The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Foot starter , 12 volt?

Can the original foot starter be used in a 12 volt conversion?
I had thought that they were specific to 6 volt systems, but perhaps I am wrong.

Waveski,

Short answer in a nut shell is yes, you can continue to use your 6 volt "stomp" starter on 12 volts, but it's best to make sure and limit your starter operation time to as little as possible.

The 12 volts will spin it up faster, but will also cause excessive heat and wear if you crank on it for extended periods.

There are a bunch of previous conversations on the subject. If you are interested in reading more, use the Search the Stovebolt site tool.

I entered "6 volt starter in 12 volt conversion" and got a list of several on-topic posts that can help explain more details on the subject.

Hope this is helpful.

Dan

I dunno about the limit your time tho
I routinely stomp on my 53 to prime the fuel pump every spring when I start it from sleep
And I’m lazy I use the starter to drive it up onto loading trailers
Literally a whole 30 second to a minute non stop drive it on low gear with two batteries connected
My opinion is
Use it till it breaks then fix it
And so far I’m the second owner of my 53 on 12v for the last 5 years and it’s doing strong
Plus!
The previous owner used it commercially to haul gravel and fill
So you know it got abused a lot, they busted the rear leaf springs and decided to sell it
It was not treated gracefully
But my experience is anecdotal your mileage may vary
-s

I've been running my 6 volt starter on 12 volts for 10 years and 45000 miles. I had to put a set of brushes in it at about 25000 miles of 12 volt (changed the springs and bushings at the same time, all available over the counter at my FLAPS). No telling how many miles the starter had while operating on 6 volts before I bought my truck.

I'm careful not to spin it too long, but my truck starts within 2 turns of the crankshaft in any condition except turn it off hot and let it sit for 20+- minutes. Then it might take 10 turns.

Ok , that clarifies the matter. I had the impression that the presence of a foot stomp was indicative of a 6 volt system , and I am glad to now know better.

The Op asked if the stomp starter was only used on 6-volt starters. 12-volt stomp starters were used on early Task Force Trucks. Yes, a 6v starter will work on 12v. The thing to remember is the ring gear you use must match your choice of starters. If you want to use a 6v started you must use a 139-tooth ring gear and if you want a 12v starter you must use a 168-tooth ring gear. The 139-tooth ring gear was used up to 1955 First Series trucks. (Advance Design) The 168-tooth ring gear was used in 1955 Second Series and later trucks. (Task Force)

GMC kept the stomp starters on 6 cylinder "fleet" model 1/2, 3/4 and 1 ton pickups through 1959. These were 12 volt systems. The fleet model was a lower cost truck that had a really ugly cheap grille. A Chevy TF instrument package was used in 1958-59, but it had a GMC logo at the bottom.

What year and model truck is it Waveski?

Not my truck, it was a ‘51 3100 I was following on an auction site. There was discussion on whether it had been converted to 12 volt. I thought that the presence of a foot starter and a voltage regulator on the firewall were indicators of original 6 volt.
I was wrong.