[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by 64speed

RobbMC has the nose cone option. It is the only mini starter I know of with one

That is correct, and I always recommend the nose support.

While I've had a couple issues with Robb's starter, things like the ball bearing falling out and causing the gear to slide on the shaft, I've always thought there has to be a better retention method for that gear, but Robb has always been great to deal with, with fast turnaround, honest and up front. No reason I wouldn't buy more starters from him. They also clock in any position. Dad has been running one on his 571 for the last decade or so, does a great job spinning that engine over.

My vote is for RobbMC with the nose cone support.

Just a quick story on those other china starters without a nose support. They retain the gear with a snap ring. Eventually that snap ring fails and the gear shoots off like a bullet. Good luck finding it. Happened to dad and luckily he was parked on the grass, which slowed down the gear when it flew off and he was able to find it, slide it back on and start the car one more time to get home. There are a lot of reasons why you should have a nose support and some of them are obvious, but one thing I never counted on was without the nose support there is nothing to keep the gear from falling completely off and never finding it, or becoming a projectile for anyone standing nearby.

Fast forward to the RobbMC starter with nose support. Gear came loose but the nose support wouldn't let the gear shoot out from under the car. Bottom line is the car would still start no matter what, just that sometimes the gear would get hung up on the flexplate and you would have to shut it off and start it again until that gear finally bounced back into it's resting position. Moral of the story is it won't leave you stranded if the gear comes loose. Turned out to be a simple fix and Robb turned it around in a couple days. Knock on wood dad hasn't had that issue for a few years now but it's just one of those funny stories not often posted around here.