[Rovernet] P6B starter replacement

[magnet at ican.net]

Hello Rovernetters,

It has been very quiet recently on the Rovernet... maybe this will 
"start" some comment.

A couple of weeks ago we were planning a road trip -- about 500 miles -- 
in my 1970 3500S.  Checked all the fluids, tyres, etc. and she seemed 
ready to go when two days prior to  departure, an intermittent fault 
developed in the starter.  You really don't want this sort of thing when 
you're travelling on holiday, so I decided to replace the starter with a 
spare unit.  This solved the problem and the car performed faultlessly 
on the trip.

Now that I'm home again, I thought I'd see what was amiss with the old 
starter.  Before I took it out of the car, when it did work -- perhaps 
on every 3rd attempt --   it worked OK, turned the engine over with 
enthusiasm.  But then on other tries all it gave was a loud click, and 
judging from the effect on headlight brightness, it did not appear that 
power was being supplied to the actual starter motor.  I suspect the 
solenoid, but have not as yet done any real diagnostics.

Well, the point of my message is this:  Has anyone had any experience 
with alternative replacement starters for the P6 V-8? Particularly with 
the starter for the pre-1994 Range Rover?  When I had my '93 RR, I once 
had to replace the starter, and it was easy enough to get hold of one.  
Unfortunately I never looked into this interchangeability issue at the 
time.

Questions: is the cut-out for the pinion on the nose piece in the same 
angular position relative to the mounting bolts?  Is the mounting bolt 
spacing the same?  I recall the position of the solenoid was different, 
not sure if this posed a problem.  The RR's engine was basically the 
same as that in the P6B, so I shouldn't think there would be much 
difference in the starters. What about MGB V-8, other cars using the 
same engine?

Any information most gratefully received!

Cheers,

  -- Bill Daddis