Need a new starter - recommendations?
 

Well, the stock starter hasn't crapped out yet, but I'd like to have a good replacement when it does.

I've seen the LT4 starter mentioned here a few times, is that my best bet? Seems really expensive for a starter (think I found it on Jegs with pn# 10455709).

Also if it matters, LPP long tubes will be going in soon.

You should start by not BLINDLY assuming the starter is worth upgrading. Give it good cables and the stock starter will have no trouble with a quite high compression LT1.

Like you can probably guess I didn't think of that lol. I might do that.

But the reason for this thread is that I'm located in Iceland where you usually can't just go out to the store and buy a new one or get parts for a rebuild. So if the starter died I wanted to have a replacement available instead of waiting for a new one for at least 2 weeks (shipping always takes a while).

I have a bad experience breaking stuff and then having to waiting forever for new parts. :D

i've had a lot of trouble early on with this powermaster xs torque starter, but it seems to be doing fine now. i was chewing up stock starters every 2 weeks or so.

My stock starter has been coping with 230+psi cranking compression for like 4-5 years now. Actually did fine on stock wiring but I felt better giving it a bigger wire. Pretty much all the wiring in a car is marginally sized and with some things we ask more of it than we should.

dwayne gets a cookie for having stockish compression and having his starter survive

Get the LT4 starter from a parts house. You don't need to get a GM one. Most parts houses offer a lifetime warranty as well.

i also have the LT4 starter with no issues

I dont know how much the LT4 starters are, but you can get a summit or jegs brand starter for a SBC for $150ish. CVR makes the starters for them, and i have an actual CVR starter for a SBC on mine. no problems. there denso style starters just like the LT4 starter.

any lt1 corvette starter is a gear reduction and it fit fine on my old 94 ta with pacesetters

The stock LT1 starters are gear reduction. No need to buy super special "corvette parts".

Far as my car being "near stock compression" well no it aint I said 230+psi current is more like 245psi, stock starter with good wiring. The OP had no mention of going racegas high on compression so seems stock would work well.

hate to break it to you but f body starters are not gear reduction.
f body
http://info.rockauto.com/getimage/ge...STR-2605-2.jpg

corvette
http://info.rockauto.com/getimage/ge...STR-8012-2.jpg

yep my stock one lived on my 11.2:1 355..........this motor i was eating them once a month.....and on warm days i'd be sitting in a parking lot waiting for it to cool off cause it didn't wanna turn the motor over lol......went through about 6 of the autozone lifetime replacement ones till i got tired of getting stuck and went with the MSD APS starter.....things an absolute beast....with a little 11lb race battery it will crank a 14:1 Solid roller over on a 100 degree day like its nothing........

i tried the wiring trick on mine but it didn't do jack lol

haha :lol:

Do some more research, the LT1 starter may not be Hitachi style but it is still gear reduction.
I don't trust crappy parts store rebuilds, there is a small one man garage in town that specializes in alternator and starter rebuilding. He actually replaces the worn parts rather than reuse everything not outright broken like parts store rebuilds do.

Did I miss it? Where did the OP suggest he was getting this for a race engine?

Exactly, then stop trying to make your engine sound badass, when it's a stock shortblock you bolted some heads to in your tri-colored grandma wagon.