ShckByte Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 My '70 has been having issues for a little while and wanted to first get an opinion before I take it in. I have had replaced the starter and rewired the cables to the battery to ensure it is not electrical...still not 100% sold that it isn't. When I go to start the car I floor it and don't pump it (per a mechanic that seemed to know his stuff about MC's). The engine slowly spins (whirs) up then starts. I've tried starting it many different ways in case I'm just flooding the engine; that doesn't seem to be the case though. Once started it runs great...it's just getting it started in almost every case. Now of course there are times where she starts up immediately, which doesn't make sense. Is it possible the timing is way off? Or, could it be back to the electrical where it's not getting enough juice? Thanks for reading and any advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stangeba Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 "The engine slowly spins (whirs) up then starts." From this description, I conclude that the starter motor is just barely turning over the engine (slowly spins) like what happens when you have a weak almost dead battery, then it (whirs) assuming the starter motor is still engaged and the engine that has now fired up, spins the living daylights out of the starter (like the key is held in the start position too long) or the alignment of the starter motor to the ring gear / flex plate is incorrect and the starter motor needs to be shimmed. The starter could still be bad, we reject over 50% of the rebuilt starters we sell for problems like this. (Many rebuilt's are of very poor quality) Can you post a video of this issue so we can hear it? Flooding doesn't sound like the issue here at all to me. I'm sure others will chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShckByte Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 I unfortunately don't have a camcorder anymore, but what you say sounds exactly what is going on...I can see if one of my kids can film it on their phones tomorrow and upload to youtube or something. I don't believe the starter was a rebuild though...however, having said that, I did get it at Advance Auto; do they sell rebuilds there? If so, I'm back to the drawing board with getting a new one. Not to mention trying to crawl under the car to re-install a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monte70car Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Yeah some times you can get rebuilt stuff from parts houses like Advance auto. The rebuilt stuff usual run about $20 to $40 cheaper then new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShckByte Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 Well, that's unfortunate! I guess I know now. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71monteme Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 if you don't care about appearance then get one of these starter save yourself some headache. turns over my 13:1 compression 496 no problem. works for both SBC and BBC. They also came on 90'S pick up trucks. thanh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike 57 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 It would be nice to hear it crank. Holding the pedal to the floor to start it is a sign of the motor loaded up with fuel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gprimm Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 On the rebuilt items, some are fine, others not. Depends on the company rebuilding them. Being in banking, I have visited many companies over the years. Within the last few years I visited a rebuilding shop by me that does work for national companies (their products are sold at shops and Jegs and Summit Racing). Beside rebuilding they also assembled new starters and alternators. They said that NAPA would buy new units from them and package them as rebuilt so that their reject numbers were better in industry reporting. So, if you buy a "rebuilt" at NAPA, it may be brand new. By the way, the shop manager say I could bring them any alternator and they could build it to any output specs I wanted. Very interesting in a sometimes other boring or frustrating job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShckByte Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 Good information there gprimm. It's amazing what these big shops do to get higher ratings! I'm not huge into appearance under the hood so I'll give it a try 71monteme. Once I get one of my kids to video it on their phone I'll send it forward for all to hear...my problems. I'm thinking I have serious issues with the cables to my battery. Especially since the person who owned it before me put in A LOT of after market parts and since I'm not an electrician by any means it could be messing it up. I've heard this twice from mechanics too that heard of my problem. Thanks all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShckByte Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 So this "mini-starter" works the same as other starters out there? It just seems low in price compared to OPGI's and others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71monteme Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 So this "mini-starter" works the same as other starters out there? It just seems low in price compared to OPGI's and others. i've spent $200 for a "power-master" starter, and this "mini-starter" works the same as my power-master for 1/3 the price. i have 2 starters from that ebay guy, 1 in each monte, a 10:1-427bbc and a 13:1 496bbc. thanh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Brichta Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Hey Brian, My 72 gave me problems for years before I found the problem. I replaced the starter, solenoid, put on a heat shield, etc. but nothing seemed to fix the problem. I was just about ready to order the high torque mini starter as my next step. Sometimes it worked perfect but 1 out of every 10 it had a hard time turning over. It turned out to be the small wire that ran from the harness to the solenoid. The end looked great and the outside of the wire looked great but the inside of the wire was all corroded. I replaced the wire from the solenoid up into the harness as far as I could or wanted to go and never had the problem again. Then I did the same procedure on the rest of my cars so I would never have the problem on any car I own. It is a cheap fix and took me a long time to find it so you may want to give it a try. I also used heavier gauge wire then the factory used and I always solder my wire connections and ends. Good luck!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShckByte Posted August 1, 2012 Author Share Posted August 1, 2012 I'll have to climb into my hood and see if that's the case. Thanks for the tip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShckByte Posted August 16, 2012 Author Share Posted August 16, 2012 I wrote the seller regarding the 'SBC BBC Chevy 3 HP High Torque Mini Starter' and his response was "Do you have a staggered or straight across bolt pattern?" Not sure how to respond, since I'm not even close to a mechanic. Thanks for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monte70car Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 staggered or straight across bolt pattern is how the starter bolts to the block. So you can look at the starter on the car now or look at your block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCfan Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Brian, Be glad he asked - it is absolutely critical to getting the correct starter for your motor. I purchased a ministarter that Summit listed as correct for my 402 only to discover that it was a "straight across" or "in-line" bolt pattern and my block required a "staggered" bolt pattern. I don't have a small block in either of my Montes, so you will need to either have someone who knows for sure tell you which one you need or crawl under your Monte and see for yourself. If the two mounting holes in the frame of the starter are not directly aligned with each other and 90 degrees from the axis of the starter motor/shaft, you have the staggered bolt pattern. BTW, if your motor turns out to have the in-line pattern, I have a new PowerMaster mini starter that I will make you a real good deal on. BUT WAIT ... you may not need a new starter after all! My '70 BBC had almost identical symptoms to what you have described. I replaced cables, freshened the grounding points and thought I needed a new starter. But, when I removed the old starter to install the mini starter (and only then discovered I had one with the wrong bolt pattern), I cleaned the block where the old starter contacted it and also cleaned the mounting surface on the old starter before reinstalling it. BINGO! No more cranking issues AT ALL. That starter-to-block interface is apparently a critical part of the electrical circuit (ground side) and make a difference in the starter's performance. So maybe you should check and clean the mounting surface of your current starter before you buy a new one. Worked for me ... Good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShckByte Posted August 17, 2012 Author Share Posted August 17, 2012 Thanks for the great info MCfan! Only knowing body work when it comes to a car, it has hindered my ability to access situations correctly on my engine. I'm having my mechanic look at it Monday to see if that is possibly it, but also checking for any wires that may not be terminated correctly. My cables get really hot at times, and I know that isn't right, so will probably replace and do a few other things before I start not liking my car! Lol. Got a ways to go with it, but it's a work in progress...unfortunately, and fortunately, it's my daily driver. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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