im kinda in the same boat here. I have a 1966 Oldsmobile f85 4 door. I have an olds 350 which seems to be seamlessly bolted to the old '66 2-speed Jetaway transmission. the starter that came with the car does not engage the fly wheel with or without shims. any info or help on this situation would be much appreciated. thank you.

 

I moved your post to its own thread instead of you resurrecting an unrelated one. In which way does it not engage, is the starter drive not coming out far enough or do the teeth not mesh?

 

the starter teeth do not mesh. previous owner said it needed shimmed. so I shimmed it and it was way too far from the flex plate. Then I removed all the shims and pulled the pinion gear out with a screw driver to see where it matched up, and it was still too far from the flex plate, just barely making contact at this point. Like I said, I think I have the original transmission from the '66, pulled a code off it (LJ-123) but the engine in it is not the original 330 V8. Its casting number is 395558 2. The first series of numbers indicating its a 350 and the last number (2) indicating it was produced from 1968-1974. So I guess what I'm wondering is, does this work? Do I need a different starter? do I need a different flex plate? or do I need a new transmission? any help or info would be much appreciated.

-Thank you

 

Since it came that way it may be the wrong starter, a stuck drive or the just the wrong starter drive. Not knowing the circumstances; but, if it just needed shims they probably would have put in shims. Cross reference the part numbers on the starter.

Good luck!!!

 

^^^^^this

 

This probably isn't the problem but if the holes in the starter are worn or elongated then it can be twisted away from the flex plate.
maybe try loosening the bolts a little and see if you can twist it and move it around.
also see if its only the starter bolt pads that are touching, , I mean that the starter body isn't touching the engine and causing misalignment.
then if u want to possibly ruin or sacrifice the starter, figure out if grinding down the starter pad where it mounts to engine would help

 

All 1964-1990 Olds V8s except the Toro motors from 1977-85 use exactly the same diameter and tooth count on the ring gear, so that isn't the problem unless you somehow have one of those smaller diameter FWD flexplates. Have you bench tested the starter to verify that the drive kicks out? Have you verified that the drive is actually engaging and not free-wheeling? I would not put a lot of faith into what the seller may have said just to get the car sold.

 

When you pulled the pinion gear out with a screw driver, did it move to the stop collar on the armature?

 

yes the drive gear moves all the way to the stop collar. the car is not a FWD. I also thought about grinding down the mounting surface until it mates up correctly with the fly wheel. but figured id do the research to see if the starter for the 350 was different from the 330. having troubles finding part numbers to cross reference though...

 

We know the car is not FWD. Read post #7 again. If the flexplate is from that application, it will cause engagement problems. The 1966 flexplate won't bolt to a 350, so someone got ahold of a different flexplate when they swapped the motor. Do you KNOW where that flexplate came from?

How about some photos? Specifically, what happens when you try to start the car? Show us video with the dust cover removed so we can see the bendix drive kick out and understand what's wrong. There was no need to grind the starter pad when this car left the factory. There is no need to do it now either.

 

I've found on summit racing a starter with part number PWM-3655. a power master starter. Summit says that it will fit the '66 olds 330 V8 and a '70 olds 350 V8. The only numbers I was able to pull off my old starter was 1107776 and 62144016. maybe the starter on summit racing is the right one and the one I have is wrong, but I haven't been able to locate the starter I have to ensure it does not fit my vehicle.

 

I will try to get some pictures and videos for y'all. not today though... Oregon coast weather hahaha. thank you all for the help, hopefully we can figure this out.

 

Unless you have too much money, stop buying parts until you know what the real problem is. There is only ONE RWD Olds starter nose. It is dimensionally the same from 1964-1990. If you have an Olds starter, that is not the reason why it doesn't engage.

 

If it is an 1107776 the starter nose is cast iron and not aluminium. Also it bolts to the trans and not the block. Pics needed. The 1107776 fits a tranny a few years earlier than a 1966

 

ok! im definitely working with a budget here and I came to this forum cause I don't have the money to be throwing at parts. Definitely trying to get to the root of the problem. the starter mounts to the engine block for sure. So if what you're saying about the 1107776 starter is true, about mounting to the transmission, then it is definitely the wrong starter. which leads us back to a starter/ring gear issue? next day with good weather I will get good pictures and video of what I'm dealing with. I will also count all the teeth on my ring gear as well.

 

1107776 is up to ‘64 for a 394 engine in online searches. Wondering if it is possible, someone put a later nose on the 110776 motor and the overall length is different. Either way my guess is that the flex plate and or the stater are incorrect. The 1107776 points toward the starter at the moment. Are you near an auto parts store that has a correct starter for comparison?

Good luck!!!

 

The correct RWD Olds flexplate has 166 teeth and is 13.91" in diameter. The diesel flexplate has 135 teeth and is 13.71" diameter. Note the larger teeth on the diesel flexplate as compared to a gas engine flexplate. The FWD TH325 flexplate I talked about above is also the smaller 13.71" diameter, but with 162 teeth. Either of those two smaller flexplates will make it impossible for a normal RWD Olds gas engine starter to engage.

 

This is where a photo of what the OP really has would eliminate speculation. I suspect he's got a frankenstarter from a generic rebuilder. Who knows what it is. Obviously a real 1107776 won't even bolt to a second-gen Olds block, so obviously whatever he has is NOT a 394 starter. More likely someone simply used that outer housing.

Obviously this doesn't bolt to a 350.

 

It may be a “Frankenstarter” is my point and if it is who knows what lies inside? Could be the correct nose but wrong drive or shaft length/design on the armature.

 

If it mounts to the block, the field case number means nothing to this . I think Joe P is on the right track. He may possibly need a diesel starter.

 

Or a correct flexplate. The diesel starter requires relocation of the driver side motor mount.

 

 

hey y'all! sorry for being silent lately. I was able to get the olds pushed into the shop and out of the terrible Oregon weather. I bench tested my starter and it engages, spins, and disengages. I counted the teeth on my flywheel (twice) the total count of teeth was 135. I tried my best to get some good pictures of the starter and the flywheel. hopefully they are good enough to understand what's going on with the olds. this is the starter installed with no shims.

 

Refer to Joe's post #17. Looks like you have a diesel flex plate which is 135 teeth and smaller in diameter.

Good luck!!!

 

darn! I was hoping to avoid a transmission pull. thank you for all the help everyone. and just to be clear, if I get the flex plate with the 166 teeth and 13.91"in diameter that should fix my issue?

 

Correct. Any 1968-1990 Olds RWD gas engine flexplate will work.

 

Interesting, I've been following along. Let us know if all works out. Thanks!

 

Hey everyone! update here. I installed a 166 tooth flywheel on my engine. Couple hours getting the trans mated to the motor (make sure that torque converter is pushed back on the shaft on the trans) and we got everything back together. Few shims on the starter and we got a running motor. thanks for all the help everyone!!

Much appreciated, Derek Wenrick

 

Congrats and thanks for the follow-up.

 

x2

 

 

Hi I just put in an adjustable starter from JEGs a pro starter start’r on my 65 with a 455 engine and gm 350 trans that might work for you the mounting block can be twisted in 4 different positions which swings gear in or out as needed which might fix your issue the unit is also half the weight of original and smaller so have a lot more clearance for my exhaust piping which was a plus (beware it is only a 2 wire connection not 3 like original the 3 needed for original points distributed if you have a newer hei distributed no issue and if you still have points there is a cheap fix of a 5$ diode being added to wiring …tip of the day, while you have your starter out you can reach the dipstick tube for replacement as many have their o-ring dried up or tube itself is rusted with holes so good time to take care of that issue as well …good luck with your ride

 

It looks like he corrected the problem three years ago. Read Post #28

 

 

Well obviously I couldn’t tell him 3 years ago, no one had come out with a multi position mounting on a starter till now, lol … thanks for the info on the date thing, I’m a newbie so still feeling my way around.

 

Sorry, but you completely misunderstand how these aftermarket starters work. The adjustment only changes the location of the starter solenoid relative to the block, allowing you to clock it for clearance to headers. The centerline of the pinion gear does not change relative to the ring gear when you do this, it simply rotates on its axis. Also, these are not new, "clockable" mini-starters have been on the market for at least a quarter of a century, probably longer. I've owned several of them for a lot longer than four years.

 

Thanks for the input