rebuilt starter out because it was not working

1963 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE
97,000 MILES
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TOWITHOME2
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I bought the car about 3 weeks ago, and the seller said that they took the recently, (last year), rebuilt starter out because it was not working. I took the starter to Autozone to have it checked and it worked fine, (not as strong as a new one, however). There were no starter bolts or shims with the car. I remembered that when I replace the starter on my 63 Catalina back in the 60's that there were shims. I bought the bolts and shims at O'reilly's today, but the oldest manual I have only goes back to 1964; and the instructions don't include any particulars about the shim size.

I need to know what size shims, or how to determine which size shims, need to be used, to install a starter/solenoid in my 4-door 1963 Pontiac Bonneville 389 c.i., that was out of the car when I purchased it. Thanks.

May 17, 2012 at 6:21 AM
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CARADIODOC
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Shims are only needed if the drive gear makes a screeching noise due to production tolerances that put that gear too close to the teeth on the flex plate. If there's no objectionable noise, don't use any shims. If one doesn't help, in rare instances you may need two shims. I've never heard of anyone needing three shims.
May 17, 2012 at 6:41 AM
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