The Formula's starter starting acting up, sometimes I would get in and hit the key and nothing, then hit it again and she would fire. I decided to put a starter on it. I knew that Chevrolet had SOME high torque mini starters on factory vehicles, especially some trucks, so I Googled "Chevrolet factory high torque mini starters" and an add popped up on Newegg for one. Opened the ad and it had it listed for 61.80 and free shipping. After reading the add I pulled the trigger and purchased it. They rate this starter at 18:1 Compression, itll turn my stock 350 with ease. It arrived today and am happy! Great price and quick service! Ordered Friday and Monday its already here by lunchtime. Granted I am in VA and they are in GA, so its not a horrible ship, but still am amazed at how fast. Cheap alternative to a 200+ dollar Summit unit. Comes with shims and bolts. RAREELECTRICAL.COM

 

found it. Curious if it was an OE rebuilt of aftermarket

 

This is the link I purchased from. I will be installing it tomorrow evening late, ill let you know if I have any problems.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9SIA1BY0PB7672

And they claim it as NEW, even the box that they send it in is a NEW starter, not a rebuild. I think its new electronics, coils, gears, and reused cast iron pieces. Most NEW starters don't come with shims. The reason you need shims is due to the sandblasting of the cast iron mounts taking off layers.

 

Thanks for the update/info! And the $0.02 about the possible requirement for the shims.

 

No problem at all.

 

Bump

 

I am also running this starter. I've had it on the car for 3 years with ZERO problems. Starts my built 355 just fine.

 

Ugh, wish I'd seen this a week ago, just replaced my starter with big one. Bookmarking for next time

 

I’m a strong believer in rapping starters in a thermal blanket if it’s in any way near the Y pipe. The whole starter, not just around it. It will add years to its life.

 

FIRST - Thanks for the bump. Secondly I also agree that wrapping a starter is a good thing on those huge starters that comes stock. Not so much on these mini starters, they don't get nowhere near as close as a stock starter and saving a few pounds is always a good thing...

 

That's a great price for a mini starter!! Great find, and if it's been going well for you for three years it sounds like it's decent!

I went through the cheap lifetime warranty starters from Autozone one after the other...I finally gave up. Got sick and tired of replacing it every 3 months.

I have a Power master mini starter on mine now, and I love it...but I only wish I'd have gotten it that cheap!

 

Installed that starter tonight, used 1 shim and it fires up like a charm, even has that high pitched whine that those High torque minis have.. Love it so far...

 

Nice!

I know this is a silly question..... How do you know how many shims are necessary? I have never replaced a starter before... and I am contemplating jumping on one of these starters as opposed to have the original unit that was in the car rebuilt. My car currently has a reman starter, and sometimes when you attempt to turn it over, a high pitch grind/whine is emitted without spinning the engine. I suspect the solenoid does not completely drive the gear out far enough into the flywheel when it tries to spin the starter motor.

 

That is a way to tell shim(s) needed.
Very carefully pull // pry the starter gear out to the flywheel // flexplate.
Using a straightened paper clip, check the depth of tooth engagement.
The paper clip should just fit the tooth & gap. If not, add a shim & recheck.
Do this til the starter gear fits the gap with the paper clip clearance space.
You can search youtube for a visual tutorial.

 

Thanks!

 

Too bad it wont fit manual trans

 

Why not?

 

I had one of these. Lasted less than a year. Developed a "dead" spot, (had to whack it to get it to spin). Then one day, (in the tech inspection line at the track, of course!), it decided to not pull the drive all the way back and chewed up my sfi rated flex plate. I found a new, genuine GM B/F body LT1 starter for $100 at rock auto. Small, light weight but no cool "whine".

 

The end cap (dome) on an Auto starter is bigger than the others. No Idea why they had to be different but the auto one will not work in a manual bell housing.

Auto


Manual

 

Ok, this thing is a mini starter, and I can tell you from pulling my big clunky one off, that the bell on the new MINI starter is MUCH smaller than the bell on the old clunky 30lb piece.

 

Only update I have on this starter is there is a bracket that runs from the engine block to the back of the old big klunky unit on the car to hold up all that weight. The mini starter isn't long enough to reach the bracket, so the bracket is toast. Second, you have to reroute the large gauge wire running from the battery to the back of the solenoid just a little bit by clipping one of the little tie downs on the bottom of the radiator, the new solenoid on the new mini starter does not set back as far as the klunky unit, there is about a 1/2 to 3/4" difference.. Minor stuff though.

 

Sounds good...no need for the support bracket really, since most mini starters are half the weight of the stockers. Most of the starters I've installed don't need to be shimmed...but maybe I just got lucky.

Re-routing the wiring is a bigger headache...but it's expected since the solenoid sits back further than the stock one since it's smaller. I'll go out on a limb and say a mini-starter of some kind is a must have when you're running either LT or shortie headers. Headers give off a LOT of heat.

 

Yes, the mini starter stays much further away from the Y-pipe than the old big clunky, and saving 10+ LBS is always a great thing.

 

I bought a similar unit from DB electrical

http://www.dbelectrical.com/p-10547-...t-sdr0059.aspx

They are a Chinese made unit, but all new parts and castings. Mine has been good so far, really cranks the engine faster than the stock type reman I had on before. Much smaller and lighter too.

 

I have an ac delco version from a 1996-1998 Chevy pick up and I have no problems. I have put about 2000 miles on it .

 

How many times have you used the starter though? 2000 times or 4 times? Just kidding, If its AC Delco. should be good quality. Any fitment issues at all? or was it bolt and go?

 

You need to how many teeth on your flexplate or flywheel. So that the gear reduction starter will fit right. It bolt it up good and I did not need the stock extension bracket. My KARR is a daily driver.

 

I got the exact same starter as the OP. Just put it in. Sounds, ummmm, different. We shall see.

 

that's what I have

 

PN?

Trucks didn't get the 153 tooth flywheel.

 

A reman of the 1988 Corvette Nippondenso can be had for not much more than that and it has a cool whine. No pinion gear cone, so it fits any 153 bellhousing.

 

Can you post a link by chance?

 

Just FYI, rare electrical has a store on ebay . I have purchased many different starters and alternator's from them with no problems.

 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Car-Truck-Pa...te+nippondenso

http://www.rareelectrical.com/p-2022...-280-0299.aspx

 

So the mini starter from newegg.com will bolt up on my 91 z28 ?

 

It bolted directly up to my 88.

 

I could not find any information about if it wil work or not on a 5spd. does anyone know for sure either way?

 

Yes, it will as long as your using the stock starter mount on the engine. I suggest also using the stock type bolt's with the knurl on the lower end, as that knurl help's to steady the starter, so the aluminum housing doesn't break.

 

http://www.gmpartscenter.net/oem-par...arter/10465065. thats what I have for my gear reduction starter. I finally found my receipt misplaced in my tax files.

 

Well it has been 6 months for the rare electrical starter with absolutely no problems, and it was only 60ish dollars.. Super happy..

 

awesome
I paid about the same amount.
I had my gear reduction starter since July and no problems. I replaced my factory original heat soaked starter when my ignition module died (it was a airtek wells ICM and I replaced it with a bwd). I thought I would solve two problems at once.

 

Good info thanks for sharing.

 

Im going to order one tomorrow. going to put it on my 305 5 speed. everything I read here says it will work. ill post up

 

It will work, just remember, you cant use the old starter support bracket which you really don't need anyway due to the weight reduction of the new starter, and you may have to break loose a retaining clip on the bottom of the radiator support to make more length for the positive battery cable to reach the mini starter.

 

Iv had mine on DD duty since October of 2013 and it is still working like the day I put it on.

 

How is starter working ?

 

i put it in the other day and so far so good. it was easy to install and hook up. i did have to adjust the harness to bring the wires closer and my power cable was plenty close.
i am going to reroute the starter wires to go behind the motor to clean up the top and fromt later on.

 

Got photos?

 

I just placed my order!!

 

Purchased this from Newegg based on the comments here, and installed it last week on my Firebird with a 5-speed manual T5 World Class

Best purchase I have done this year by far.

Starts the car any time, no matter how hot it is. I highly recommend it.

Thanks for this great find!