High Torque 6-Volt Starters Question/Recommendations?

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Martin Benade
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Re: High Torque 6-Volt Starters Question/Recommendations?

#16 Post by Martin Benade »

Al I think you’ve got it confused a bit. The 130 tooth “12v” ring gear doesn’t fit in a 356 bellhousing. There are 6 and 12v reduction gear starters that go with the standard (“6v”) flywheel/ring gear, that are self supporting. I have one in my car, other than not sounding correct it works fine. And my original 6 v starter was just fine on 12 volts for 40 years, didn’t damage the ring gear.
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Al Zim
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Re: High Torque 6-Volt Starters Question/Recommendations?

#17 Post by Al Zim »

Martin: all I can tell you is what we encounter. I thought my point was clear that the 12 volt flywheel was larger than the 6 volt 356 flywheel so it would not fit.
Usually when a 6 volt starter is used being powered by 12 Volts it destroys the teeth on the ring gear. The engine usually stops in the same place which is the cause of only a few teeth being worn out. Zim
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Jules Dielen
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Re: High Torque 6-Volt Starters Question/Recommendations?

#18 Post by Jules Dielen »

Al Zim wrote: Thu Jan 12, 2023 11:45 am Jules: The 901/2 series transmission case is different from the 356 case. It does not have a support on the transmission for the armature. There are more teeth of the 12 volt flywheel than the 6 volt flywheel. CONCLUSION: If your friend used a 6 volt high torque starter on a 12 volt flywheel the starter will quickly destroy itself AND cause excessive wear on the flywheel teeth. The flywheel ring gear teeth can be replaced, but it may be easier to find a not so used 12 volt flywheel. The 911 starter should bolt right in. Zim
Al, had you read my post you would have seen we installed a 12v starter in a 12v car. The starter did not last very long but when it did work sounded strong but odd. That was my only experience with a hi torque starter
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Jacques Lefriant
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Re: High Torque 6-Volt Starters Question/Recommendations?

#19 Post by Jacques Lefriant »

Hi
the question is why would you pay a Premium price for a 6V "Hi-Torque" (gear reduction) when a stock Porsche/VW one would work?
 

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Mike Wilson
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Re: High Torque 6-Volt Starters Question/Recommendations?

#20 Post by Mike Wilson »

Reading previous posts, is a high torque starter needed for engines with higher compression ratios than stock?

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Wes Bender
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Re: High Torque 6-Volt Starters Question/Recommendations?

#21 Post by Wes Bender »

Mike, my 6 volt C with 9.5:1 spins up just fine with its 6 volt stock starter. If I needed to do so, I would have no qualms with having the starter rebuilt by a knowledgeable shop. I could replace the brushes were that needed. Remember also that many supposed 6 volt starter issues turn out to be bushing issues. There are those who would like nothing better than to convert your car to 12 volts and for those who enjoy whatever benefit they get from 12 volts that's fine. These 6 volt cars did just fine back in the day and can continue to do so.
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Jacques Lefriant
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Re: High Torque 6-Volt Starters Question/Recommendations?

#22 Post by Jacques Lefriant »

Hi Mike
how many hi compression engines are still 6V?
 

Dave Whittick
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Re: High Torque 6-Volt Starters Question/Recommendations?

#23 Post by Dave Whittick »

Jacques Lefriant wrote: Fri Jan 13, 2023 7:37 pm Hi Mike
how many hi compression engines are still 6V?
Mine is. Just 10.5:1 but just enough that my stock starter would just barely spin it. It was rebuilt, along with my spare, and neither would do the job. Replaced the trans bushing, fresh battery, new front to back cable. If I pulled the plugs, the stock starters worked fine.

The high torque starter was the perfect solution. Money well spent in my case.

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Al Zim
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Re: High Torque 6-Volt Starters Question/Recommendations?

#24 Post by Al Zim »

If you want to have electronic controls on your engine then it will be 12 volts. To bring you up to date, we are still without new 6 volt generator armatures! It has become impossible to rebuild 6 volt starters that do not have the ROUND solenoid. *** Some of the starters for earlier cars T-1 and possibly T-2 are two brush starters. *** Later they became 4 brush starters which provided more electrical power to the armature. But those that have the square solenoid are probably THROW AWAY ITEMS.
These same thoughts need to be explored regarding distributors on 3 piece cases that could easily be 68 years old. Zim
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Re: High Torque 6-Volt Starters Question/Recommendations?

#25 Post by Allan Shanahan »

I have a 2.1l Wilhoit engine in my 1957 356A - engine case is 1963 1600N with Type 741 transmission. The car is still 6v and the original starter struggled to spin the engine. Have put in the WOSP 6v High Torque starter and while it starts the car it is not much better than the original starter and makes a terrible banging sound when it is engaged - any thoughts on why this is happening?
 

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Nils Levine
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Re: High Torque 6-Volt Starters Question/Recommendations?

#26 Post by Nils Levine »

Anyone tried to order one recently? Anyone taken delivery on one? Anyone have one for sale? I ordered one via Pelican Parts in early November. The website stated it would take 2-weeks to fulfill (and the sales associate confirmed this over the phone). It was then supposed to arrive at Pelican Parts as of January 12th. Now no word as to when it's supposed to arrive. Would love if to hear back if anyone has a line on one anywhere in the USA.
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Chuck Allard
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Re: High Torque 6-Volt Starters Question/Recommendations?

#27 Post by Chuck Allard »

I ordered one from Stoddard back in Sept and received it last week.

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Re: High Torque 6-Volt Starters Question/Recommendations?

#28 Post by Nils Levine »

Heard back from Pelican - it's now slated to arrive there on February 2nd. Will report back here on how it works out. Based on Chuck's experience it would seem realistic to expect a 3 month turn-around.
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Randy Mittelstet
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Re: High Torque 6-Volt Starters Question/Recommendations?

#29 Post by Randy Mittelstet »

1960 T5 6 volt super 90 with original starter.

There is no mention here of anyone with starter problems trying a $34 starter relay kit first before going the more expensive HI Torque route.

This relay is a great first step in troubleshooting starter issues. It’s cheap and for most a DIY.

My experience was a slow spinning original starter that did the job just ok but was a little challenged with hot starts. So before going to the trouble and expense $$$ of looking at the bushing or a starter rebuild or a WSOP, I had a starter relay installed along with a new transmission grounding strap for good measure. I didn’t take time to clean any other grounding contact areas.

Bingo! The original starter now spins much faster and no problem blowing right through a hot start with no battery drain. Cold starts are really quick. I only regret not doing this years ago.

I certainly can’t say this is a cure all for every scenario such as high compression builds etc.
Even if the starter relay doesn’t solve the problem, it will most likely enhance anything else you do and cost under $40 with shipping from most of our vendors.
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Mark Roth
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Re: High Torque 6-Volt Starters Question/Recommendations?

#30 Post by Mark Roth »

I installed the 6v WSOP when I thought that my starting problems were the slow starter. Turned out to be the coil. Anyway, the hi torque starter works a little faster going by the sound. It is a much higher pitch. Someone described it as sounding like a DC3 engine starting.
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