TR2/3/3A starter choice

new thread to choose a new starter... see old thread on "stuck"engine for background.

Either I can buy a modern "high torque" starter for $200 or so ( MORE IN CANADA) or I can buy a new" Wilson " starter from FDC in Tucson at about $100 US. It is supposed to be a direct replacement for Lucas 25555 . I have never heard of this product. Does any one have experience or comment about this.

From the previous thread i think my first starter, 25521D. got hung up on the gear ring bolts but I will have to check that. The car came with old style unit (bomb?) , not appropriate for the bolt on flywheel although i know people have used them successfully

I have not heard of FDC in Tucson... not a big town so I would have expected to. Can you tell me more about the Wilson starter?

Also - since your came with the 'bullet-nose' or 'bomb' starter - have you confirmed that you have the later style bellhousing to accommodate the long nose starter? I suppose you must as you had one installed but then that one did not work.

Those high-torque/gear reduction starters are nice units; I've had one on my Porsche for a few years now, and I like it. I think I'll eventually put one on the TR4A.

And the third choice is to find a used starter from the Forum classified or eBay or such. While rebuilding my cars I had several starters. I took two down to a local electrical motor shop (very reputable) along with new brushes and ask him to rebuild them. I got them back with the new parts still in the bags and the comment that "those starters are in great shape and should last for a long time". And I have them on my 2 TR4's and they are working fine.
Charley

Hi Dr Mike,

I went with the high torque starter on my 60. No regrets.

Cheers
Tush

I've been putting high torgue starter on all my cars. I like how they spin the engine over faster, sound I don't like but can live with that.
Marv

I would at least look into a starter rebuild shop that is local to you. They are not that difficult to rebuild or have rebuilt. The most difficult part is having the armature turned on a lath if needed. Here I can get that done for 30.00 dollars. There is a builder’s trick to getting the 4 brushes on the armature once it has been tested for shorts and turned, but it is a simple trick done with a hook and the bushes outside the case.
steve

Sorry, my reply got lost.having computer difficulty too.

Seems like they(FDC) have just relocated to Tucson, whence i do not know. I think their website is <apartsdepot.com>. But Wilson has a widespread dealer network, including on in Canada. Yeah!

I think they mention 5 Different versions of 25555 ( A-E) with the same substitution doing for all. Not confirmed.
I have the regular , undamaged, bolt-on flywheel.
Let us hope this goes!

I went with the High Torque starter as the one that came with my car had a bent shaft.

Got it from British Starters. They wanted to know the style of starter ring gear on the car and the number of teeth on the ring gear so they could supply thee correct starter.

David

Also went with a modern starter...mostly because of clearance issues with the bull nose starter and my headers. Works great, though.

Thank you all, belatedly.

I am trying to keep things "original".
I have been trying to get a starter here in Canada with no success. The best idea is to acquire, somehow, the appropriate pinion and fit it to the starter I have (25521D).
There are a lot of starters with the same motor and layout. Has anyone done this? Moss claim to have a pinion but it is costly. I suppose one could also grind down the existing full length pinion to the right shape--

etc!

If your car is a 60 TR3 the original starter would have been this one right?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/391889999539?item=391889999539&rmvSB=true
If you are trying to use the older bomb style starter, probably not a good idea as the rubber drive gear is prone to failure, and it is not as reliable as the correct one for your car. I say get a good rebuilt original type.

Dan

You would think so, but it looks different from the one linked to it on eBay which shows a ground off half of the pinion. But the number is correct. So has PO messed it up a bit? I think the shaft on the one you showed might get in the way.

Thank you: the lesson is to watch eBay and get what I think will work for me. I can have it shipped within the US and pick up at the border if I have to.

MIchael

Easiest way to determine which starter you need is to check which way the beveled teeth on your engine's ring gear face: generally, teeth toward the front of the car means early-style starter, and toward the rear means the later style starter with the open shaft.

BUT: it is possible for a previous owner to have put a ring gear on backwards, so pull the small metal cover plate behind the oil pan off and look for the presence of bolts holding the ring gear on. If you have a bolted ring-gear, the tooth bevels should face towards the rear of the car and you need a late-type starter. If no-bolts, you have a shrunk-on ring gear and the teeth face forwards, meaning an early starter.

It's also possible for a shrunk-on ring gear to move from it's proper seat at the front of the flywheel toward the rear of the car, in which case it will also have to be re-seated. Check for mangled teeth at the same time you have the plate off.

Ring gear is bolted on. Car came (1995) with "bomb" starter which worked. and the ring gear is undamaged, but I have no idea whether it was on for long. As noted, somewhere, the car is a mishmash of parts aka a mongrel! I know some people have used bombs without trouble, but not recommended.

found what looks like the correct starter on eBay. Thank you "2long" for the advice. We shall see when it arrives. Hopefully this is the end of this story: there will be others?