The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 57 235 motor - 53 starter - will it work?

Ok.

We have a 1953 Chevy truck...

I have guesstimated, that the motor is a 1957 235... based on assundry numbers here in the forums and elsewhere on the net...

my pop wants to keep the floor, pedal starter action on the 53 truck/cab/chassis with the 57 235 motor.

My question is, can this work? Will a 1953 starter bolt up in the same way on the 1957 235 block?

etc..

advice...

tips...

a place to get a starter for this in the Atlanta, Georgia metro area...

Thank you...

Yes, it will bolt up. NO, it will not mesh with later 12volt ring gear on flywheel. You need to get a gear drive from a 55 up 12volt starter to put on your 53. OR, why not a later starter? It will be 12volt if you are changing to it. You can run the 6-volt starter on 12 ok, I have been for 4 yrs on my 54, no problems. What starter did you have in it? Maybe you can just put the switch for push pedal on it and remove the selonoid? I thought all the starters up til 60 had the foot pedal anyway. Out of a car?

If the motor and flywheel are '57 vintage then you need a 12 volt starter. Get a 12 volt starter for a '55-59 chevy pickup C-10 or Apache. The starter motor will be 12 volt, the pinion will be correct for the 168 tooth ring gear used '55-'62, and a '55-59 truck starter will be a foot-masher. The 53-62 235 car starters had electric solenoids.

hope this helps
chip

(Woogeroo, Does your nickname have an Australian derivation?)

Now I have a question. I have a '61 235, but plan to use the flywheel from the '55 235 that was previously in my truck, since the '61 didn't come with a flywheel. Will this bolt up ok and can I use my 6 volt starter? I hadn't even thought about 6 volt vs. 12 volt.

Chevrolet flywheels have the same bolt pattern from 1942-62. The difference is in the tooth count on the gear. (Also clutch size).

Not to my knowledge.

I am from Atlanta, GA...

so, the 1955-57 235 inline sixes had 12 volt electrical systems? Therfore, a 12 volt starter, from a truck, with the masher unit on it, is required?

I just want to make sure I am getting this right...

thank you peepers...

that's slang for people...

heh...

-W

Someone asked if it(the starter) was out of a car...

there was a starter in a box in the truck cab... but we have been told it is for a Chrysler/Dodge or something... dunno...

anyhoo... gearhead here in the group told me the numbers on the block match up with it being a 235 1957 block from a car... this block/engine was in it when we bought it...

I have all the casting numbers for the motor stuff on our website, if ya care to read it...

the url is in the signature of some other messages...

thanks for the help folks...

-W

You can run the 6 volt starter on 12 volts. Just don't crank for more than 15 or so seconds at a time, or the starter will get hot. These old starters will take it, there are a lot of us doing it.

All 235s from 1955 to 1962 (last year) had 12 volt electrical systems & starters. The car engines had electric solenoids. Just turn the key and it starts.

The trucks up to '60 had foot-pedal starters. In '55 Chevy went to 12 volt for all their vehicles. They changed the # of teeth on the ring gear from 139 to 168 and also redesigned the starter pinion to match. They kept the foot pedal in the trucks. In 1960-61 chevy started to equip their trucks with electric solenoid starters just like the cars got in the early '50s.

Verify your 235 is a '57 model. I assume the flywheel is a '57, has 168 teeth and expects a 12 volt starter. So you'd need a 12 volt starter. The truck's ign switch should only have a "off" and "on" position, no "start" position. So you have to use a 12 volt foot masher unless you change the ignition switch and run the "start" wire to the starter solenoid.

So count the teeth on your ring gear to be sure. 168 teeth means you need a 12 volt starter. 139 teeth means you need a 6 volt starter.

If I may digress a little, I've been hearing that you can run a 6 volt starter on 12 volts. I would have to disagree. YRMV, but I tried running my '54 235 6 volt electric solenoid starter on 12 volts for 2 years. I burned up brushes every 4 months, burned up the field windings, burned up a solenoid, ruined a pinion, and ate through TWO ring gears. And the motor didn't require a lot of cranking to start. After I went to a 1960 12 volt ring gear and starter, I haven't had any problems.


hope this rambling helps

chip

First thing you need to find out is what you have for a flywheel as this will determine what to use for a starter. They could have used either one when they retrofitted the newer engine. As said allready, the 6 volt system has a different tooth count from the 12 volt, but both flywheels/starters can be used with your engine/tranny combo. There are numbers on the engine side of the flywheel that can also tell you what it is if you don't fell like counting teeth.

As said before, 55-59 or so trucks will have the push start 12 volt starter if you need one. Otherwise, the 6 volt one can be used on 12 volts. I had my '53 setup this way for years without problems. If you want to use a solinoid starter, changing the ignition switch isn't necessary. The factory did this as an option in both 6 and 12 volt versions and the wiring is shown in the factory shop manual. All you need is one of those cheap clamp-on horn buttons to do it. Turn key on, hit the button. My Dad's '49 car was that way from the factory.