Starter too close to header?

[Nismobishi]

Hey everyone,
I just replaced the starter on my 440. It was a pain! I got a mini starter for a dodge Dakota like everyone loves to do. The back of it is very close to the Headman header. Is this OK? It's not touching. Maybe a 1/4" gap at most.

And yes, that is a broken spark plug lol.

 

[Outsider]

Seems typical, I like to put a heat shield in between, or though some might faint at the thought, you could dent the tube some.

 

[Don Frelier]

Looks like your steering coupler might need some attention as well

 

[moparedtn]

Seems typical, I like to put a heat shield in between, or though some might faint at the thought, you could dent the tube some.

The Hedmans that my Fred came with were "massaged" by myself with a sledgehammer where the
tube in question contacted my Dakota starter (also inherited with the car back then).
A dozen years later and with no heat shield, the junkyard (yes, it still has some of that yellow
writing on it junkyards use!) starter still works perfectly.
As a (famous?) episode of Engine Masters showed, you can damn near pinch header tubes in half
before you start affecting performance.

 

[GetX'd]

If this is your first my friend I sympathize. Many/most of us that have had big block 440 BBodies know your pain well. I recently sold the X after 48 years - can you imagine how many starters I changed in all that time? I don’t even know if they had minis back in the day - no matter I/we all learned to switch the full size originals in no time at all. It took practice and was a learning process under a shady tree.

You unbolt the drivers side header so you can move it around, then unbolt your left side motor mount, lift the motor a bit to usher in the new or junk yard starter - yeah maybe you had to give the header a couple of wallops but alls fair in love and war. Wala it’s done! I’m not saying it wasn’t a pain the first few times but it soon became a rote process. Done in no time at all. Now days with the minis it‘s even easier. I’m not saying you have loads of room to work with but you do have more but the process is largely the same. Heat shields, wraps etc should help the unit last longer (some controversy on that). My last unit was a Pro-master. Expensive but theoretically better able to withstand the heat soak. Does it - I don’t know but the friend I sold the X to is still running it and things are fine.

Practice makes perfect - or close to it. Our BBodies have a personality all their own - next time will be a breeze.

 

[Nismobishi]

If this is your first my friend I sympathize. Many/most of us that have had big block 440 BBodies know your pain well. I recently sold the X after 48 years - can you imagine how many starters I changed in all that time? I don’t even know if they had minis back in the day - no matter I/we all learned to switch the full size originals in no time at all. It took practice and was a learning process under a shady tree.

You unbolt the drivers side header so you can move it around, then unbolt your left side motor mount, lift the motor a bit to usher in the new or junk yard starter - yeah maybe you had to give the header a couple of wallops but alls fair in love and war. Wala it’s done! I’m not saying it wasn’t a pain the first few times but it soon became a rote process. Done in no time at all. Now days with the minis it‘s even easier. I’m not saying you have loads of room to work with but you do have more but the process is largely the same. Heat shields, wraps etc should help the unit last longer (some controversy on that). My last unit was a Pro-master. Expensive but theoretically better able to withstand the heat soak. Does it - I don’t know but the friend I sold the X to is still running it and things are fine.

Practice makes perfect - or close to it. Our BBodies have a personality all their own - next time will be a breeze.

I can only imagine how many you have changed. I have done 3 so far. This was the hardest. I unbolted the header and both motor mounts, jacked the engine all the way up and still fought it for an hour till I found the sweet spot. After I realized the header would drop more if I turned the steering wheel all the way left to move the pitman arm over it finally came out.

The old starter was massive! Then new one looks like it would fall right between the header pipes without even taking the header off.

I don't like how close the cable lug is to the block but it is what it is. It's about a quarter inch away I guess. I could only get the thin nut on the lug. The full size nut that was on the adapter that came with the starter would not be able to be used.

 

[wagonman]

My mini has been on for 6 years with no issues. Someone makes an adaptor to move the terminals out away from the block, cant remember who though.

 

[Boris7K]

Mopar Mini Starter Terminal Conversion/Relocation Kit *THE BEST, PLEASE READ!!* | eBay

I just bought one of these, looks like the ticket.

 

[SlinktRR]

As long as it's not actually touching the header and there's an air gap, I wouldn't be too concerned.

 

[Nismobishi]

If this is your first my friend I sympathize. Many/most of us that have had big block 440 BBodies know your pain well. I recently sold the X after 48 years - can you imagine how many starters I changed in all that time? I don’t even know if they had minis back in the day - no matter I/we all learned to switch the full size originals in no time at all. It took practice and was a learning process under a shady tree.

You unbolt the drivers side header so you can move it around, then unbolt your left side motor mount, lift the motor a bit to usher in the new or junk yard starter - yeah maybe you had to give the header a couple of wallops but alls fair in love and war. Wala it’s done! I’m not saying it wasn’t a pain the first few times but it soon became a rote process. Done in no time at all. Now days with the minis it‘s even easier. I’m not saying you have loads of room to work with but you do have more but the process is largely the same. Heat shields, wraps etc should help the unit last longer (some controversy on that). My last unit was a Pro-master. Expensive but theoretically better able to withstand the heat soak. Does it - I don’t know but the friend I sold the X to is still running it and things are fine.

Practice makes perfect - or close to it. Our BBodies have a personality all their own - next time will be a breeze.

I can only imagine how many you have changed. I have done 3 so far. This was the hardest I unbolted the header and both motor mounts, jacked the engine all the way up and still fought it for an hour till I found the sweet spot. After I realized the header would drop more if I turned the steering wheel all the way left to move the pitman arm over it finally came out.

Mopar Mini Starter Terminal Conversion/Relocation Kit *THE BEST, PLEASE READ!!* | eBay

I just bought one of these, looks like the ticket.

Outstanding!!! I will be ordering. Thanks for sharing this!

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

I can only imagine how many you have changed. I have done 3 so far. This was the hardest I unbolted the header and both motor mounts, jacked the engine all the way up and still fought it for an hour till I found the sweet spot. After I realized the header would drop more if I turned the steering wheel all the way left to move the pitman arm over it finally came out.

Outstanding!!! I will be ordering. Thanks for sharing this!

I ordered one of those and there wasn't enough room to install it. Good luck. My dakota mini starter currently has such a small gap I can't get a heat shield in there. I overcame any heat soak issues by upsizing my positive and negative battery cables from 6 AWG to 1 AWG. Less resistance, more current for starter cranking. Problems solved.

 

[Potshot]

As a (famous?) episode of Engine Masters showed, you can damn near pinch header tubes in half
before you start affecting performance.

lol this is why I stay with stock manifolds. I'm not sure what headers add, but I know I can always get to my starter

 

[moparedtn]

lol this is why I stay with stock manifolds. I'm not sure what headers add, but I know I can always get to my starter

Make no mistake, headers are most always an improvement in performance (and oftentimes, fuel economy
as well) - but a lot of caveats go with that statement, the first of which is the engine itself.
Is it built performance enough to even take advantage ("need") of headers to begin with?
Here's a pretty good straight up comparison, on a healthy 383 by a fella who knows:

 

[StrokerSpanky]

I had the same problem when I put a 11 inch clutch and bell housing in my charger. RobMC makes a great compact starter that solved my problems. You can loosen 2 bolts on it and rotate the solenoid and field assembly to any position to give clearance to your headers.

 

[Griff]

My mini has been on for 6 years with no issues. Someone makes an adaptor to move the terminals out away from the block, cant remember who though.

Mancini makes a relocation piece that pulls the posts away from the block. I have the same set up on my 69 Roadrunner.

 

[Griff]

I ordered one of those and there wasn't enough room to install it. Good luck. My dakota mini starter currently has such a small gap I can't get a heat shield in there. I overcame any heat soak issues by upsizing my positive and negative battery cables from 6 AWG to 1 AWG. Less resistance, more current for starter cranking. Problems solved.

I did the same thing on my 69 bird

 

[1STMP]

So many times I hear of off the shelf
headers causing problems. Why not
contact a local header manufacturer.
They can build a set that clears all
components for just about the same
price. I've a Jeep and a 1940 Plymouth
pickup, both have a custom set of
headers built. Neither set cost more
than $300, and zero headaches after
20 years. Not even a gasket leak.

 

[Doorkicker]

So many times I hear of off the shelf
headers causing problems. Why not
contact a local header manufacturer.
They can build a set that clears all
components for just about the same
price. I've a Jeep and a 1940 Plymouth
pickup, both have a custom set of
headers built. Neither set cost more
than $300, and zero headaches after
20 years. Not even a gasket leak.

yep. Or just buy TTI. They just work and fit perfectly.

 

[ckessel]

Since my deal is such a hybrid, I did use the recommended starter that Powermaster makes per the TTI information. I had a choice of the PM or the RobbMc unit. After bobbing and weaving looking at pictures of starters and looking at my headers, I made that choice. Since I have it on a stand currently, it made the job easier for install and clocking. The PM unit gave me 4 positions to try[ had to remove the header each time, no biggie] so I went with the best possible in relation to engine/header clearance and air gap around the starter. I did end up having to massage one tube but thats not an issue since they aren't coated yet. I'll probably end up making a short lead coming off the starter for electrical connections as once it's in with the headers there is not much fastener access.

 

[71 Sebring +]

Had a 68 Charger R/T years ago with hooker headers, easiest way to change that big old starter was to just pull the steering column out. Didn't have to unbolt headers or motor mounts.