>In short, for those of you who are blessed with a "long nose" (starter
>that is), forget it !!!!!!
>Apparently they are not made, seldom rebuilt properly, and those that
>are out there may last anywhere from a day to 10 years. Replacing one
>that can't be repaired is somewhat hopeless.
>I had several people tell me that the best solution is to replace the
>flywheel and use a newer model starter that can even still be purchased
>at a good parts store (Western Auto/Parts America was able to a 1959-on
>easily).
>The really best solution is to replace the flywheel, clutch, and
>transmission with later model parts up to a TR6. For the purist this
>is unthinkable, but this car is far from virgin.
>Paul g. Wiegman
In TR lore I have always that the early closed nose or bullet starter is a
better design than the later open nose or long starter primarily beacuse the
end of the armature at th drive gear end is supported so the shaft doesn't
deflect when trying to engage with the ring gear. The only weak point is the
rubber drive coupling. The rubber de-bonds and the drive gear just spins on the
shaft or more correctly, the shaft spins and the drive gear and the flywheel
don't. Replacements are hard to find and hav benn known to fail almost
immediately in some cases.
A number of years ago, a fellow club member, Ken Gillanders, helped devise
a solution for this design fault. He calls this the Hi-Tech Starter Drive
and I have never heard of one failing. Ken is proprietor of British Frame &
Engine, 4831 N. Ryland Ave., Temple City, Ca. 91780 (818)443-0939. He carries
lots of useful goodies for the Vanguard type 4 cylinder engines and an
increasing amount of stuff for the six cylinder engines.
I think Ken has had this part available for about 10 years and has it on his own
'55 TR2, "The Red Rocket".
I'm sure the new starter drive is alot cheaper than all the stuff needed to
change over to a late starter. If you REALLY don't want your old closed nose
starter anymore, don't throw it away, throw it in a box addressed to me. I have
three cars that use the early starter and I like to have spares!
Cheers
Kurt Oblinger
Redondo Beach, Ca.
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