The Ford Barn - View Single Post

tubman · 06-13-2022, 06:35 PM

Watch out for rebuilts. I was always apprehensive about the starter in my '51. It never failed me, but it seemed to not have the "oomph" it should have. So when I heard that NAPA had a deal on rebuilts I ordered one and installed it. It was worse than the one I took out; it would hardly start the car. I took a swap meet unit off the shelf (it had a "good" tag on it) and put it in. It was much better than either of the others. So i decided to do it myself. Previously, I had ordered a bunch of flathead starter bushings and brushes from Rock Auto on close-out. My neighbor who is into flipping electric golf carts, had obtained a "growler", so we used that to test the armature and found it was good. Turning the commutater and installing new bushings and brushes resulted in a starter that turns the old Ford over like a new 12 volt vehicle.

I took the NAPA unit back, and they gave me a credit like it was normal business. (This on a "No Return" electrical part.)

06-13-2022, 06:35 PM	#10
tubman Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Minnesota, Florida Keys Posts: 10,320	Re: Tudie’s starting to start Watch out for rebuilts. I was always apprehensive about the starter in my '51. It never failed me, but it seemed to not have the "oomph" it should have. So when I heard that NAPA had a deal on rebuilts I ordered one and installed it. It was worse than the one I took out; it would hardly start the car. I took a swap meet unit off the shelf (it had a "good" tag on it) and put it in. It was much better than either of the others. So i decided to do it myself. Previously, I had ordered a bunch of flathead starter bushings and brushes from Rock Auto on close-out. My neighbor who is into flipping electric golf carts, had obtained a "growler", so we used that to test the armature and found it was good. Turning the commutater and installing new bushings and brushes resulted in a starter that turns the old Ford over like a new 12 volt vehicle. I took the NAPA unit back, and they gave me a credit like it was normal business. (This on a "No Return" electrical part.)