v 6 starters.
 

Today I made an interesting discovery. A Chevy starter next to a v6 starter. The chevy starter is for a 70's era 350 truck. cost new about $ 30.00 . v6 starter new about $90.00 and harder to find. All of the pieces of the starters are the same except for the nose cone. shaft diameter is .468 on both, and the distance from the motor housing to the stop ring in the nose cone is the same at 3.800. So for about $32.00 including a new nose cone bushing and a little time you should never need to worry about starters or lack of availability.

Re: v 6 starters.
 

If anything like all other GM starters, you want to keep the nose cone that was attached to the bell housing because they are match fitted on the assbly line.

Re: v 6 starters.
 

a Chivy starter from a larger series truck with a 366-427 V8 is a direct bolt on for a GMC V6, changing nose cones can lead to other issues like breakage, I've experienced that myself.

Re: v 6 starters.
 

Barry:
One other thing to compare on the automotive starters is high torque vs. low torque starters. Both of the ones in your picture are high torque. I can tell from the spacer between the solenoid and the tab from the field coils inside the starter. On low torque starters, the field coil tab is directly beneath the lug on the solenoid and consequently no spacer is needed. If you were to compare the inside of the high torque vs. low torque armatures, you would find that the high torque armature has a bigger circumference. The high torque is the better starter, but the low torque would also bolt up to your nose cone if you were in a pinch.
Regards,
Steve
New Orleans

Re: v 6 starters.
 

I actually used a starter out of a late 454. I disassembled it...cleaned and re-brushed the starter motor, then bolted on the end housing with a new solenoid.

I needed no shim-work on this one, though I've ran across a few that needed quite a bit of attention to the fit.

That thing will spin the ol' 351 like there's no tomorrow.