1954 Pontiac: Starter solenoid cheap plastics - Replace with rubber?

[Mariiboops]

The mount that holds the switch inside the starter solenoid is shattered after a few weeks of use. That kind of quality is undesired, so I'm switching to something more resilient. Rubber should do the trick, but any other suggestions will be appreciated. I should have results by this weekend to share.

[Mariiboops]

For those who look to this thread for guidance, here's my end option: I switched to a 12-volt starter with gear reduction. My car starts on the first key turn every time now. If you think it's expensive, then you're mistaken. A fully rebuilt 6-volt starter and solenoid is the same price but will likely suffer from the same issues eventually. I apologize for not giving a 6-volt answer, but I would personally prefer to make a pedal-starter like an old truck rather than fix the solenoid switch. I've been stranded in have my drives due to the solenoid, and I refuse to subject friends and family to it. They are not as young and capable of dealing with it as I am.

[PONTIAC1953]

in 51 years of owning and driving a 1953 Pontiac Chieftain, I've never had a starter problem like this, My Chieftain Custom Catalina is no longer six volts or straight eight powered, from 1998 to 2021, the Chieftain had a 1955 287 V8 and dual range Hydra-Matic trans, I have a 1959 389 V8 on my engine stand, getting some parts changed, and a 1954 Oldsmobile slant pan dual range Hydra-Matic trans sitting on the workbench.

 

 

 

 

[Bloo]

I've rebuilt or repaired rather a lot of those old GM solenoids over the years, and 99% of the time the only thing needed is a copper bolt.

 

If the mini starter is working for you, great. I do think they are a little bit more durable than the old GM starters, as the old GM starters usually needed a little attention sometime between 80K and 100K miles. As few miles as people drove back then, that's 8 years or so. It really isn't terrible. As little as people drive their antiques these days it is probably more like 80 years. The Japanese mini starters can sometimes go 200K miles or more, though I think 150K miles is more typical. Parts to do a whole starter rebuild are probably less than $60 even now, assuming no bad windings, for either a GM starter or a Japanese one. I'd be surprised if it is over $100. It was usually less than $20 in the 90s when I was last doing a lot of it. That was going to an auto electric shop to buy the parts, not an auto parts store. The auto parts stores really held you up on price on internal parts, and they weren't particularly good at sourcing them either. The copper bolt for the solenoid was about $2 then, and more often than not, it was the only thing wrong. Those bolts have probably gone up a disproportionate amount as copper is expensive now.