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 May 3 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-VCT Zetec like the one in my (Birkinized) Caterham.

 

The non-VCT Zetec engine in my (Birkinized) 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-VCT Zetec engine from a 1996 Contour. 

 

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

 

None of the engines I speak about here are VCT.

 

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 VCT 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 May 8 by pethier
(Birkinized) Caterham clarity

[pethier]

14 hours ago, pethier said:

I

 

Edited May 4 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.   

[11Budlite]

I don't know where the starter came from in my old Birkin, but this is a photo of the setup I had. The engine was from a '96 Contour and the gearbox was a T9 with the stock Birkin bellhousing operated with the slave cylinder mounted on the top of the gearbox cover. I'd be surprised if the bellhousing was the same between the Birkin and the Caterham because I believe the Birkin used the short input shaft, and the Caterham used the long input shaft on the gearbox. I know when I ordered the close ratio gearkit from BGH I had to tell him which input shaft I had.  I guess yours could be different though.

 

Is there a P/N on your starter?

[pethier]

1 hour ago, 11Budlite said:

I'd be surprised if the bellhousing was the same between the Birkin and the Caterham

I do not blame you for not following the bread crumbs. 

 

To recap:

The original Caterham 1700 Super Sprint engine, bellhousing, and T9 transmission is now in another state, destined to be installed in a Lotus 7.

My autocross friend Steve is building his Birkin into an electric car.  He sold me all his gasoline stuff, including Zetec, Birkin bellhousing, and T9.

I had a problem (too goofy to recount here) with "The Steve Engine".  "The Steve Engine" is from a 1996 Contour.

Ron, another autocross friend, is an engine mechanic and dyno tuner.  Ron is going to clean and balance "The Steve Engine".  

To fill in, I bought a junkyard engine from a 1996 Contour (after learning my lesson by buying the wrong Zetec).

 

Alerted by our fine friends here on USA7s, I checked out a Birkin for sale up north in Minnesota (no, not in Lakeland where others had assumed), and bought it. This Birkin has a Zetec, Birkin bellhousing, and T9.

 

I am soon going to provide more information and photos on these starters I have.

 

 

 

Edited May 4 by pethier

[pethier]

11 minutes ago, pethier said:

 

 

 

Edited May 4 by pethier
Dammit. I did it again.

[pethier]

On 5/4/2026 at 3:24 PM, CarlB said:

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.   

The starter is on the left side of the engine as shown in the 11Budlite photo.

 

These starters were held in with M10x1.5mm socket-head cap screws.  On the Birkin one of these bolts is loosened with a long extension setup 8mm hex drive in the cockpit through a hole in the footwell.  This was a surprise to me, since the (Birkinized) Caterham footwell allowed me to reach all the starter bolts from under the car. I think on the Birkin I am going to replace that socket-head cap screw with a hex bolt that can be tightened with an open-end wrench.

 

 

Edited May 8 by pethier

[CarlB]

The Caterhams sold in the USA with Zetec engines came with the starter on the right hand side from the drivers seat and up higher under the intake manifold. The picture you are showing has the starter mounted low on the left and it would be below the exhaust. There are flywheel differences that affect the starter motor and clutch. It is my understanding that Caterham never sold Zetec powered cars in the UK. The cars in the UK with Zetec used a bell housing like yours. I do not have any experience with Burkins, but the T-9 transmissions in Caterham all have the longer input shaft. You might be able to find a starter alternator rebuild shop who can identify the starter, but there aren’t many around any more. Race line in the UK might be able to help you. They sell all the different parts.

[pethier]

The starter from the green Birkin has lots of Bosch South Africa notations and a little Ford oval.   It has no number on the part of it shown in the photo below.

===================================================================

 

The starter from Steve's Birkin has a Ford number.

F32U-11131-AA

 

[pethier]

I have news.  I stumbled into what looked like the right thing at O'Reilly and found one in stock, stuck it in my (Birkinized) Caterham and it cranks.  There was one review there and the vehicle shown in the review was a 2000 Ford Ranger, so I went through all the engine choices until I found the one that returned the model that I already know works.  Surprise:  It's not the Ranger four-banger.

 

Ford part that was in Steve's driveline he sold me:
F32U-1131-AA
-
search for
2000 Ford Ranger
XLT - V6 - 3.0L 2986cc 182ci GAS MFI vin U - 2 valve OHV
or
2000 Ford Ranger
Sub-Model: XLT
Engine: 6 Cylinders 3.0L Vulcan GAS
===========
Confirmed works, cranked the Zetec in my "Birkin-equipped" Caterham:
O'REILLY
BesTest Starter - Remanufactured - V613177
===========
Probably works:

-
Ultima Starter - Remanufactured - R613177
-
Ultima Select Starter - New - N613177
Part # N613177 Line: USL
-
Bosch Starter - New - SR7559N
Part # SR7559N Line: BOS
-
Bosch Starter - Remanufactured - SR7559X
Part # SR7559X Line: BOS
-
Duralast Remanufactured Starter DL3264S
-
TotalPro Remanufactured Starter T3218
Shop All TotalPro
-
Raw Power New Starter ES3218S
Part #ES3218S
-
AC Delco Gold Starter 336-1113A
-
NAPA
Starter - Reman - Standard
Part #: RAY 2449308
-
Starter - Remanufactured
Denso at NAPA
Part #: DEN 2805104

Edited May 8 by pethier
Housekeeping

[pethier]

On 5/4/2026 at 6:05 PM, pethier said:

These starters were held in with M10x1.5mm socket-head cap screws.  On the Birkin one of these bolts is loosened with a long extension setup 8mm hex drive in the cockpit through a hole in the footwell.  This was a surprise to me, since the Caterham footwell allowed me to reach all the starter bolts from under the car. I think on the Birkin I am going to replace that socket-head cap screw with a hex bolt that can be tightened with an open-end wrench.

The substitution of a hex bolt in the Birkin upper location is not going to work.  Taking taking a Dremel-type cutting disc to an 8mm Allen-key-type wrench was a great help in for the Birken middle location, but no help for the upper.

 

On the (Birkinized) Caterham, there was plenty of room to reach all the bolts with an 8mm driver mounted on a 3/8" ratchet handle.

 

 

 

Edited May 7 by pethier
"Birkinized"

[11Budlite]

I just found another folder with photos of a Birkin starter. Not sure how I missed this before.

[pethier]

13 hours ago, 11Budlite said:

I just found another folder with photos of a Birkin starter. Not sure how I missed this before.

Looks like the one in my green Birkin.  More about that later.

 

What I think are Bosch numbers in the USA are:

 

Bosch Starter - New - SR7559N

Bosch Starter - Remanufactured - SR7559X

 

After success with getting a new starter in the (Birkinized) Caterham, today I install a starter in the green Birkin.  These two starters are marketed as different brands with different part numbers.  They appear to have been remanufactured in the same place in Mexico.  More details after I get this second one in and tested.

 

 
 

Edited May 8 by pethier
hamfisted typing

[pethier]

OK. The remanufactured starters I have work perfectly in the Birkinized Caterham.

 

On the Birkin, they fit, they spin, but apparently do not engage the flywheel.