The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Stomp starter change to push button

My goal is to remove the stomp starter from my 1951 3100 truck and replace it with a button type starter. My flywheel is at the machine shop for resurfacing and ring gear replacement. The machine shop found a 1955 ring gear. Can I use a 1955 starter? If not which starter do I look for to use the 1955 ring gear.

Hy CRL3100, unfortunately there are two different 1955 truck models, one six volt, referred to as an "A" or first series, and a twelve volt one, referred to as a "B" or second series. If the ring gear is for a six volt system then you will be limited to an early fifties car starter or a starter from an automatic transmission equipped truck manufactured up to the 55 "A" or first series. If the ring gear is for a twelve volt system then a starter from a 55 "B" or second series or newer would work. I believe the tooth count for the six volt ring gear is 139 teeth and the twelve volt ring gear has more teeth than that ( I can't remember the tooth count at the moment) hope that helps.

168

Will the 55 starter fit my 51 bellhousing

Hy CRL3100, the starters will interchange as long as they are for the same type of engines, but you must use the correct voltage starter for the flywheel ring gear you have, 139 teeth for the six volt starter, and thanks to Deve 168 teeth for the twelve volt starter, hope that helps.

Are the bendix assembly's interchangeable between the 6 and 12 volt starters?

Some people/shops interchange them, but I think they are different for 6v vs 12v (different teeth for 6v flywheel vs 12v flywheel).

Do what i did and keep the starter and install a push button lol. I can push the starter to the floor to just only engage it. The button then turns over the starter.

You can see me using it in the video

Starter Setup

I found out after my speedo was a off so don't get all fussy on how fast it goes based on the screen numbers. i was just relaying the numbers from the speedo onto the screen after for my own curiosity.

Do you call that an electric "stomp" starter?

I consider the stomp starter to be one of the cool aspects of these vehicles, why are you interested in changing something that works?

main reason for doing it actually was because my daughter likes to hang around and play when I am working on the truck and i don't want to risk the truck moving if she stands on it.

One of the best anti-theft devices ever. The young gangsta crowd has no clue how to start your truck. A bit of learning time with your daughter and she will pick up on the leave that item alone.

Tim, or maybe we can call it a stomp electric starter.

I hope not, but the first post does refer to the mechanical foot starter as a stomp starter.
So, maybe electrical foot starter or electrical stomp starter?

I take my truck to some local shows each summer. Not because it is pretty(it is not) but because it is kid friendly. There should be one old car/truck that kids can touch. I pop the negative cable off and drop the tailgate. Leave the doors open and block a wheel. 52 1/2 ton foot starter and a 4 speed. No battery means the truck won't move, and nothing can be turned on. Love to watch the kids "shift" and make engine noises. Fun stuff. When the show is over, just set the heater switch, wiper switch, and pull the cigar lighter out. Hook up the battery cable, drop the blocks in with the lawn chairs and away we go. I have run a 6 volt car starter, with a good after market big contact horn button clamped to the steering column. Worked fine. But the button could be bumped at any time, so the same issues applied. Now for some heresy: A Ford starter relay can be used to serve as a safe way to convert a foot starter to a button starter. Any good push button switch would work with that. This could be run through the ignition switch for safety if you choose.

There is a 12v starter with a solinoid on it to use with a key or push button switch. This starter has the correct drive for the 139 tooth ringgear. I pulled it out if a car years ago and recently put it in a friends 51 gmc with a 261 works good. Problem is that I dont remember the year of car it came out of and it was a bit of an odd ball. If you are interested I can go to his place and get some numbers offf of it. If you can find it it could save you some time parts swapping.

When I install the 350 in my 51, I plan on finding an electrical stomp starter switch (old tractors used them) and fabricate a boot with the original stomp metal circle so it will look like the original stomp starter.

I saw photos online of a truck that had this conversion. To start the truck, he had to do the following.

1) Turn the key on (just like the old days)
2) Flip a hidden toggle switch under the dash (this made the stomp starter "hot"
3) Stomp the starter switch
4) When the truck is running, flip the toggle switch under the dash to cut power to the stomp switch

Since he was using a GM starter where the battery cable goes directly to the starter, the stomp switch was wired in like the start position on a later model with a key switch start. The hidden toggle switch under the dash was a safety to prevent crashing the starter gear into the flywheel if a passenger accidently bumped the stomp switch while the motor was running.

Shop Shark...how did you wire the additional starter button (#1119800) above...