High Torque Mini-Starter Swap On a Chevy 350 fixing slow cranking issues

Today I am finally switching from the classic old heavy GM starter to a new mini high torque starter.
This is being done on my 1990 Chevy Camaro that has a small block chevy 350 with Vortec heads and a Holley Sniper EFI as well as Holley Sniper Hyperspark ignition system.
The swap is pretty straight forward but can be time consuming (and in my case frustrating....) just take the old starter off and put the new starter on using the supplied bolts and whatever shims you need to get good engagement with your flywheel.
This is the summit racing mini high torque starter.
www.summitraci...

[@geoffobrien1300]

Dayum what a difference.. your days of weak cranking issues are certainly a thing of the last! One of those areas where technology advances have made a huge appreciable improvement.. it was like comparing an old brick phone to a modern smart phone

[@HOVREDDY]

I swapped my starter on my ‘75 350 swapped Stingray with a ‘99 Tahoe Vortec 5.7 starter. Bolted right in, all the wiring was the same. It now cranks harder, and best of all, it’s smaller. Never going back.

[@SOLDOZER]

Mounting holes were clearly different on the starters. I see why you had so much trouble. No way that mini starter fit.

[@christopherenglish8863]

Planning on doing this soon. Going to check wires and connections first, but my 89 camaro seems to not want to start when hot. Needs to take a 10min nap, then she's good to go.

[@christopherenglish8863]

Any tips

[@SOLDOZER]

@lAcid Rainl Heat wrap on headers is a good way to ruin your headers.

[@mr.pickles810]

What really sucks is when you got long tube headers in the way when removing the manufacturer starter. 🙄

[@SOLDOZER]

Long tube headers are a waste and should be removed anyways.

[@nashvilleoutlaw]

​@@SOLDOZERno

[@Mr.Frost181]

I'm dealing with the same situation of mine not starting because of when it gets hot so I got myself a heat shield 🛡️ that works really good

[@DarthMayers]

I noticed your original stared has staggered bolt pattern and the mini one doesn't 🤔

[@famnova8150]

I had the same concern . Does the block have an extra bolt to allow for both straight and staggered bolts to tie in ?

[@sbcbuilds5517]

@@famnova8150 it should, pretty easy to see

[@rickysnyder7603]

I just ran into the same problem unfortunately I don't have another bolt hole in the block to make it work. 2 holes staggered like original starter

[@garcia95365]

Thanks for the video brotha!! I was gonna hammer my headers but I guess I’ll just buy a mini starter lol 😂

[@gsgj.o.a.t8192]

It was daytime when you started.

[@bobbyradford2711]

I installed one on my 350 and the gap between the starter gear and the flexplate when the starter isn't engage was too large. I had to take the aluminum mounting plated off and have it machined .190 of an inch to get it to work.

[@cfmechanic]

Wow in surprised u waited so long to do this. I am pretty sure I suggested this when u were first messing with wiring etc..

[@ZanesGarage]

You absolutely did and you were right lol I wanted to make some videos and test out things like the blanket and wrap before just throwing the new starter on

[@cfmechanic]

@@ZanesGarage no problem I dont blame u it's good to experiment some and figure things out. Glad you got it sorted though keep up the awesome work bud

[@govsux1]

Thanks for the video.

[@dreamingcode]

Would have been A LOT more helpful to show how you install the starter.

[@83malibuwagon]

Same as any starter, it's 2 bolts and 1 wire.

[@dreamingcode]

@@83malibuwagon yea um i never installed any other starter which is why im here but thanks😏

[@83malibuwagon]

Well then maybe this isn't the video for you, I didn't see anywhere where it said "how to install a starter".

[@kevinz0681]

Take a picture of the wires and replace the other and wire it the same. If you get the right starter it bolts right up.

[@dreamingcode]

@@kevinz0681 gotcha. Thanks

[@CodyThompson-zw1ko]

How did you put a straight bolt starter on a staggered block..

[@jimpritchard8354]

Yea,I am confused!

[@larrybroad8746]

you know that the new starter your putting on is for a flexplate with 168 tooth the one you took out is for 153 tooth starter

[@Nazonaaah23]

I got the mini starter on my but it’s still draining and not starting I change the alternator

[@thegaminghdchannel7270]

Bro from 1 mechanic to another it needs to be shimmed

[@philsigman9088]

I bought a mini starter for my 69 C10 but I couldn't make it fit. The rams horn exhaust manifold gets in the way.

[@cfmechanic]

You can prolly get it to fit as long as your mini starter is inflexible. I have seen people even cut down the mountin ggv block and flip it to make clearence in tight spots. The mini starters fit anywhere the full size ones do. Just take your time and index correctly but with ram horn manifolds I doubt u need mini starter. The mini is only really needed with headers due to heat soak

[@8uttn7ggetz]

nice car. but does this start work with the offset bolts 5.7 L 350 sb motor??

[@reneprovencher8395]

Where do the wires go, yellow, purple, red goes to which post?

[@highlandsoutdoors2041]

Did you have good luck with this starter to date ? I have to get a new one and thinking on the mini high torque one

[@trevondot4244]

Do the minis mount good at all? Are they accurate

[@DanielG-jh5pq]

Will this fit on a 1987 firebird formula 305? I have the same issue car struggles to turn on after I drive it

[@EricErnst]

It kinda sounds a little tight like it needs a shim. Or is that just how mini starters sound?

[@ZanesGarage]

They definitely sound different then your typical starter. I shimmed it and it looked correct to me however if I notice anything that sounds concerning I'll definitely make a correction!

[@cfmechanic]

Ya bro the mini starters have a bit of a whine to them I believe it has to do with the gear reduction which makes the noise. The shimming is to get rid of nasty grinding noise.

[@larrybroad8746]

i got one of those mini starter it wasnt set on the flexplate and it destroed the teeth on the new stater 3 hp starter is a bit to harsh

[@scarpia519]

At 1:26 you can clearly see the mounting bolt patterns are different for the starters. The stock starter bolts are offset while the mini-starter's are in-line. What's the deal on that?

[@WhiteTrashJeff]

Some sbc have both bolt patterns and can take both types

[@scarpia519]

@@WhiteTrashJeff Yeah, I figured that out when I installed the original starter with a new solenoid on my C4 Vette. There are three bolt holes on my sbc.

[@jwtru2life]

What happens when you give the other big terminal 12v

[@powertoyz]

Anyway i could see how you wired it im so confused on mine... it iether starts turning over when i connect battery or the car is powerd but no starter??

[@abrahamreeves184]

So I have a question so if you have high compression on your engine, it’s better to just get a high torque starter in a war check on binding problems because I have a fresh rebuilt crank a little tight just wondering which direction I should look

[@clintbethel7393]

The factory starter I took off my 350 sbc had 2 small wires wired to 2 separate terminals. My new mini starter only has 1 small terminal. I tried wiring each wire separately to the small terminal and with one of the wires the starter spins but doesn’t engage the bendix gear to shoot out. And when I tried just the other small wire it did nothing. You think my new starter is faulty? Thx

[@DavidGavinETC]

How’d did you fit it on. The original starter was staggered and the mini was inline, how did you get it to work?

[@ZanesGarage]

Most small block chevys are actually drilled for both inline and staggered bolts on starters. Definitely a good idea to check if you have both before hand

[@DavidGavinETC]

@@ZanesGarage oh nice, I didn’t know that! 🙏🏽

[@cfmechanic]

@@DavidGavinETC yes Zane is correct however you definately need to check your block there are some older blocks that dont have all the holes

[@JacobZiggy]

nice car

[@waveequipped8561]

I have the same problem in my short bed. Running long tube headers on it rn so im getting really bad vapor lock and whenever i shut it off it has a hard time starting

[@SOLDOZER]

Headers have nothing to do with vapor lock. You need to work on your fuel system.

[@unclescooby47gtaonline19]

So that straight starter is a fix for a broken starter bolt ?

[@suewatson1912]

Is this the kind of starter you would use on a S-10 v8 conversion?

[@uptopracing2853]

Wat if it doesn't spin but only pop out

[@Harrybowles1969]

Whats initial timing set to? Mine is slow to crank past 14 advance

[@painedinks]

It's been 4 months now, so how's she holding up? Still good hot starts? I need one for my sbc 350. Every time she gets warm the stock starter sucks!

[@ZanesGarage]

Starting with no issues still even after a cold winter 👍

[@painedinks]

@@ZanesGarage nice! Thanks for the info, I'll be grabbing one for myself now.

[@sterlingwitherspoon5709]

👎🏻 the fact that I didn’t make the old starter spin...what the hell was the point of showing it.

[@desmondpeak9931]

Why your mini starter so loud

[@ZanesGarage]

I think it's just a camera audio thing. It's not that loud in person. The mini starter is definitely more "whiny" then the stock starter however.

[@donniegregg6293]

do u know what tooth your flywheel is?

[@zacharidumas4405]

Any issues with the thing nowadays?

[@catrielsosa9373]

Are they durable?

[@ZanesGarage]

I don't daily my car but it hasn't had an issue for as long as I've had it on

[@travisloesch5480]

I bought that starter for my car. How many shims did you need to use?

[@tendosesame]

did it work?

[@larrybroad8746]

16 pounds

[@lordterrorfreez]

This is not helpfull