A few questions centered around the starter. The car is an 89 GTA. It WAS a 305/T5 combo. It is now a 383 stroker with the same T5. The starter has started crapping the bed when the engine is hot. The car will crank right over when it is cold. If I drive the car until it is at its normal temp, and then stop the car and try to restart it, if it cranks over at all it is a very hard start at best. Here are the questions.

1. Am I on the right track thinking that the headers have cooked the solenoid and that I need to replace the starter?

2. I was using the stock starter that was in use for the 305. I searched in the archives and saw a post about there being two types of starters. A large and a small one. I went ahead and got the higher torque/larger starter. The bolt patterns seem to be the same for both starters. They are both uneven lenght bolts that are not offset at all. The only difference is the physical size of the main starter itself. Is there something else that will hinder me using the starter? I asked for the starter for a 350. Which starter did the 91-92 F-bodies use that came with the 350/t5 combo?


Thanks for your help.
Robert

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1989 GTA TRANS AM
Was a TPI 305 & t-5 car.
Is now 383 stroker w/ the same T-5
World products Sportsman II heads(64cc fast burns). Lunati pistons@10.5:1 and 452/462/112* camshaft. Eagle crank and 6 inch rods. Ported/polished/port matched stock TPI intake. T-5 on a suicide mission.

 

Rob,

The V-8 starter came in two flavors - regular, and high-torque. The displacement of the engine really doesn't matter.

Your starter is getting weak from heat. A hot starter will not create as great a magnetic field in the pole windings at a given current. The lower magnetism equates to lower torque, and harder starts. A hot solenoid can also have a resistive connection at the contacts, multiplying the problem. As the current requirements rise (from the waeker magnetic field) the contacts get even hotter.

The best answer is probably the gear reduction starter like the ones used on the LT1s. They are a little more tolerant of heat, and save space. They aren't cheap, but if you have a real starting problem, they can be a good solution.

Short of that, a standard direct drive high-torque starter is better than the "plain vanilla" starter. From my experience, the physical size of the starters is about the same. The high torque starter has more copper and iron than the "regular" one, and may have a slightly longer motor section, however. It also requires a lot more battery to keep it spinning.

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Later,
Vader
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If you want to beat the World, it might reach up and pull you down...
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Thanks Vader,

I did go ahead and get a 900cca batt. to replace the 750cca batt. when I picked up the higher torque starter. I thought ahead for that one. I am also talking to my cousin, who is a fabricator at a local import speed shop about making me a heatshield.

Thanks for the help. I have yet to get bad advice or a useless answer on this board. I just want to say what a GODSEND this board is.


(Yes, I am shamelessly kissing Dirks *** as well as the moderators. For this board and thier free know-how, I think it's warranted.)