I’m making steady progress towards collecting all the parts that I needto convert my USA import auto XK150 DHC to manual.
The latest acquisition (Thanks for the tip off Steve Hook) is my starter motor which although spinning undoubtedly requires full refurbishment.
Im not an expert on pinion condition so please can anyone guide me as to the condition of the pinion?
A few little nicks where I would expect them to be on the leading chamfer but nothing from the photos would stop me from using it.
You understand, the angled chamfer you see is supposed to be there. It helps the teeth to engage easier.
If there is no alternative, I would build up those nicks with MIG welding and use a die grinder to polish them back to the size of the undamaged ones.
takes me back to metalwork class when they gave you files 
I would dress it very gently with small files and see how it comes up
Hi Guys,
Thanks for the responses. All good ideas.
Rob, unfortunately im not a dab hand with the mig and so the files suggested by Tony are more my cup of tea.
However, I have a brand new ring gear fitted to the flywheel and so maybe my best option would be to source a new pinion. Does anyone know where I might find one? The pinion is part number 291101, the spring is 291043 and the armature is 270532. Are there any interchangeable part numbers as I cannot seem to find these online right now?
Andy,
I made a spreadsheet some years ago for an article in the XK Gazette on Starter Motors, showing the common parts in the various generations of starter motors. It may help you finding a good replacement, but will remain difficult… Only the Lucas 62026 series is relevant for you.
The second spreadsheet shows what other brands used the same drive components, to help looking for another pinion under the motto: “you never know”…
Bob K.
291101 is extremely rare, I have been searching for a replacement and found one in the US and another in Australia, you just have to keep searching the internet and see what comes up.
The pinion you have looks like it will work fine especially if you have a new ring gear.
Think I do have a couple of starter motors, they came out of a MKVII and/or MKVIII
cant tell from Bobs chart whether parts are interchangeable
Can you remove the pinion gear and reverse it? Maybe dress the end to introduce some chamfer?
Bob, your response has completely blown me away. Its so very helpful and way beyond what I was expecting so a big thank you.
Morris, I read one of your earlier posts which has led me to take a gamble. I have bought a different pinion for £10 GBP and if my gamble pays off I can have a try at swapping the pinion. I have read somewhere, someone saying that they had heard somewhere that the pinion can be pressed out.
Kevin, thanks for the idea of reversing the pinion and it may be my last resort if I can’t come up with a pinion from somewhere.
Andy
You are probably aware that the pinion must be 10 teeth, not 11 as is mentioned in Viarts book also, if you get a pinion with the chamfer on the other side of the teeth it is meant for an automatic and cannot be used,
What pinion did you take a gamble with ?
An exact replacement for the Lucas 291101 (10 tooth) pinion and barrel is the Remax SB 62.
Remax manufactured many substitute parts for Lucas applications, and in my experience are very high quality. I was able to find a Remax SB 62 on eBay UK after the Lucas 291101 became very scarce.
Hi Morris…great info…didnt realise there was a difference in the pinion of the manual/auto starter…you mention the chamfer is on the opposite side…but which way around is which… Thanks… Steve
Hi Morris,
To be truthful I dont know what the part number is but it is 10 tooth. Its a complete gamble but here are the pics.
Steve
A 150 starter as shown above in the photo by Andy Shaw is part number Lucas 291101,
and an automatic is Lucas 291104. The later has the chamfer on the opposite side to the manual gearbox.
My photo shows a 150 starter and a 150 bendix for an auto also at the bottom a much smaller bendix with 10 teeth which may fit a Morgan or Triumph.
I have been searching for the Remax SB62 which Mike mentioned but nothing comes up other than SB63. It does not help when you have Remax realty, it just confuses the search, also it seems no North American searches come up with Remax pinions.
‘Accurate’ is another old company which manufacture pinions ,but again I score a blank on that also.
Andy
The bendix you show seems very small, have you compared it to the one you have on your starter.
Bob
Have you made a mistake with the second column under Pinion and Barrel, should it not read 291101, as apposed to 191101.
Morris,
You are absolutely correct: the Pinion and Barrel for the Lucas Starter 26062 should read 291101. My apologies for that: just a typo but nevertheless…
Andy,
I had another look. The earlier starter motor Lucas 26042 with the rubber drive 291.105, also used the same Pinion and Barrel 291101. A lot of these have been replaced by the later “eclipse type” with the steel spring, so if someone still has an old malfunctioning “rubber” starter drive with a good pinion, that could be used. See pics of “rubber drive” and “eclipse drive” below.
Bob K.
In my experience, using that rather worn and battered bendix gear on a new ring gear would cause both to wear and might not be a good idea. If a new gear isn’t available, what about sourcing one of the new generation high torque starters complete? Are they available for our cars? Is the quest for originality more important than engineering solidarity in this case?
Thanks for the great pics Morris. I’m not expecting the whole pinion to be identical but my gamble is that the pinion gear will be. Not long now though until the gamble pinion turns up and we can take a few measurements.
Thanks for the clarification Bob - more great info as usual.
Syd, thanks for the advice. Someone also told me that an MGB 9 tooth pinion “would do the job” but based upon your earlier advice I’m second guessing your response to that idea.
I have been asking some starter motor experts for help and this is what I have come up with:
“You need Lucas reference 291101, see photos. The L.H. refers to the chamfer on the cogs. Sorry but I don’t have one. Same starter motor on the XK120 1949-54, pinion and sleeve also fitted some other M418G’s on many quality cars 1940’s to early 50’s, Alvis Lea-Francis. Armstrong Siddeley etc. as in last photo. Good luck finding it”
Finally, I have just taken the starter into the oldest and most established Auto Electric Supplies Specialist around, G.E Middleton & Co Ltd, of Stretford, Manchester, UK. They are going to see if they can find a pinion for me.
