Here are a few pics of a restored starter Jim did for my car. Pictured are the 7ish year old Autozone lifetime warranty starter (which failed) and the fresh restored one.

nutter

If you want to learn more about what we do, check here:

http://www.dixierestorationparts.com/products.cfm?ci=82337DF1-FFE7-955A-8E5C45D5F2A82413

I know you guys have been doing this for a long time but is this a good example? I would be unhappy with all that black paint on anything but the metal cover. It should be painted off the starter body?

JD,

From the research I have accumulated, there was over spray onto the nose housing of the starter. I have never seen that much of an over spray as the picture shows but anything is possible. More than likely it was a little over spray like this.

Do you guys have any date-coded cores available? I can't make out the numbers on my original one. My starter is in good shape expect for the numbers..lol.

Something with a 1971 date. Prefer June to August.

Thanks!

In five years of commercially restoring alternators and starters, I estimate we've handled 50 plus original equipment starter assemblies. Of those pieces 80% or better show substatial overspray like the example Brian has posted above. Based on what I have personally seen the starters were painted as an assembly with no attempt to mask the body EXCEPT the area where the starter cable connects to the primary and secondary terminals. Looks like CC used a small diameter cardboard tube that slid down over the terminal area of the brush holder during the paint process. We found a set of these a couple of years ago in an NOS starter box and have been using them during final painting. Also, after looking a some original starter examples, it seems (?) Chrysler might have started either using a mask or painting the field coil can separately sometime in late 1970 or early 71. I can't be sure because we just haven't seen enough original pieces to make a firm cutoff date for the overspray. As always any further opinions and observations are welcomed as this will only help us all better understand the assembly processes.