It depends....starters are matched up to the flywheels. You need to run a 12v starter with a 168 tooth flywheel and a 6 v starter with a 139 tooth flywheel. A 57 engine should have a 12v starter and a 168 tooth flywheel if it's factory stock. If the engine in your 52 truck is the original 6v 139 tooth flywheel, it will not work. Although the bendix drive tooth count is the same for both 6 and 12 v starters they are not interchangable.

The easiest way to differentiate between starters is to check the factory COLOR on the little oval tag on the starter. A black color in the tag indicates 6v while red is a 12v. If the tag is missing you can measure the diameter of the bendix drive gear...if it's over 1" in diameter (1.150") it's a 6 v. A 12v is .990" in diameter. Also the armature shaft in the 6v is larger at .558" while the 12v is .460.

The reason you need to check this before you bolt in the "57" starter is because they will both bolt up to the bell housing but will not work if they don't match the flywheel. In addition, a 57 engine can also be running a 6v flywheel and 6v starter running on 12v.

Hope this helps you get your starter situation sorted out.

Dave

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