Name that Starter

[wake74]

At VIR and my solenoid is apparently going bad. Cranks great when it cranks but I am just getting a worthless click some of the time. In paddock, when cold not too bad. In grid with warm engine, It takes a few pushes of the button before the click becomes an actual starter rotation and getting worse. What I have doesn’t appear to the Tilton starter in Pegasus which is shame as they sell a solenoid. Hoping to get through the weekend.

Anyone car to guess what I have from the pictures and a source for a replacement solenoid?

The car is an 81 Van Diemen.

[Lastminuteracin]

That is a Denso starter. They make a contact kit to repair the solenoid. Pretty easy fix if you can find a kit nearby. If not you can pop the starter out. Take off the back plate with the 3 screws. The plunger will pop out. It has a copper contact ring on it. Now you can see the 2 other contacts in the case. Try some sandpaper and clean up all the contacts as best as possible. It may help and get you through the weekend. Good luck!

[DanW]

That's a Denso starter, adapted from an '89 or so Toyota Corolla.

You can pull the starter, disassemble the solenoid and clean the contacts to get you through the weekend. If that doesn't work, find a denso starter for a corolla at local auto parts store and pull the motor and solenoid off for parts.

When you get home, contact Marc Bushman, he rebuilds these starters and makes some mods to make them live a long time with the Kent vibrator attached. He expoxies the the solenoid wires so they don't break.

marc871@msn.com Marc's cell is Six Three O -2Seven9-88Three4 "to confuse the web scrapers..."

[tlracer]

That's a Denso starter, adapted from an '89 or so Toyota Corolla.

You can pull the starter, disassemble the solenoid and clean the contacts to get you through the weekend. If that doesn't work, find a denso starter for a corolla at local auto parts store and pull the motor and solenoid off for parts.

Denso starters are used on a lot of cars - the important thing when replacing them is to note where the positive cable enters the solenoid casing. This dictates the shape of the contact it goes to.

The negative is always the same, a simple L-shape bend. Positives can be like that, or have a curved horn as well. Simply match up the contact shape and you're sorted. Here in the UK I've always had parts from here:

https://www.ebay.com/str/repairkitsuk

[roadracer]

Lots of good tips that should get you going. If you can positively identify the Nippondenso starter, then you can find the right parts to keep it running. The starter rebuild industry has a "Lester Number" which is a five digit number (NAPA and AutoZone have their own reference) but they all look to to the Lester Number as the ultimate resource which also identifies all the starter components - brushes, contacts, casting, solenoid, etc.by part number.

Unfortunately some OE manufacturers make changes in production so an early 1970 Toyota Corolla starter may be slightly different from a later Corolla model - in the very same model year. The change may only be the location of the solenoid wire or cable, but it can make a difference when bolting into your VanDiemen.
Good luck with this.

[wake74]

Thanks for the helpful hints. I was able to get it to start with multiple clicks through Saturday and a couple of starts on Sunday. While I had my best of racing ever on Saturday, it went to sh*t on Sunday. Going to need a new R&P, and tranny rebuild :-(