Thanks to all the folks on this board who've answered all of my beginner SBC questions. After screwing around with the motors for way too long, I'm ready to bolt on all the accesories and mount the engine into my coupe. Anyway, I've got another question.. What style starter do I use on a 1957 Chevy 283? My bellhousing is also purported to be a '57 unit, but I'm not to sure about that. I've attached pictures of both. Please help me ID the bellhousing and figure out if I can use a later-style starter or if I need the 55-57 bellhousing-mounted jobber. Thanks, Ed
From the look of things...if those three holes on the pad on the opposite side of the oil filter location are tapped, then you can use a common Chevy starter with the correct flywheel/flexplate for said year starter. (You will only use TWO of those holes, though...either diagonally or straight across from one another...depending on which starter you select)
Here is a link to a chart on Starters and Bell housings. http://www.50chevy.freeservers.com/Starter_Bellhousing.html
looks likwe you could use either style of starter. the block is drilled for large or small flywheel pattern. if the nose of the starter will fit into the bell housing use the block style since they are a little easier to find. jerry
Cool. Those holes are tapped. Can I use the '57 (?) b-housing with a later starter? It has a flange for a starter... Ed
Thats the same year as my SBC. I told the guy at Merles what I had, and he sold me a starter. Bolts to the bellhousing, just like yours.
if your going to use the manual shift flywheel that came with that bell housing , you are more than likely going to have to use the bell housing mounted starter, like said before, the block is drilled for either starter
Here's another question -- will I have any trouble using a T5 or a Saginaw with an all-57 combination? (Aside from using a different clutch disc to get the correct spline count for the T5)
Ed, I dont have the parts you are looking for, I just looked, sorry. I had no trouble bolting up the T5,I just had to drill out the bolt holes in the tranny. My bellhousing is an old aftermarket scattershield but it has the mounts just like a '57. I use the '57 mounts on the front of the engine as well, I am not using the mount on the T5,i it just hangs off the bellhousing.
Be sure to have a starter with the nose that fits in the bellhousing... There are two kinds of starters, the ones that mount on the diagonal holes and the ones that mount on the holes which are in line. One type is for a large (168 teeth) flywheel, the other for the small (153 tooth) flywheel... I was dealing with the problem that I had a 153 teeth flywheel in a bellhousing that was made for a 168 teeth flywheel... That meant that none of the starters would fit! The holes would line up, but the nose would be too big, or, the nose would fit, but the holes wouldn't line up. The only thing that solved my problem was to use a Hi Torque starter, because those don't have a nose, and can be used for both flywheel sizes.. But I suppose you'll want to go with the old style look... So be careful when you're going to look for a starter...
On the late model starters the nose part will interchange, so if you have the wrong one you can just transplant the nose from a junker. There is also a third flavor of vertical-bolt starter nose: an iron one with three holes, picking up both patterns. This is a part for HD big blocks like L88, so it uses the small flywheel. Might be a useful part if you have a cracked or stripped mounting hole. The iron construction was because of the very high compression of the L88's--they tended to kick back and crack the aluminum parts.
I used the same bellhousing on my sbc. I used a starter for a 6 cylinder chevy that bolts into the bellhousing not the block. it turns the motor a little slow but it'll work if you're on a budget. I am going to switch over to a high torques starter that I found that uses a smaller nose cone & will bolt to the block... BYC
If you wish to use a small flywheel with that bellhousing, you can by cutting off the lower half of the three bolt starter mount that is cast into the bellhousing. This will allow you use any of the starters that mount to the block. I just use a hand grinder to cut it, takes about 10 minutes. Be sure to wear saftey goggles, especially when grinding on cast.
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