Hi guys

We're getting ready to rebuild our FE 360 on the run stand we're also building. In order to start the motor we need some sort of bracket to use to hold the starter as the transmission will not be on our run stand. I've seen somewhere a question mark shaped adapter but am wondering if anyone has any pictures of this?

Thanks for your guidance as usual!

 

How about a clutch bell housing?

 

seconded
we bolt a clutch bell to the motor as it also holds the back of the motor up

 

yea so we tossed that idea around too but the way this has to be done for the stand we've got is the back to the motor bolts onto the stand through the bell housing bolts (like most block stands). What I'm hoping to find is someone who's used one of these adapters

starter adapter and has a picture of it.

Hopefully this helps to shed light on what were trying to do

 

Check out at about 18:49 He built a run stand for a 428 FE and sources a bracket for the starter on eBay right here.

 

beautiful!! thanks!!

 

Not a criticism, rather just an observation.

I guess a run stand can be fun, but in all my life, all the engine builds I've watched friends do, the ones I was involved in too, some I did in a shop or carport or back porch, etc, the only run stands I've seen were in race shops connected to a dyno .... for tuning or testing. Races have been won with a motel parking lot build from last night with the engine being rolled over on the ground on cardboard or an old blanket.

A simple engine stand is a great tool, but nothing about putting an engine on one and then starting it on one excites me. The intended vehicle is a safer run stand.

 

Check ebay. Several people sell them there.

 

Hi tbear

I don't disagree. The real reason we're doing this is the truck, which is in storage, doesn't come out until mid June. We don't want to rebuild this motor and have it sit, only to wait and install and then find a problem. So, in the fall when we pulled the motor we decided that the stand idea was the way to go. We'll both admit there is a bit of a "cool" factor to this which we'll totally flex for all our friends!

 

Fun can always be had with one started on the stand.

Or just hanging from a chain, be careful though.

 

I think I would take a die grinder and cutoff wheel to an old transmission case and make my own
You need a flywheel to run a bellhousing starter, not a flex plate, the gears will not match, nor the starter nose IIRR

 

On my dyno the starter is probably the area that's the cause of the most pain. Every style of engine is different and each has its challenges. I use a bell housing on all engines because that's what the absorber adapter bolts to on the back of the engine. For Ford FE I use what's probably a late '60's truck bell housing and it has worked on everything. The only problem engine was a 1963 427 where the factory exhaust manifolds would not fit with a starter that has the lug on the side. Those came with a different style of starter that used the Bendix drive. I ended up building a starter out of 2 with an FE nose and drive and a later style motor with the connection on the back. It worked fine.

The biggest problem with something like this is getting it to be rigid enough. If you're using a stick shift flywheel you're in good shape, a flexplate can be problematic but it isn't as bad with the drive plate bolted on and that's normally what I do. When dyno testing I might have to crank the engine 50 times in one day so the starter gets a workout and it has to be good. With something like this maybe you can get by with a less than ideal setup but one thing to definitely do is have it set up so that you can get the engine cranking before you switch on the ignition.

I always wanted to get a dyno start setup from Innovation Engineering for my dyno. It would have been awesome and it would have saved so much time but Steve McCallister who ran that outfit died. One starter fits all engines and you get an extension which makes some circle track headers easier to fit on the dyno. But that's another topic.

 

Checked with the eBay seller who says that it will work with either a flywheel or a flex plate.

 

Well, the seller is wrong
Check with Ford parts
All Ford starters were different standard to automatic (same body and internals, just a different nose)
Flex plate VS flywheel puts the ring gear in a slightly different spot, that is the reason for the nose change
Call Ford parts or a regular parts store like AutoZone and ask them about starter interchangeability

 

This is absolutely NOT the case on an FE. The flywheels and flexplates have the same number of teeth (184) in the pickup applications and only one starter is available (I also have a few OEM ones on a shelf that have been used interchangeably).

Small blocks, 335, and 385 series v8s DO use different starters between automatics and manuals due to starter position and flywheel/flexplate diameter (tooth count). They often incorporate a different pinion tooth count too.

Again, the FE uses the same starter on both automatics and manuals in pickup applications. I do not know about 60's cars but this being a 360 has to be a pickup so that's what I'm basing my answer on. My run stand has a manual (NP435) bellhousing and 360/390 flexplate. There is no difference in starters - there is only one available from the parts store and it works on either.