1951 Dodge B3B Starter Armature

[Weishaarkc]

I'm the recent owner of a 1951 Dodge B3B and I had it up and running great until a few weeks ago.  Among other issues, the starter stopped working.  My mechanic took it out and sent it over to a local rebuilder who eyeballed it from across the room as a Dodge truck starter.  Long story short, the armature is broken and it doesn't seem like anybody makes a replacement starter for these trucks.  Does anybody have a line on where to find one (new or used, at this point I don't care)?  Or of there's any kind of adapter to use a different starter or something like that I'm open to any and all solutions.  The truck does have the original 218ci motor.  It has been converted to 12V negative ground but the entire truck was professionally rewired, including starter cables.  The original starter was working fine until this happened and it used to start the truck great with the extra umph of the 12V battery.

[knuckleharley]

Look in the yellow pages for automotive electrical repair shops. Call around until you find a local shop that will either rebuild yours for you,or accept yours as a core when you purchase a rebuilt one they have in stock.

 

I had a 6v starter for a flathead Ford rebuilt about a year ago at a local shop. The armature was even bad from the previous owner cleaning it with a wire wheel. Cost me $96,and I only cried for a little while. 

[Plymouthy Adams]

have you even responded to any of the parts listed for sale in the classified section of this forum.....?

[Weishaarkc]

Yeah it's already been to two local shops, one is run by a guy who's been around for forever (Sanco Rebuilders in Richmond VA) and knew what it was and said it's like a one year only starter.  I can't verify that, but that's why I'm here begging for info or parts and I can't find anywhere on the internet that sells a replacement unit.  I did email Andy Bernbaum Auto Parts who supposedly rebuilds these old starters to see if they had anything laying around.  I'll keep hunting. . .

[Weishaarkc]

Yes. I found one ad by a guy "pfleming" but when I went to send him a PM, I got an error message that says he can't receive any new messages. So that sucks.  I'm told it has to  be from a truck and I'm not sure what years work. So I'm working on trying to figure that out...by asking people that know...here...in this forum.

[Plymouthy Adams]

more than one ad with a starter listed..

[Cebreros]

Do you know the Autolite part number on your armature? 
When I took mine apart my brushing were so worn the armature was scraping against the field coils, I was able to find a replacement online by searching for the part number. 

[knuckleharley]

Yeah it's already been to two local shops, one is run by a guy who's been around for forever (Sanco Rebuilders in Richmond VA) and knew what it was and said it's like a one year only starter.  I can't verify that, but that's why I'm here begging for info or parts and I can't find anywhere on the internet that sells a replacement unit.  I did email Andy Bernbaum Auto Parts who supposedly rebuilds these old starters to see if they had anything laying around.  I'll keep hunting, but if any of you guys have any parts laying around I'll be glad to take them off your hands!

I have a hard time believing Mopar ever put out a "1 year only" starter in a truck in the 50's,but to make sure someone isn't blowing smoke up your butt you need to spend the money to buy a genuine Mopar parts manual that covers your truck,or an authorized copy in print or on a CD.

 

Such as this one,for example:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Factory-Shop-Service-Manual-for-1951-1952-Dodge-B-Series-Trucks-/221687423317?hash=item339d99a155:g:hbIAAOSwBahU2k4t&vxp=mtr

 

And this one:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1951-1952-Dodge-Pickup-Truck-Shop-Service-Repair-Manual-CD-Engine-Drivetrain-OEM-/140815099668?hash=item20c93be714:g:enAAAOSwuAVWvCkH&vxp=mtr

 

They will prove to be some of the wisest money you ever spent. Do yourself a favor and buy both the service manual and the parts manual.

[Jerry Roberts]

Looking in my Autolite parts catalog that goes up to the year 1951 ;   The starter motor for the B3B truck is part number MCL-6110 . The armature number is MCH- 2070 . These numbers are also good for some of the 1949 , and 1950 trucks . I didn't look through the entire catalog . You might verify the number on your starter as it could have been swaped out earlier . If your starter number is the same you could check ebay for replacements . If you need part numbers for some of the other parts in this starter , let me know .  

[Weishaarkc]

Jerry- thank you for the help. That's what I needed to know. I'll verify against my starter number.

[Young Ed]

I show the armature for a b3b as mopar #1266499 which my book shows fitting the entire line up of 50-52 trucks until you get to the R T or V models. So stay under 2.5 ton trucks and you should be good there. Quite possible it fits further into the 50s but this book only goes to 52

[Weishaarkc]

Ok I got the part numbers. The starter shows "part number 1268125" "AutoLite number MCH-6106" and "serial number 2F084308". The part number on the armature itself is MCH-2010. I'm going to start looking those up and see what I come up with.

[pflaming]

I was not aware that my message board was full. I still have the starter. Sent you a pm as a backup. I put in a car starter thus the extra.

[austinsailor]

I didn't realize starters were such a problem. Glad I didn't know when I was getting my rusty B1B on the road. I don't recall what was wrong with the starter - probably rusted up like my clutch/pressure plate/flywheel - but I just took one off a parts car, 40 Dodge, I think. Bolted it on and the arm that the foot pedal hits didn't line up. Took a big wrench, bent it till it hit and it's worked fine for 4 or 5 years.

[pflaming]

Weishaakc, those letters look like a line on my eye chart! LOL. The starter is ready to ship. Here are the numbers. Will it work?

[Weishaarkc]

Yep! That's the number I need. Thanks Paul. Let me know how to get you the money and the total with shipping.