HI! I would love to put a gear reduction starter on this engine, but all of them seem to come in the 10 tooth drive gear. Does anyone know where I can find a new nine tooth drive. If I search the 9 tooth drive part number everyone changes it to the 10 tooth drive.
Thanks
Ken

 

What year I6 254? 114 tooth ring gear? 6V positive ground? 12V negative ground?

Unfortunately, current market support for the 6 cylinder flatheads is essentially non existent beyond what is in common with the 8 cylinders. Your best bet is likely an original style starter and original style 9 tooth bendix drive.

 

1951 in an F6. Currently 12 V neg. I use to have a couple of extras around until we lost them in a fire.

 

The 9 tooth drive is almost unobtainable. I had my 226/254 flywheel turned down to accept the V8 starter ring gear and installed the 10 tooth drive. A lot work to pull every thing apart.
Joe

 

what about putting the 9 tooth drive on the new starter.
if it is the type of starter I think you are looking to replace it with

 

The issue is is that the stock style 9 tooth starter drive does not fit and is not compatible with the high torque starter motor packages. As stated, the nine tooth is somewhat of a oddity and not easily substituted. The most realistic options are too pass on the high torque style starter motor and use an original style with an original style 9 tooth drive, or modify the flywheel and ring gear to that of the V8 style and use the ten tooth drive. One could always forget about proper teeth mesh and just use a 10 tooth drive on the 114 tooth ring gear and accept any possible premature wear and damage that would come from doing so.

In my opinion, a stock engine with a stock style starting system is all that is needed. The engineers knew what they were doing when they designed it and it's extremely adequate. If the battery is worn down, or the cables corroded or decayed, then yes there could be troubles. However, compensating for those issues with a high torque starter is not the proper solution. This raises a question if the perceived need of a high torque starter is accurate or if the actual issue would be addressed.

 

My main issue is not how the starter turns the motor over. It is, I hate the starter drives that Ford used at that time. They might have been great when they were new but after 70 years they are worn and tired. A worn ring gear and starter drive equals a locked starter every so often. The 8HT 6375 ring gear has fewer hits than the starter drive does on Google. A starter that used solenoid engagement instead of the inertia engagement would not only improve starter ring gear engagement but also presents the opposite face of the ring gear to the starter gear. I need to pull it and to a tooth could, because it could already have a 10 tooth in there.

 

If it is a 10 tooth like you think it might be.
there are 10 tooth mini starters avaliable for the flathead v8, but i dont know if they will work for your motor.
If I were you I would look to see if they fit.

 

and you can take apart your old starter to clean it out and that combined with new battery cables will make it start like new again.
if it is 6v then you have to use 2/0 cable, it can be found easily at a welding shop.

 

The 254 has a 114 tooth ring gear that meshes with with a 9 tooth drive gear. The V8 uses a 112 tooth ring gear with a 10 tooth drive.

The reason the cross reference databases gets this all wrong is that in the early 1960's, the 8HA-11350 was identified as a "Mix With" B1A-11350-A starter drive assembly with a service note to use the correct B-11354 10 tooth drive or 8HA-11354 9 tooth drive gear for the application. In the mid 60's, the 8HA-11354 was obsoleted by Ford with the note serviced in assembly only, but the assembly was a 10 tooth only assembly. I don't understand Ford's insanity in all of this, but the real world options are all discussed already, understanding that these 6 cylinder engines don't have the parts availability that the 8 cylinders enjoy.

• use the proper factory 114 and 9 tooth gear mesh (possibly refreshing the stock system)
• adapt the V8 112 and 10 tooth gear mesh
• take and accept the risk of a 114 and 10 tooth gear mesh