Moving to 12V starter maybe

1948F-1Pickup

1948F-1Pickup

Well-known member
This would be on a 48 F-1 w. the factory V8.
I'm contemplating the O'Reilly ('64-up 390)
starter case with 6V armature trick that I read
about on this forum.
Hoping that the resulting 12 volt starter will turn
slower than 6V one does now on 12 volts.

What say you?
 
I know there's a group who doesn't like running the 6V starter on 12V and have heard of people having issues with the solenoid sticking and not being able to shut the starter off. But have also heard that has happened on some 6V starters running on 6V as well. I'm with the group liking the faster spinning of the 6V starter running on 12V. I do have a battery shutoff inside the interior and in the event there's ever a problem could shut it down but it's been fine for 3 years.
 
I ran my 6V starter on 12V for 25 years before the Bendix spring broke. Then I did the 12V (390) conversion. Your 6V starter will work fine as long as you don't over heat it by cranking and cranking. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Wait until it breaks.
 
My buddy runs a 6v starter on 12 volts and occasionally breaks a Bendix. Other than that, the motor seems to take it well.
 
I modified a later 12V starter to take the old style bendix. Works like a charm. It spins the motor at normal speed, not in warp drive.
All you have to do is drill a shallow hole to take the dog point of the one bendix bolt. At the time I had no way to mill a key way, so left it out. It's worked for over 15 years now with no issues. Have never sheered the bolt.
Very easy to do.
 
That is not a bad idea - running the 6V starters on 12V really spins the motor over nicely (can be especially nice with a magneto), but is hard on the Bendix and sometimes the they flywheel gear. I will say, that when I'm starting a brand new engine, I always pull the plugs and run a 6V starter on 12V - just to get the oil pump and pressure up. Then I start it the 'normal' way.
 
After two Bendix's and damaging the flywheel starter ring I finally converted the starter to 12V a few years ago. No problem since.
 
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