Boy oh boy have I had one heck of a time trying to source a starter.....Gotta love aftermarket universal parts.
I am working with a 1965, 289 K-code (HIPO), 6 bolt bellhousing, manual transmission, 157 tooth flywheel car.
The starter went bad.
I pulled it and found D3 and D7 casting numbers so I thought it was not critical to this car.....MISTAKE!!!!
I went to O'Reillys and purchased a new starter (They only sell rebuilt starters for this).
It had the word "Ultra" on the box so it has to be good, right?
That starter went right in.....and worked for about six starts....then the bendix failed to engage consistently....back to the store for a warranty replacement.
One day, on a lifetime warranty starter, seems a bit short don't you think.
I get a second starter, same part number, same reman company, same everything....or so it seemed.
This starter will not go into place in the hole of the engine plate.
I fiddle around with it for way too long, thinking I must be doing something wrong....how hard can it be?
Finally I give up and go get yet another starter....one more one day warranty.
The third starter is the same as the second....it will not fit.
This time I get to checking things carefully and I find the nose cone housing (made in Mexico replacement parts) is cast incorrectly.
The alignment ring is about 1/8" out towards the fender side.....and I wonder....Is this for a 164 tooth flywheel?
No way to tell through the auto parts stores because there is NOTHING asking any type of questions regarding flywheels....they did have a designation for K-Code though so I had some hopes.
Well, after three failures I give up on O'Reillys, get my money back, and venture off to NAPA....I called ahead and they had one in stock waiting for me!!! Hey....maybe this is a good sign.
Nope, same Mexican nose cone casting that will not fit....GAWDAMMITALLTOFRIGGEN!!!!!!
I have the NAPA counter guy check a few other starters for similar vehicles and transmissions, using 1964, 1965, 1966 to cover the bases on bellhousing and tooth count variants.
They all list the same part numbers regardless.....GREAT, the computer is lacking in proper info.
The counter guys, who were all over 50, started asking me questions laced with a lot of sassy undertones....Like: Are you sure you know what car and engine you are looking for?
and a few others along those lines.
I answered politely and without adding anything back at them.
Then the other guy asks me from across the counter....."Hey, just exactly what kind of car is this?"
I answer; It's a 1965 Shelby GT350 Mustang....and both of them start in with stuff like.
"No wonder you have the wrong starter, all those Shelby's came with a 427 or something like that."
After a bit more of that style of "help" I thanked those guys and bid them a good day.
Back to O'Reillys to get my core back...and it is gone, or so the guy tells me....crap.
Off to AutoZone, only to find they almost don't know what a 1965 Mustang is according to their computer.
The counter guy literally asked me, "Are you sure its not a Fairlane because we only list a Fairlane for 1965 with a 289?" whew!
I did ask if they had the Fairlane starter, but of course they did not....no luck there.
Here I am, having screwed myself when I released the core.....I only took it back after the first starter worked, but I did not know it was going to fail so soon otherwise I would have kept it a while.
The search continues, and my knowledge grows concerning how to deal with parts in todays market.
