Hi Guys
Some of you may be contemplating completely rebuilding your long suffering Model T starting motor? I have been doing this for years, know the pitfalls, and with some help you can do it yourself.
With last batch of rebuilt starters I decided to take a set of detailed photos of each step in the process. These include the key troublesome areas that, if not addressed, can result in disappointing results.
Here is a sample of the photos. They are not necessarily in logical order, but a sample of what is available.





I will be happy to help anyone who is undertaking this project on their own. The photos were intended to simplify the verbal guidance. Contact me if you need help?
Ron the Coilman

Just one more photo to show how I test the rebuilt starter to ensure it meets original Ford criteria.

Ron the Coilman

What current shunt is that? Cool way of measuring the torque, too.

Ron what does it cost to rebuild a starter? or does it depend on the shape the starter is in thats sent to you ?

Chris
The current shunt is calibrated to the 50 Milli volt meter movement.
The postal scale is used to measure foot pounds with a one foot arm connected to the rebuilt starter armature.
Ron the Coilman

Fred
To avoid any appearance of marketing on this forum I ask you contact me directly.
Thanks
Ron the Coilman

I bet you only hook the polarity on that test rig up backwards once! 8^) or you'll be sending that scale through the window in that door!

Great pics Ron. Good choice on the battery cables too.

No, Kiam, the starter is a series field motor and will always turn in the same direction regardless of polarity. Will even run on low frequency ac, but not very eficiently. Art in Pahrump

Thanks Ron, Those are very good pictures. I like to drill a small hole down through the square base so that you can still get a little oil after you seal off the shaft to the Bendix. What do you think of that idea? Also you didn't address getting that babbit (spelling ?) out of the front end and which bearing to use to replace it. Frank Harris

Ron, how long is the sleeve that you use w/the sealed bearing at the forward end?

Frank
There are two theories on hole or no hole. The duty cycle is so low I think it gets enough oil with or without the hole.
I did not post all the photos, but there is a solution for damaged babbit inside the mounting bracket where the Bendix stop nut runs.
Here is a photo.

Ken Todd
I reuse the long bushing in the mounting bracket. Simply chuck the original bearing up in a lathe and cut the thrust surface off and use it for the thrust washer. By the time you press the original bushing out and press it back in it needs to be align reamed back to the correct size for the armature shaft which is a non standard size and requires an adjustable reamer.
Here is a photo.

Ron the Coilman

Frank
Oops, I misunderstood your question.
The babbitt bearing in the brush cap can be removed with a special tool. I don't have a photo of the original babbitt bearing, but here is a photo of the Allen Electric removal tool.

If you use the replacement brass bearing instead of the ball bearing kit the brass bearing will need to be pressed into the cap and align reamed. Here is a photo of the Allen tool.

Failing that you can drill a series of holes around outer perimeter of the babbitt and pry it out with a punch.
Ron the Coilman

One additional point
The brushplate MUST be removed from the cap and carefully inspected. Other than the obvious visible problems without removing it there are other failures that can only be seen by removing it. I also do a high voltage test to insure what appear to be good brush holder insulators are not oil soaked and electrically leaking to ground.
Ron the Coilman

Ron,

You state that you reuse the long bushing in the mounting bracket. Is it usually worn so little that this is possible? Doesn't the subsequent line reaming make the hole out-of-round, or are we talking only a few thousandths?

P.S. See you in Chickasha, safe travels!

Jerry
It's important to remember the starter armature shaft is 15 inches long and has THREE bearings; A babbitt bushing in the brush cap, a second and largest bushing in the middle of the motor bracket and the babbitt bushing where the Bendix drive stop nut runs.
The center bushing usually gets little wear unless the brush cap or mounting bracket stop nut bushing are badly damaged. Then you sometimes find the center large bushing worn beyond the point of being reused, but this is not the usual situation.
By the time you press the center bushing out (to cut off the thrust washer) and press it back again the ID/alignment has changed enough that one of three things may commonly happen if you do not align ream it; the center bushing will not fit the armature shaft because it is too small, when you assemble the cap/case/bracket the large bearing bore is no longer aligned with the cap bushing and the armature will bind up and not turn; or the bearing bore is no longer aligned with stop nut bearing causing trouble with Bendix drive stop nut insertion during installation.
The align reamer (shown above) is piloted with a previously known point and sized to appropriately fit the armature shaft. As I pointed out you have to use an adjustable reamer because the armature shaft is a non standard size .678.
When I first started rebuilding starters I struggled with these alignment problems on most starters. Upon detailed investigation we found mounting brackets actually bent and had to make a set of indexing fixtures to check each of the two bracket bores for straightness before using or stop nut re-bushing. Bent armature shafts was easy to correct. We also came up with the stop nut re-bushing procedure using a special fixture for initial alignment and boring. Lastly we found the brush cap ball bearing, as opposed to the original bushing, much easier to install, did not require align reaming, required no lubrication (Ford did not provide for lube to the original babbitt bushing with the exception of an initial dollop of Lubriplate like grease added during initial assembly) and was more forgiving of small miss alignments over the 15 inches between each of the three bushing.
Now I am able to finish assemble a starter, the shaft turns freely, the end play is correct and the Bendix stop nut slides very easily into position.
Sorry about the long winded explanation.
See you at the Lang's/FunProjects/Coilman fourth annual Pizza Feed at Chickasha on Friday at noon. Bruce McCalley will be there too.
Ron the Coilman

Ron, I'll repeat my question:
"How long is the sleeve that you use w/the sealed bearing at the forward end?"
Maybe I stated it wrong, but I'm talking about the brush plate end, as shown in your first picture.
TIA

Ken
Aha, the brush cap end bearing shim. Now I get it.
I buy a 1/2 inch ID, 5/8 OD bronze sleeve 1 & 1/4 inches long from McMaster & Carr and cut into .330 lengths. In some cases you will need to shorten or shim it with arbor shims to ensure the brushes fully clear the end of the commutator or are not touching the commutator slots where the windings are soldered.
Ron the Coilman

Just wanted to bring this thread back up to the top with a question for Ron. In the one photo you show your test rig for measuring the amp draw from the starter. What is the scale on the meter that you are using, and what is the amp rating for the shunt that you are using? I have a drawer full of shunts and with any luck I will have the right one to use. Thanks for your help, Pep.

Pep
The Simpson meter scale is 0-500 amps and the full scale reading is for use with a 50 Milli volt shunt (FS50MV). You can just see one end of the 50 Milli volt shunt behind the meter.
Ron the Coilman

I check my starter as you can see on the picture
when he can lift 4.8 kilogram the he is good
enough to start a model T

The main problem with the starter head is:
most of the time they are bend,so you have to put it in a lath to turn it out and put new
bussings in, I think that happend when you use 12 volt

Anthonie
That looks familiar.


Ron the Coilman.

So, will a 100 or 200 amp 50mV shunt work, or do I need to find a 500 amp 50mV shunt? I have the 100 and 200 but not a 500 amp.

To Kiam
Reversing polarity and reversing rotation, only works on a permanent magnet motor. You must reverse the connection between the armature and fields to reverse rotation.

Pep
You need a 500 amp 50 mv shunt and a 0-500 amp meter that has a full scale 500 amp reading at 50 mv.
Ron the Coilman