Topic: 68 SJ 390 Starter Motor & Solenoid

[Bob Gaines]

Great thanks. That explained the starter body, but did not cover the aluminum nose piece. Looks like the article has been updated since the last time I looked at it. Lots of great stuff there.


Interesting that it states that there would be a stamp in the body as well as an ink stamp on top of that

I have to disagree if you are reading that the 68 starter got a metal stamp and a ink stamp identification . The 68 Starter got the engineering number date code and trademark metal stamped into the case. I am skeptical because I have not come across a 68 one with a ink stamp identification of the many that I have inspected out in the field or on NOS service starters with vintage assembly dates that I have had in the past. 

[Bob Gaines]

Just checking to see if the starter body is correct for my car and which nose would be correct or not. Would it decode as 1968, Sept 23, not sure about the part number. Would those noses be first gen 64 & 65?

  The center barrel case is the same 65-70 however the pictured case is stamped for a 1969 production car given the date code and a 289/302 automatic given the C7AF 110001 B engineering number. The nose cone is one of the most generic since it was used on a number applications over a number of years with only minor differences between different engineering numbers. The common denominator is that they will all interchange with each other and the nuance differences are on the inside of the nose cone when mounted. At least for the ones you posted pictures of.

[dkknab]

  The center barrel case is the same 65-70 however the pictured case is stamped for a 1969 production car given the date code and a 289/302 automatic given the C7AF 110001 B engineering number.

For what it's worth,  here's a picture before I painted the barrel of my starter,  a 289 AT car, as Bob mentions.

[RoyceP]

Working on the starter motor and wondering if it is possible to get some new parts.

I have been having good luck finding NOS parts on eBay for just about anything. The Chinese junk is not usable from my experience. Rebuilding my own starters, water pumps etc has been pretty good.

[Bob Gaines]

I am fortunate to have a rebuilder shop close by that I know the owner. He is second generation rebuilder that rebuilds mine the way I want it using the parts I want.  He is much younger then me so hopefully he will be around until I am done fussing with starters. I can think of a million things I would rather do and can do with my time for the nominal rebuild charge .This has worked for me for decades . Maybe find a rebuilder in your area that is open to rebuilding your starter core and you doing the final detailing once it is done. Just a thought.   

[bullitt68]

I have been having good luck finding NOS parts on eBay for just about anything. The Chinese junk is not usable from my experience. Rebuilding my own starters, water pumps etc has been pretty good.

Nice. I a planning to rebuild my starter using as many original parts as possible as well. It's great that we can still find NOS parts for these cars

[bullitt68]

I am fortunate to have a rebuilder shop close by that I know the owner. He is second generation rebuilder that rebuilds mine the way I want it using the parts I want.  He is much younger then me so hopefully he will be around until I am done fussing with starters. I can think of a million things I would rather do and can do with my time for the nominal rebuild charge .This has worked for me for decades . Maybe find a rebuilder in your area that is open to rebuilding your starter core and you doing the final detailing once it is done. Just a thought.   

Hi Bob. I took your advice and there is a guy locally who rebuilds vintage starters for the collector car hobby. He is a starter guru and knows his stuff when it comes to pre '80's cars. He does alternators and starters etc. Reminds me of Doc in "Back to the Future". He's got a lab coast with the plastic pen holder lol. I refinished all my parts and media blasted the casing etc and brought him 2 old starters and one reman starter and asked if he could make me one good correct starter. He will use some new parts as required internally, but I agree and will let him rebuild it and test it while i focus on the other million things I need to work on to finish this car.

[bullitt68]

  The center barrel case is the same 65-70 however the pictured case is stamped for a 1969 production car given the date code and a 289/302 automatic given the C7AF 110001 B engineering number. The nose cone is one of the most generic since it was used on a number applications over a number of years with only minor differences between different engineering numbers. The common denominator is that they will all interchange with each other and the nuance differences are on the inside of the nose cone when mounted. At least for the ones you posted pictures of.

Thanks Bob that is great information. Since I am getting the starter rebuilt, I will continue down that path and add a different starter to the long list of stuff I need to swap out at a later date. The goal is to get the car running and proceed forward and make the swap outs as I find suitable parts. If I wait to get every part I need to put the car together I  may not finish this car in this lifetime lol. Interestingly the guy rebuilding the starter told me the case number was not correct for my application as soon as he saw it. Should the case have an A or C stamp for my car. I want to make sure that I get the right case. Thanks

[Bob Gaines]

Thanks Bob that is great information. Since I am getting the starter rebuilt, I will continue down that path and add a different starter to the long list of stuff I need to swap out at a later date. The goal is to get the car running and proceed forward and make the swap outs as I find suitable parts. If I wait to get every part I need to put the car together I  may not finish this car in this lifetime lol. Interestingly the guy rebuilding the starter told me the case number was not correct for my application as soon as he saw it. Should the case have an A or C stamp for my car. I want to make sure that I get the right case. Thanks

C7AF-A would be for the 390 .

[bullitt68]

C7AF-A would be for the 390 .

Ok great thanks, I think that is what the guys who is working on my starter said. How common are they to come across?

[Bob Gaines]

Ok great thanks, I think that is what the guys who is working on my starter said. How common are they to come across?

Making a BB starter out of parts is easy . Finding a metal stamped C7AF-A case is relatively hard given there were so few BB vs. SB .If you want one a certain date code multiple how hard it is find by 10 IMO  . Of course you can get luckey.

[bullitt68]

Making a BB starter out of parts is easy . Finding a metal stamped C7AF-A case is relatively hard given there were so few BB vs. SB .If you want one a certain date code multiple how hard it is find by 10 IMO  . Of course you can get luckey.

Thanks Bib I will keep my eyes peeled and proceed with this one until I find one