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235 foot stomp starter wont mesh with flywheel. It hits the ring gear but wont engage. This truck was not running when I bought it. PO had it for 8 years and says he has never changed the starter and it worked when he last started it 6 years ago. Engine is not stuck. Its a 40 3/4 ton with 3 speed and 235 out of a 57 car with manual trans. I dont know what the flywheel is but assume its original to engine. Any suggestions?

Is the entire running gear 57- - - -engine, trans, and bellhousing, or has the 57 engine been grafted to a 1940 bellhousing and trans? That's important, as a different starter and flywheel was used for the 12 volt electrical system beginning in 1955. A 6 volt starter and a 12 volt flywheel do not play well together. There is a different number of flywheel ring gear teeth involved, and the pitch and root circle on the starter pinion gear teeth differs from the 12 volt, although both of them have nine teeth. Even if "It worked when I parked it", it might not have been right. a 6V/12V mismatch is noisy, and the gear teeth wear quickly.
Jerry

I'm new to this so not sure what all my components are. I researched engine # and its a 57 from a car with manual trans. Bell housing has mounts for clutch and brake pedals so I think its original 40 chevy. Trans is little tiny 3 speed so probly original. PO admits that he sometimes had trouble getting starter to engage so maybe I have starter flywheel mismatch?

Does the vehicle still have a 6 volt electrical system? If so there's a definite possibility you have the original (6V) starter trying to engage a 12V flywheel- - - -No Bueno!

If you have access to the bottom of the bellhousing, remove the sheet metal cover, mark one of the flywheel teeth, and turn the engine slowly while counting the ring gear teeth. A 6V ring gear has 139 teeth- - - -a 12V has 168. No, the ring gears are not interchangeable, but a 6V flywheel will bolt onto an engine that originally came with a 12V system.
Jerry

Yup, its 6 volt. I'm gonna go count my flywheel teeth. Also you mentioned noisy and it sure was. Sounded terrible and cranked only briefly. Can I fix this without having to change flywheel?

Unfortunately, no. The transmission and clutch will have to be removed to get access to the bolts holding the flywheel to the crankshaft. Then install a 139 tooth flywheel if it's not there already. A 6 volt starter can be run on 12 volts, but the only other option would be converting the vehicle to 12 volts and installing a 55-62 starter.
Jerry

ok, I counted, its 168 teeth. Can my 6 volt starter be modified to make it work with 168 flywheel?

Jerry, if I convert to 12 v will a 12 v starter bolt up to my 40 bellhousing?

Hy crowejam, unfortunately the six volt and twelve volt starters have different armature shaft sizes so swapping starter drives is not possible. Either voltage starter will bolt up to your bellhousing, and when changing to twelve volts you can install a stomp starter or a solenoid type starter, hope that helps.

Ok, I think I'll be going 12 volt. I would rather do that than start tearing the driveline apart. Thanks very much!

There's another option, although it might take a little creative wiring. It's possible to set up a "series/parallel" electrical system, using two 6V batteries, that cranks with 12 volts and recharges the batteries and runs the other accessories such as lights, heater blower, radio (if any), etc. on the original 6V system. The concept was used on Diesel engine trucks for a long time, running on 12 volts, and cranking on 24. I'd have to do a little research and maybe spend some time at the drawing board to come up with the components and circuitry to wire a 6/12 volt series/parallel system, but that would allow you to install a 12V starter and still run an almost original-appearing electrical system. Just food for thought- - - -switching to a straight 12V electrical system isn't that difficult, but it does involve buying several new parts- - - -alternator or generator, voltage regulator, ignition coil, all new light bulbs, voltage-reducing resistors for the gas gauge and heater blower, etc.

Personally, I'd much rather just change the flywheel- - - - -lots less work, and probably less expensive!

Jerry

I'm a retired truck driver and I remember driving trucks that had series/parallel switches. That might be a good option. If I decided to change flywheel would I have to pull the rearend housing backward to get the trans out?

Jim

Chevy torque tubes have a sliding collar that can be retracted far enough for the U joint to be disconnected and the torque tube to be moved out of the way, so it shouldn't be necessary to disturb the rear suspension. Just be sure to support the frame with jack stands (not the axle) to take the torque load off the rear springs before unbolting anything.
Jerry

There are a number of ways to determine whether you have a 6 or 12 volt starter.
If the tag is still on it, 6 volt will have a black background, and 12 will have a red.
Another way is the diameter of the shaft the Bendix runs on.
6 volt is .560".
12 volt is .470".

Well that changes things for sure. I thought I would have to pull the rearend back. The seal at the rear of the trans is leaking so I can take care of that at the same time. I have it up on jacks already so I'm all set. Now I just need to find a flywheel! Thanks Jerry!

Jim

Thanks Pre 68 Dave, my starter is definitely 6V. The problem is that my flywheel is the 12V 168 tooth variety. I think my best option is to change flywheel.

Jim

Can Jim just change the ring gear and use the flywheel he has ?

The diameter of the flywheel changed when they went to 12 volt, so no.

Hello all, on this starter issue, my 54 "growls" and starts up quite slowly. Like the battery is dead but it's actually brand new. Coil or starter issue? It does eventually start but does not turn immediately when you poke the starter pedal, and then growl/growl, she's running. Thanks for any hints. A long way to go for road worthy

Do you have a 6 volt system? The most common cause of slow cranking on 6 volts is too-small battery cables, both hot and ground, and loose, dirty connections. Your cables need to be at least #0, about the size of your index finger or a little larger. Then, disconnect the cables at both ends and scrub the connectors thoroughly with a wire brush. Be sure the ground cable attaches to one of the starter bolts, or at least to a bellhousing attaching bolt near the starter, Forget grounding to the body like the truck did from the factory unless you've got a 100-point totally restored show winner. Then use a piece of #4 cable from the engine to the frame to ground the headlights, etc., and run another ground wire from the engine to the body. One from the frame to the bed would be a good idea, also.

Now back to cranking- - - - -If the battery terminal voltage (at the posts- - -not the cable connectors) of a fully-charged battery drops below 4.5 volts while cranking, no matter how "new" it is- - - -trash it! It's either sulfated or it doesn't have enough cranking amperage to run the starter. If the cranking voltage is in the 4.5-5.5 volt range and it's still cranking slow, fix the starter.
Jerry

Jerry/Hotrod: thank you for the multi-point grounding idea. That's where I'll start. Yes 6v system so I can see the battery cable is new but it is pinky size, not 1/2" index finger size. Ground to truck body, too, not starter. Looking forward to trying it.
Ed

Update on my starter troubles. Maybe this was not the best solution but it worked so I want to share my experience. Problem was I had a 6 volt starter in my 1940 3/4 ton which is designed to work with 139 tooth flywheel. My 1957 235 engine has a 168 tooth flywheel. Much grinding and nasty sounds and would not engage. Could have changed flywheel but would have required pulling rear axle back to get trans out. Not necessary on 1/2 ton but 3/4 ton has 2 piece torque tube and cant do it without pulling rear axle back. Found a great starter shop (FTI Diesel Electric) in Oroville Ca. He built a starter with a 12 volt bendix and put 6 volt field coils in it. Works great! Cost was $225 including push button start solenoid.