I thought I solved by starter troubles by getting a high torque starter, but it is worse now than before.
Every once in a while (1 out of 20 starts), the old stock rebuilt starter would just spin freely when I tried to start the car. Trying once or twice again, the starter would then engage the flywheel and the car would start right up. This restart cost me 5 seconds at the South East Regional in 2002 Gymkhana and got me a third place in my class. Thinking that the starter shaft or starter teeth were worn to the point that they couldn't engage, I got another stock rebuilt from VB. Same symptoms. So last year I opted for one of those high torque starters, thinking that with the stock starter, the starter teeth engage the backside of the flywheel. If there were flywheel teeth problems, then it should also be on the backside (away from the engine) side of the flywheel. Since the high torque starters appear to engage the flywheel at the front (engine) side of the flywheel. I thought that I would have a better chance of a clean start. No so. Now about 50% of my attempts to start are greeted with a high speed "whirr", with no engagement of the flywheel. It seems to be worse the colder the car is and the longer it has been since I've driven it last. But it is defiantly worse now than with the stock rebuilt VB starter. Moving the stick shift from 1st to second and then to reverse seems to help, but it still may take several attempts to get the car started. So, do I need a new flywheel also? How do I tell? I guess it would entail pulling the starter and inspecting the flywheel teeth as I turn the engine over by pushing the car while it was in gear? I had the engine rebuilt four years ago, and Larry (my mechanic) said that the flywheel was fine. If I do need a new flywheel, which one would be best? A lightweight aluminum one (VB) or a cut down steel one (PRI), or is there another option? I have upgraded the car to include a Bell 4-2-1 header and a Weber downdraft for some extra kick. It's not critical, but ideas would be of help here. TIA Dan Parrott Savannah, Ga 1980 Triumph Spitfire "PJ" *** http://www.team.net/the-local *** Your messages not reaching the list? Check out http://www.team.net/posting.html *** unsubscribe/change address requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or try *** http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool *** http://www.team.net/mailman/listinfo *** Archives at http://www.team.net/archive *** Edit your replies!
