'56 olds-starter shield-goes where?

[Guest imported_pete324rock]

there has been a peice of sheet metal that belongs to my olds-it came with it but I haven't been able to find a home for it but I was told it was a starter shield and later heard that a alot of owners ended up leaving them off when servicing the starter....but..try as I might I can't seem to find a place for it on the car.The shape of it is flat with a funnel shape at one end.I just can't seem to find a way to bolt it on.Can anyone enlighten me? pete

[Ron of Chicago]

If in fact it is a starter shield then it will fit between the starter and the engine/exhaust manifold. It will have a tab that fits to the flange that the starter bolts up with. It was used to keep the heat away from it.

Attach a picture for us to be sure that that is what you have though.

[Guest imported_pete324rock]

sorry I don't have a camera-A better question may be...did a 1956 olds come with a starter shield? I'm sure though that I heard that a lot of owners left them off after servicing the starter-maybe I'm mistaken though.

[Ron of Chicago]

I personally don't remember any shield on the cars from the 50's but I do remember them on the cars from the 60's and 70's.

And yes, a lot of people left them off once they worked on the starters. Maybe they thought they were un-necessary or a pain to deal with and not that they would help prolong the life of the starrter by shielding it from heat.

[RocketDude]

I have a shield on both sides of my '51 S88. The one on the left goes under the starter. There is one on the right, under the oil filter, that has a hole in it, and the steering linkage goes through it. When I unbolted the steering linkage to drop the pan, I left both shields off. Once everything is finished, i.e., engine work, exhaust work, etc, the shields will go back on. I see no purpose in them, but they are original, so the will go back on. Just will wait until the last thing, and I know everything else is working good, so I don't have to keep fighting them. One of the screws that holds the starter shield on, also holds the fuel line clamp