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Gear Reduction Starter comparison

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M

mwagon

Jedi Hopeful
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I'm looking at purchasing a Gear Reduction Starter for a BT7 & noticed the unit sold by Rare Electical on ebay looks close (if not identical) to the more expensive units sold by other sources. Does anyone have experience with their unit? I hate to buy a cheap copy & regrete it, but if they actually are the same unit seems like a good source.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-STARTER-MOTO...6cb&vxp=mtr
 
I bought the unit from Moss several years ago. When received, you have to rotate the adapter to a new position to "clock" it where it clears the block. The one for sale on Ebay does not have the ability to be tailored to a given installation, so if it doesn't fit in its "as sold" orientation, you're out of luck.

For someone that already had a Moss-type starter, the Ebay unit could (possibly...) make a cheaper alternative for a replacement gear-drive motor, after swapping the adapter.

I first used a gear reduction starter on an MGBGT about fifteen (>15) years ago, and I am totally sold on them. When I fitted the one to my Healey (5+ years ago?) the first time I tried it, the engine started so fast that it scared me__I immediately shut it back off (laughing...)!
 
I got mine from Britishstarters.com It has the adjustable plate on the front. Like Randy says, it will spin your engine so fast that you can't believe it ! Good luck !
 
I bought one of these from Rare Electrical for my XK120. It's different than the higher priced one (like I have on my BN1) in that it doesn't have the adjustable plate. Otherwise, it's the same Nippondenso starter. Appears to be well made.

For what it's worth, I had to change the gear from a 40mm gear to a 30mm gear to make it work on the Jag even though they advertise it for the Jag. Pretty sure the Healey uses a 40mm gear so it shouldn't be a problem.

Marv J
 
I bought my gear reduction starter from Ted Schumacher at TS Imports, in Pandora, Ohio. Echo Randy's opinion. It is one of the best upgrades over stock to my BT7. The one that I purchased came with the adapter that could be rotated to several positions for multiple applications. Once the correct positioning is selected, the gear reduction starter is held in position with the adapter by a pair of torx (sp) bolts. Some time after installation, one of these bolts vibrated out. I contacted Ted and asked him where I could purchase a replacement, and he mailed me a pair of replacements at no charge.

Jerry
 
I replaced the brushes in my original starter in 1981 and it has started quickly without fail for 31 years. I like keeping as much original as possible.
 
Agree with you there Tim, I like the sound of the original starter wheezing into life.

The best way to ensure a reliable start from the Lucas starter is to undercut the insulation on the commutator just a little. There are very clear instructions in the workshop manual not to ever do this but it really wakes up a sluggish starter. I have done this to every starter I have rebuilt and not had a problem, other than a significant improvement in performance.

Fwiw, the gear reduction starter motor itself is a fairly generic Denso unit that is available in LH or RH rotation and is used on a variety of FWD Nippon vehicles such as Toyota MR2 and Corona etc. The nose/adapter is often manufactured by aftermarket suppliers such as Hitorque https://www.hitorque.com/ to suit retrofit applications. We use these in our production vehicles and they are very reliable units.

Andy.
 
I went ahead & purchased the Gear Reduction Starter from Rare Electrical on ebay, as mentioned in original post, knowing that if all I needed was an adapter plate, I could easily machine. Turns out this starter is a direct bolt-on replacement. Works excellent & does have the correct Pinion gear for a Healey
 
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