Remove Starter from 1960 Corvette
 

I am new to the board. I have a 1960 Corvette 4 Speed 283/230hp, and have owned it for the last 10 years with virtually no mechanical issues. I am looking for some assistance on how to remove my starter i.e step by step. I have been advised to keep the car original and to rebuild the existing starter. (It stopped functioning this weekend) I would like to have it rebuilt by Grossmueller's Classic Corvettes and I have been told that it is not to difficult to remove. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. I live in AZ and will be shipping the starter to the folks at Grossmueller's in NJ. Thanks in advance. Ken P

You apparently don't have a shop manual for your car,you really need one if you're going to work on it yourself.
!. get the car up so you can get under it. You're going to be right behind the right front whee so if you're using a ramp it'll need to be the kind you can take the ramp off. If you're using a jack,get high quality jackstands.
2. Remove the positive battery cable.
3. With a 9/16 wrench or socket on a ratchet,remove the 2 bolts that hold the starter to the engine. Lower the starter. There may be a tube looking thing that the wires pass thru,it is held in place by a bell housing bolt that comes in from the rear (9/16).
4. Remove the battery cable and starter wires,the battery cable nut will be larger,some are 5/8,others are 3/4 or 11/16. There will be two small wires going to the solenoid,make sure to tag them,one will go the the "S" terminal,the other terminal may be marked "R",I don't remember. Remove with 5/16 nut driver.(Or 3/8)
I have never actually removed the starter from a 60 vette,but the above is pretty standard for Chevies.
On the early ones the starter bolted to the front of the bell housing with three 9/16 bolts,those took just the right length extension to get to them from the front of the starter. As I recall 2 of them are pretty easy to get to,the third is behind the starter and you will never see it until you remove it!
Dropping the starter down before you remove the wires makes it a little easier the get to the fasteners that hold the wires to the starter. You can remove them first but it's a little tricky and you have the know exactly what to loosen and what size it is because,basically, you can't see what you're doing.
Be careful to not put a lot of strain on the wires while the starter is unsupported,the battery cable might support the weight,the other two won't!
It's quite important to get the car up high enough to work under,if it's crowded it's very difficult to work wrenches and other tools,besides it's very difficult to see what you're doing. After doing this for around 60 years,I am able to do a lot of stuff by feel,beginners don't do that well!
Good Luck!
Ron

Ron:

Thanks for your help on the reply.

Ken P

Have an issue with solenoid on 1960 vette. I got replacement and it is about 1/8 to long
will not allow copper connection from starter casing to line up. Can the solenoid be rebuilt or can anyone tell me who to order one from?
Thanks
Errol

Ken and Errol: Welcome to the forum.

Ken: There may be shims between the starter and the block. Note their position and replace in the same position.

Errol: What you did is called thread hijacking. You'll get more views and possible answers if you start a new thread. Paragon may carry one. Can't you return the new one that doesn't fit?