I'm in the process of putting a starter back together with new brushes, bushings, bendix etc. and ran into an oddity that maybe someone can help me with.
The small screws holding electrical connections and the ends on the starter body all seem to be #10 x 32. That holds true for the starter on my Coupe where I double checked myself.
However on the starter I'm reworking, the screws that hold the front cap (that hold the brushes) on to the body of the starter are some odd size and/or pitch. I can force a #10 x 32 screw in the hole but it gums up the threads on the screw and is obviously not right. Now if I'd just taken the starter apart recently I would still have the screws I took out available but this is a combination of a couple different starters that have been in pieces for a year or so.
Have any of you encountered an odd sized screw used to hold the front end onto the main body of the starter? Any recollection of what size they are so I can find a replacement?
If all else fails I'll run a #10 x 32 tap down the holes but I'm not real fond of that approach if there is a better answer.
Thanks In Advance,
Walt
I'll check mine Walt - I have quite a bunch of NOS screws for both starter, generator & magneto post.
Walt, Have you tried a #10-24 UNC bolt? Same outer diameter as the #10-32 UNF, but fewer threads per inch.
All screws (with two exceptions) used to assemble the Model T starter are 10-32 thread. Many brush holder, brush cap to case, mounting bracket to case threaded holes need to be chased with a bottoming tap before reassembly because they are commonly damaged.
The screw holes in the soft white metal bush holder castings are commonly damaged from being cross threaded. Thread chasing these holes will sometimes work, but many need to be repaired.
The two exceptions are the pole shoe screws and terminal bolt which are 3/8-16 thread
Thanks all. I'm expecting the Ron is right again even thought the threads did not look to be damaged and they were certainly strong enough to mess up the screws I attempted to put in.
During this I did try a #10 24 and it was a no-go. This morning I visited a local hardware store on the very remote chance that someone had re-tapped these as metric. No-go there too.
So, I ran a #10 32 tap down the holes a short way and then a bottoming #10 32 to clean up the threads. All is good now so I can move on to resealing the windshield glass in my '26 coupe so it will quit rattling and making me crazy.
Walt,
RE: windshield rattle & crazy---TOO LATE!!!!
But then you own a T, everyone knows your crazy!
Welcome aboard!!
Heh heh heh!
David D.
Oh look, a squirrel!!!!