What starter for Birkin or Caterham with early 2000cc Zetec and Ford T9 5-speed?

[pethier]

I want to replace the starters in my 2 Sevens, but don't know what to ask for at the parts counter.  The two starters look interchangeable.

 

Do I need to ask for some sort of Merkur starter?

[Vovchandr]

We need to know what zetec you have. 

 

Likely a contour one that's vct or similar and it's going to be different than a Ford focus one. 

 

I went through this issue when I did my clutch. The car came with a clutch from a focus as a spare but it didn't work with the existing flywheel and after swapping flywheel it didn't work with the existing starter so I had to do a full conversion at that point. 

Edited yesterday at 12:26 PM by Vovchandr

[pethier]

On 5/3/2026 at 7:24 AM, Vovchandr said:

We need to know what zetec you have. 

 

Likely a contour one that's vct or similar and it's going to be different than a Ford focus one. 

 

I went through this issue when I did my clutch. The car came with a clutch from a focus as a spare but it didn't work with the existing flywheel and after swapping flywheel it didn't work with the existing starter so I had to do a full conversion at that point. 

I don't know the origin of the parts in my green Birkin, but the engine certainly looks like a 2000cc non-CVT Zetec like the one in my Caterham.

 

The non-CVT Zetec engine in my Caterham is from a 1996 Contour.  This is the junkyard engine bought to temporarily replace the "Steve" engine. Steve built HIS Birkin from a new kit and sourced the non-CVT Zetec engine from a 1996 Contour. 

 

The T9 transmissions and the alloy bellhousings in both my Birkin and my Caterham look identical.

 

None of the engines I speak about here are CVT.

 

I will make some measurements and take some photos and get back to this thread.

 

=======

 

By mistake, I bought from a private seller a Zetec CVT from a 1999 Contour.  That engine is is still at Ron's shop and has nothing whatever to do with either of my Sevens.

 

 

 

 

Edited 1 hour ago by pethier

[pethier]

14 hours ago, pethier said:

I

 

Edited 1 hour ago by pethier
just one of the usual errors I make with computers.

[CarlB]

Where does the starter motor mount on the bellhousing. That is an issue. I have a Zetec with the Focus engine and flywheel; it uses a bellhousing that mounts the starter under the intake manifold. My car uses a Focus starter. There are bellhousings that mount the starter down low. They are available to mount the start on either or both sides of the engine. I do not know what starter they use.