Hello everybody hows it going?? I need some help. I have a 56 Belair but the engine is out of a 69 z28 302. I need a High torque starter for it but none of the ones I've looked at have the same bolt pattern as the starter that I took off of it. I even went to the auto parts store and looked at a regular starter for a 69 302 and it didn't have the same bolt pattern as mine either. Does anyone on here have any ideas that might help me. I need a HT starter pretty bad because the starter is right next to my headers and when it gets hot it won't turn over. Thanks, Seth

 

I don't know why you'd be having a hard time finding one. There are two bolt patterns, inline for the 153 tooth flywheel, and staggered for the 168 tooth flywheel. Both are available in high torque. Your old starter should be the inline mount type. If it's a staggered one, are you sure that you really do have a 302? Another thing you can do is put on a factory style heat shield, which is probably missing on yours, and causing the starter to overheat.

 

Yep sure its a 302, everything else that I've ever bought for it fit just fine, it doesn't have the orignal tranny though could that have anything to do with it??

 

You mentioning the tranny cleaned out a couple of cobwebs in the brain. The older engines (as well as your 56) had a bellhousing mounted starter, not block mounted. Is that what you have?

 

Yes it is mounted to the bell housing. Is there a High torque that mounts to the bell housing??

 

Not that I'm aware, but maybe somebody does rebuild them better? However, your block is drilled for using an engine mounted starter. You would have to do some "clearancing" on the bellhousing though, or update with the newer style bellhousing, if it's a manual trans you have.

 

Ok i got under there and looked and there are holes on the block to mount the starter and now im wondering if I can still get a starter that mounts to the block and still work with what I have. Starting to get frustrated with the whole thing!!!

 

To my previous "clearancing on the bellhousing", I was referring to cutting and/or grinding away the existing portion of the bellhousing that's currently in the way of getting the block mounted starter to fit.