Re: Starter issues
I had this same problem with my sbc SS/I car. Same 142 tooth flywheel and 14 tooth GPE starter. I tried everything to make that thing work but would grind against the flywheel gear about 25% of the time. Problem would get worse if the batteries were down at all. I found the quality of the GPE starter to be very poor. The starter mounting holes were too large and not even spaced straight or correct distance apart. They dissagreed with me but the starter bolts need to register snug in the starter. Thats why oem bolts are knurled. My machinist located, drilled and bushed the holes properly and then the starter worked better but still sometimes would not engage.
Finally I bought a CSR starter with a 12 tooth gear. No comparison on the quality of these 2 starters. The CSR starter bolts fit good and were located dead on. Also came with better hardware than the cheap junk that came with the GPE unit. After installing the CSR unit I have not had it grind once. I installed 1 shim under it to get some more gear clearance and have not had any issues since.
Hope this helps,
Jim
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