Need help selecting a GOOD starter for my 68 Fairlane 390. Pinion Gear problems

Hello friends. I was hoping that you good folks could help me with selecting a decent starter for my 68 Fairlane Fastback. Just last night we spent the better part of 2 hours removing a new starter that had my entire motor locked up. I had heard the pinion gear skip a few times in he past month make a sort of skipping sound when the battery got a little weak from sitting and then a couple of weeks ago went to start it and just the solenoid was clicking. Thinking the battery had a problem did a full charge and still the same outcome. Last night we tried to turn the motor over using a breaker bar and the whole motor would not budge in either direction. I'm sure if you have ever worked on this type of car that you know that the starter location along with the header, transmission lines and lack of room anywhere around where you need to work is very aggravating to say the least. Anyway after finally getting the starter back off and shot putting it across the yard, we scooped it up to examine the problem. The teeth on the end of the pinion gear were worn and damaged but the starter was not seized up. It turned freely which makes no sense as to why my motor would not budge. My flywheel is brand new and luckily we did not see and damage to the teeth on that. This motor does have a recent rebuild with a race cam, bored .060 over so I'm assuming that I need a better starter with a better made pinion gear. I was hoping someone might have a good recommendation on a decent brand starter that will work my my situation. As always I greatly appreciate everyone taking the time to help me with my problem and am very grateful for your knowledge. Yes I now know that it was foolish of me to put a standard performance starter in high performance set up so please forgive my stupidity.

I use PowerMaster gear reduction starters on everything these days-------

Stotzbotz, I'd suggest that you invest in a battery tender, that keeps a tightly controlled float charge on your battery between uses. Low volts, not giving the solenoid a strong kick to fully engage before starting to spin may have contributed to your problem.

New flywheel??????? maybe the ring gear is on it backwards

Denny-there is a good rebuilder out there a little south of you who uses original supplier parts-none of the china shit-I'll have to look up there name/contact-that's where I used to go before I discovered Powermaster was right near me about 4 miles

is it true that on ford starters if the battery cable bolts to the side of the starter it is considered a low torque unit but if the cable bolts onto the end of the starter it is a high torque unit ? i had always thought that ...

South of DeKalb-23? just s of 88

I helped a friend with a high compression 327 on a 67 vette. His starter was right next to the headed and would heat up while the car was running. He'd drive 20 miles park at a store, and not be able to restart the car until the started and the engine block cooled down. We used a gear reduction model like Jerry mentioned from Summit Auto. Never has been a problem since then, also it's a hell of a lot smaller than the stock starter, i.e. more room to work with and larger clearance from hot exhaust.

Here is a link on summit to help with your search
https://www.summitracing.com/search/...d-big-block-fe

Jerry is this the model you were refering too?
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/p...model/fairlane

And also, please verify that you have the starter locating plate in between the bellhousing and the block.
Some folks like to think this is a shim or torque plate. But really it is what sets the distance for the starter from the center of the crankshaft..

You can run without it, but you'll either have to much or to little clearance. ALso used was special bolts, they have a larger head and a smaller diameter than the thread just below the head to allow the starter clearance to move to the correct location, indexed by the plate.

Thanks everyone for your information and tips. I am ordering the Powermaster 3131 High Torque starter from Summit which sounds like a great choice. I also need to figure out what is slowly draining my battery so that I get maximum power to the starter. Ever since I installed a new headlight switch this problem popped up. I've got a few days until the starter arrives so hopefully I can figure this out. Thanks again for everyone's knowledge. I love this forum.

Do you remember what they charged you for that starter? I was considering a Powermaster 3131 High Torque starter for $149.00 from Summit but am reading there is a problem with the nose cone being improperly designed which hits your flywheel and results in a bad fit. I'm sure that some grinding in the right place would solve the problem but how would I know where to grind on it and would it void your warranty. I do have the starter positioning plate installed by the way.

Seems to me that for 149 dollars they could make it so it would fit correctly.
I'd be asking the manufacturer if "adding clearance" will cause you warranty issues before doing the deed!

Thanks everyone for your help. After everything being considered I have ordered a Powermaster 9606 Mastertorque starter. I will also make sure to keep my battery charged properly and now need to figure out where the slow drain on it is originating from. Appreciate this forum and you folks that subscribe to it and are kind enough to take the time to help me.