my 462 has 11 to 1 compression, headers, and after 1500 miles on it the starter barly turns it over when it gets hot,i do have two heat shields on it, a local shop will build me up an after market starter that will fix my problems for $175, or he will rebuild the stock one for $50 and says i will probably have the same problem agine in a short time. what should i do???? p.s. it starts great cold
I have had no problem with the starter from www.turbobuicks.com for $125. It is light wieght and gear reduction!
Have you done the Ford starter solenoid trick? The bit where you use a Ford starter solenoid mounted reasonably close to the GM starter. My 32 roadster with 462" Buick has a Ford starter solenoid mounted under the seat. The large battery cable runs from batt to Ford solenoid to GM starter solenoid. It does a lot better this way than running the batt cable directly to the GM starter. All you need do is run a short wire from the GM starter small terminal to the large terminal so the GM solenoid will pull-in when the large cable is energized. I understand the long run of 16 gage wire from GM source to the GM solenoid can get down in voltage and that creates part of the hot-start problems due to the poor pull-in of the GM solenoid. I run just over 9/1 compression and a newly rebuilt HD starter from NAPA along with an MSD6AL amplifier box has the car starting with the tap of a key cold or hot. Granted, I'm not running the C/R you are, but underhood temps in the small 32 engine bay - even with all the louvers - can get pretty hot. The other big secret, probably not a problem with your big Buick is a good ground system. Especially so having the engine block grounded to the frame and the frame and engine well grounded to the batt.
Kelly I was surprised! You're usually giving great advice instead of asking for it. Hope I don't have the same problems you are having. My combo is gonna be pretty close to yours. Let me know waht you find.
Barring preignition, maybe a few more CCAs or a double battery setup. That gear reduction idea seems like a good idea, too. My 73 8.5 motor actually broke the head of the starter with this problem. There is a casting flaw on the head of the starter.
I have 12.5 compression and run a gear reduction starter and do the ford solenoid trick and have no problems at all.
Most likely 1 ga. battery cables will fix all of your problems. Beldon makes nice cables for our cars. Good luck.
i should have the proper cables just my costom cable from the trunk to the starter was $100 dollars i think my problem is heat soak, of the starter. this is a real problem with the stock starter on cars with headers, and or high commpression. running a mini starter most allways fixes the problem, i have not had enen responces, were i have been told the stock starter will work over time with a set up like mine. i dont want to keep burning up the stock starters.
The commercially available #1 gage batt cables - at least the USA made ones from 'real' parts houses - work well in my 32 roadster with 462" engine. The battery is mounted under the floor in front of the rear axle up against the inside of the right frame rail. Since the longest #1 cable usually in stock at the parts house is 36" or so setting up the 32 with multiple cables was easily done. Several lengths are involved and with the longer wheelbase of the Big Buick cars compared to the short 106" wheelbase of the 32 your cable lengths will differ. The positive (+) cable goes forward from battery to cut off switch. Next (+) cable goes from cut off switch to under the seat above the floor pan Ford solenoid - passenger side fwiw. The solenoid is mounted on a 1/4" thick piece of aluminum that also is drilled and tapped 10-32 for several ground wires as well as mounts the regulator, etc. From the solenoid it goes back out of the body directly to the starter. The negative (-) cable goes from battery to a stainless steel 3/8-16 bolt bolted to the inner frame rails boxing plate. This bolt is long enough to accept three #1 gage cable terminals. So right off the bat, the frame is well grounded. Another (-) cable goes up under the seat and bolts to the aforementioned 1/4" aluminum plate which is up on some aluminum 3/4" diameter standoffs so bolts can be inserted from the underside of the plate. This grounds the aluminum plate. From there, another cable bolts to the aluminum plate and it goes to another stainless steel 3/8-16 bolt on the inner frame rails boxing plate. A short cable goes from that bolt to a bellhousing bolt. In the end, the frame is grounded in a couple of places and the engine is tied into the ground network with its own #1 gage cable. The double ended #1 batt cables are easy to find and stacking them on the frame grounding bolts works well. As far as running the same system on the Big Buicks, I see no reason why it couldn't be accomplished there as well. Especially if you have a cutoff switch forward of the rear axle. That should make normally available cables easy to find at the parts house. If you're running a cutoff switch at the rear of the car as mandated by NHRA, Goodguys, SCTA and all the rest, more than likely you'll have to get a fairly long cable to make the run up under the hood. Most battery houses are set up to make very nice long cables with crimped terminals. In the majority of cases I've seen, better quality than using arc welding cable and soldering on the terminals. If I was running a long batt cable I'd make a point to enclose it in a protective sheath. Something along the lines of a piece of heater hose. There are a lot of opportunities for abrasion and the (+) cable needs the added protection. A bit off the subject, but not so far off that it wouldn't help someone.
Mini High Torque Starters are the trick:TU: , mine practically throws my motor over, zero hesitation. Best money I spent under the hood.
im going with a 3.1 h/p,342ft/lbs torque 4.44:1 mini starer that the local shop is going to make up for me for $170, its a $300 unit from summit. he told me the 3.8 delco mini that are modified for the 455 work good but he says this unit has twice the torque and is build alot better
FIXED!!!, i drove it arond town and got it up to 210 degrees. then turned it off and it STARED RIGHT UP! the mini starter is the best money i spent under the hood. i am even going to put one on my 72 with exhaust manifolds, jut for the reliabilty.
