Do any 1928 Starter Bushings Exist?

Tom Wesenberg

Tom Wesenberg

Well-known member
The mid 28 starter with 1/2" drive used some odd sized bushings on each end of the armature. The large bushing on the drive end is A-11135 and measures .842 O.D., .781 I.D. and 1.165" long.

The small front bushing is A-11052-B and measures .696 O.D., .635 I.D. and .635" long. I can't find these in any of the dealer's catalogs and the local bearing and seal store can't get them. Any ideas on where to find these, or do they have to be custom made? Thanks
 
I have taken a little off the seam of the style of bushings made from flat stock, and have made bushings from flat stock for odd sizes in auto trans when not sold

i will look in an old bushin assortment I have ----with such odd sizes have you checked metric bushings?
 
Hi Tom, Making these bushings from bronze bushing stock is a piece of cake for anyone with just about any type of metal working lathe. Finding the stock is easy. MSG or Enco has it in their catalogues. Have fun with it!
Chris
 
Subtracting the I.D. from the O.D. would seem to idicate that Ford used some 1/16" thick copper or copper alloy plate to cut and roll these thin bushing from. I can't find anyone that sells the bushing with dimples to hold oil/grease. I'll check with the old starter/generator shop next time I get downtown.
 
Hi Tom, Chris is right about being easy to turn out new bushings on a lathe. Most starter bushings I have encoutered have been made of "oilite", a sintered bronze material that is pressed and bonded into a solid form however quite porous. It is then impregnated with oil. Your bushings have only .0315 wall thickness so may be fragile to press in if care is not taken to make sure they are square with the housing while pressing. If you have a machinist make these for you he could most likely press them in for you and at the same time check for proper shaft clearance. With your armature there your machinist could mic both ends for wear and true them up if needed then custom fit the new bushings. I know all of these oporations are more money, but the payoff may be longer starter life and better cranking. Good luck on your project.
 
I bought mine from Bert's about 6 years ago. It took us a couple of tries to get the right sized front bushing. With the cost of shipping these days I would check the local shops first or call Bert's with the measurements first, one thing I did not do the first time I ordered them. Rod
 
Forgot to add that the front bushing required alot of honing to get a good fit as it was quite thick walled. Rod
 
Tom,
Try calling McDonald Obsolete Parts. (812) 359-4965. http://mcdonaldparts.com/

He is the person who had the NOS Special Bendix I needed. I have one other suggestion which I will email to you via PM if you want it. Just let me know
Supergnat
 
I just thought of another possible source. There is a starter rebuilding shop near me so I would expect that he might have bushings. He has repaired some Model A starters.

JEBCO Rebuilders
Joe Barton
856-829-7589
located in Riverton, NJ
 
Hi Tom, Old trick for machining thin-walled soft or hard materials: Turn hard rock maple in core size, fit already internally bored material to hard rock maple core, machine OD size to spec. OH, if you leave the bushing overlong, you can ****** it in your chuck from one end, insuring that it will not spin on the maple core. When finished, part it to length. This is a fun project!
Chris
 
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