Just put a new flywheel and starter in my car. When I put the starter in I did it by the book and checked everything. I cranked it over with the bell housing off and it was fine, No noise. Put it all together and go to start it got a quick grind, stopped cranking and then fumes came out of the air cleaner, white smoke. It did this before I changed the fly wheel. I think the timing is to far advanced and I will check it tomorrow. I tuned the car about 2 years ago but really didn't use it because of the bad fly wheel.

 

Are you saying it was cranking and it kicked back? Or are you saying the starter made grinding noises that are not normal starter noises and then just stopped turning?
The white smoke out of the carb sounds like kick back.

 

I went to start it and it made a slight cringing noise and I stopped and it got the smoke from the carb. It didn't grind every time I went to start it. When i had the distributor unhooked. It seemed to turn over normal. No noise. Thats when I thought it may be to far advanced.

 

Spinning over perfectly normal with distributor unhooked and then making unusual sounds when connected?
yup, you could be onto something.
Certainly shouldn't take much to check. What did you time it at 2 years ago? Have your flyweights stuck from rust and sitting?

 

This is a pain, but you may need to shim the starter to get the gear contact correct. Every old GM starter I've done I sprayed a little white Rustoleum on the starter gear, installed it and turned it over, then pulled the starter to check the pattern. Shim to get the wear point on the middle of the gear teeth.

 

I guess I have been lucky so far in life because I have never had a starter that needed to be shimmed. The idea of the white Rust-o-leum would be a great idea for checking the contact pattern of the gears meshing together. I have checked the meshing in the past but never had to do anything about the gap present.

Starters are something that I learned about a while back. I have a high compression 427 and it has a bad habit of turning slower on the original starter motor. I eventually replaced it with a permanent magnet gear drive starter and the cranking speed increased and the engine started even faster. Gear drive starters are so reliable and they draw less current while cranking the engine. I have NEVER experienced any heat soaking with the gear drive starters. The electrical motor is able to be rotated around trying to find the best position on your car with the most clearance.

Then to make cranking easier on virtually any engine you have the option of pulling timing while cranking. This unloads the starter motor even more, allowing it to spin up even faster. I use a MSD Digital Retard box that has the feature of unloading the starter for up to 20* to make the starting really easy. The digital retard box was for my high compression 427 and the fuel that is being used at that time. I was able to pull timing out in whatever increments I wanted or needed based on the fuel's Actual octane level. If I heard any signs of pinging or detonation I would start by pulling 2* of timing at a time, if the pinging is still there I could pull another 2* for a total of 4*, you get the idea.

Today the new Holley EFI Software also has this feature built into the software. It is so handy to be able to pull timing and crank up the engine and then re-lease the timing at ~400-800 rpm. This system allows my 12.25-1 compression ratio 427 to crank like a Slant-6.

For regular and reliable starting be sure to take good care of the battery in the system. Having good cables and connections is critical for reliable and consistent starting. I still suggest the multi-meters that have a Min-Max function on them, this allows you to monitor the battery voltage during a typical starting cycle. It will show the lowest number the battery reached and then can show you that the alternator is working by pushing the voltage above the 12.6 volts. A simple test of the battery will let you know if the battery is any good or just needs to be charged.

More Compression, More Power......

 

Are you referring to a gear reduction starter? If not, can you elaborate on a magnet gear drive starter? I've never heard of that.

 

He doesn't really do his own work so perhaps his explanation is slightly askew.
Yes he's referring to a gear reduction, or mini starter. As used on newer vehicles.