Whether you can use the floor starter or not depends on how much of purist
you want to be. Although you cannot retain the floor starter as it was
back in the day, there should be no reason why you cannot rig an electrical
switch to make the foot starter work like the START position on modern
ignitions switches. It's just a matter of knowing what you are doing with
electricity.
For example, on my current daily driver the ignition switch quit working
and so I replaced the switch to no effect. Next I replaced the tumbler
mechanism to no effect. Next I replaced the neutral safety switch to no
effect. As this is an old (or new depending on your point of view - 1989)
ford that I do not plan to keep I was reluctant to take it to a shop and
pay out even more money so I rigged a switch under the dash to run power to
the starter relay. Whether the key is on or not or the transmission is in
gear or not that switch will turn the starter. Of course you have to have
the key in the ON position for the motor to actually start. I don't have
any of the modern safety features to keep the truck from lurching forward
but it has worked fine for a couple of years now. You could do something
similar for the floor starter, or if you are smarter than I am you could
probably do it right.
BobK
51 3100~3600 5-window (in pieces)
Arnaudville, LA
GremlinGTs@aol.com
Sent by: To:
oletrucks@autox.team.net
owner-oletrucks@aut cc:
ox.team.net Subject: [oletrucks] Re: why
you can't keep the floor
starter...
03/09/03 04:28 PM
Please respond to
GremlinGTs
<< Too bad you can't keep the floor starter; I still don't understand why
not. Is it because the V8 starter uses a cylinoid and the 6 doesn't? I
have a hole in the floor board I need to plug one of these days....
Ed Miller >>
The reason is, the starter on the 6-cylinder is on the side of the 6
cylinder motor with no obstruction straight up ( hence Straight 6 ),
whereas
on the V-8, you have an overhanging block with 4 pistons ( V-shape vs.
Straight ), so there's no way the starter can be mounted high up enough to
use the original location, the starter is now lower, almost under the
motor.
The starter mounts to the block, NOT to the transmission, so due to that
change, there is no physical way the floor starter can be used again, as
the
V-8 starter is physically lower down now. The 6 starter uses the floor
pedal
as the solenoid, true, but due to the lower mounting position, none of the
hardware will reach the hole, even if the 6 starter is capable of fitting a
V-8 block. The 6 starter is straight up and down, whereas I think the V-8
starter has the solenoid cocked over to the side a bit to clear the
overhanging cylinder wall of the block, so the foot mechanism might be
tilted
off to one side, even if you could mount it to a V-8 starter.
That's my assessment and I'm stickin' to it. :)
Jerry in Virginia
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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