Starter Swap

[fishyfish36]

67 barracuda /6 starter gave out. I was tired of tapping it with a hammer. Decided to swap it out. Research shows that a 98 Dodge Dakota Starter is compatible. The wire harness was toast as well. I saw the harnesses online for about 130$. I decided to just make my own for 30$ and I purchased the upgraded starter for about 55$ Pretty straight forward install and it fit right up. The harness had to be extended, I copied the ones they sell online and also compared my original.

Old starter

New Starter

busted original harness

created new harness

Installed

 

[RustyRatRod]

Looks real nice! Good job!

 

[Stephen Mulkey]

That's Mopar Engineuity at work right there.
Good job

 

[Dartfreak75]

Nice job! Looks great.

 

[niceolddart]

Yep, I think most older Mopar starters interchange, Magnum engines (I think 2004 was the last year for them) back to early 60s engines, /6 to 440s will interchange with each other. I have personally put starters I removed from /6s, small blocks etc. & installed them on big blocks & vise versa, & worked no problems for years. I never did what you have, but I have heard from a lot of different sources that a later model starters on an older engine bolt right up,
work great & it's a lot lighter too. Nice job on the new harness you made.

 

[Dartfreak75]

Yep, I think most older Mopar starters interchange, Magnum engines (I think 2004 was the last year for them) back to early 60s engines, /6 to 440s will interchange with each other. I have personally put starters I removed from /6s, small blocks etc. & installed them on big blocks & vise versa, & worked no problems for years. I never did what you have, but I have heard from a lot of different sources that a later model starters on an older engine bolt right up,
work great & it's a lot lighter too. Nice job on the new harness you made.

The wiring is different after 98 or 99. They have a plug in style connection. Im sure it can be made to work but its easier to get a 98 or before. I used a 98 ram for mine it worked fine

 

[fishyfish36]

The wiring is different after 98 or 99. They have a plug in style connection. Im sure it can be made to work but its easier to get a 98 or before. I used a 98 ram for mine it worked fine

i did alot of internet scouring before pulling the trigger. there were many debates but overall consensus was the 98 ones are good for everything prior generally. i saw some people mention stuff about issues with the nose cone needing to be modified on certain one off engine / trans bellhouse combos. I dont know why anyone would want the original starter these upgraded ones are so much better. I do have a useless chrysler original starter now with item number of 3755259 model. if any purists need it with the intent on rebuilding. feel free to DM me . im willing to part with it for 10$ and cost of shipping on the buyers dime.

 

[Dartfreak75]

i did alot of internet scouring before pulling the trigger. there were many debates but overall consensus was the 98 ones are good for everything prior generally. i saw some people mention stuff about issues with the nose cone needing to be modified on certain one off engine / trans bellhouse combos. I dont know why anyone would want the original starter these upgraded ones are so much better. I do have a useless chrysler original starter now with item number of 3755259 model. if any purists need it with the intent on rebuilding. feel free to DM me . im willing to part with it for 10$ and cost of shipping on the buyers dime.

Yea I went with a 98 also. I made the mistake of using the original starter! It wasn't the purest in me but just me being cheap and trying to save some money. I had a working original and I thought ahhh it will be good enough. It lasted about 3 weeks. It still works but it cranks so dang slow it won't start unless the engine is already warmed up and primed. The new one is so much faster.

 

[fishyfish36]

Yea I went with a 98 also. I made the mistake of using the original starter! It wasn't the purest in me but just me being cheap and trying to save some money. I had a working original and I thought ahhh it will be good enough. It lasted about 3 weeks. It still works but it cranks so dang slow it won't start unless the engine is already warmed up and primed. The new one is so much faster.

haha yea i was tired of having to tap mine with a hammer first cold start. that was the source of this project haha