pipe out of each rocker which goes to a tee then off to a breather filter, got some bolts coming down from Matamata for the starter and have taken the breather pipes off to see if it is blowing out of 1 bank or 2 when i fire it up, i would have expected smoke out the exhaust if it were rings, rocker breather filter is rather oily tho, hmmmmmm
lookoutas,
Jul 12, 4:20pm
Chev's usually breath quite bad at the best of times - reason why I pipe the breathers into a dump bottle in my boat. Just saves getting oil all over the covers. Doesn't amount to much oil.
mk3zephyr,
Jul 12, 4:21pm
Just pulled the plugs out and they are ok, i.e not oil fouled, just wondering if the crankcase is overpressurising, Rocker breather is clogged with oil residue and the bloody rough buggers had a piece of towling wrapped around it, also the hoses were "kinked", which may be causing a restriction and not allowing it to breath, any thoughts!
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