41 60 special starter

[mr41cadillac]

i ordered a 53 chevy solenoid for the 41 but the travel is not right.the sterter bushings are bad but everything else checks out.   we can drill out the base of the solenoid to get the plunger travel we need. question is would i be better to buy a starter with solenoid ? who sells one? also who sells the bushings ?

[Paul Phillips]

John
I would recommend against modifying the solenoid to solve this.  The magnetic circuit design and the power to move the armature of the solenoid are all based on what it does now.  Just because you change a mechanical limit does not mean the magnetic function will be able to move the armature further and hold it there.  Since you also have a starter bushing issue, I would suggest you find a complete starter and solenoid from a flathead of any year 41-48 and have it rebuilt if necessary.  That will avoid trying to second guess the original Delco design and get you on the road reliably.

Paul

[John Washburn CLC 1067 Sadly deceased.]

I've done the modification using a 53 solenoid off a corvette and it worked fine. But it is also possible the ignition switch is the problem. Confounded and confused me when this switch problem was the culprit.

But not knowing the symptoms one can only guess which is, of course, problematic.

the Johnny