I've replaced the stock starter on my '69 327 with the hi-torque small starter - I'm also running the Mallory Unilite distributor and coil. The stock wiring (and starter) has 3 wires (battery, big purple and small yellow) but the new starter only has room for 2? Any clues how to hook it up?

I'm no expert on starters by any means, but I can tell you that for sure you need to hook up the battery (I would imagine that the terminal for this is quite a bit larger to support the larger cable) and the purple wire which goes to the starter.

The other end of the yellow wire attaches to the positive side of the coil. Now, when my 69 was experiencing starter problems, the symptoms were similar to heat soat in that the car would start fine when cold, but was recalcitrant when hot. I discovered that the yellow wire was missing when I checked out the wiring diagrams. I put the wire on and the problem vanished. Your starter may not need this wire to handle the problem.

For whatever its worth...

Thanks - I talked with my local Chevy dealer today - Burt Chevrolet in Denver - and they advised hooking the yellow wire to the same terminal as the purple. I'm not sure I agree with hooking the ignition wire and coil lead together but I'll give it a try and hopes nothing fries.

Scott - was curious to know if your car is smoldering or ...?

Scott,
The purpose for the small yellow wire is to give a true 12 volts to the coil while starting (instead of the 9 or so it gets through the resistor wire while running) for more spark while starting. With the Unilite, there really is no need for this wire as the Unilite module supplies the same amount of power to the coil at all times. You should be able to discard the yellow wire with no problems at all.

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Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md

Zoomin - no smoke - no nothing - This is all new wiring on a restored car. I have dash lights, fan, etc. just doesn't turn ove?

BillK - thanks for the response. I left the yellow wire off, hooked up the battery lead and the purple - but no go. The Chevy dealership guys I talked with are familiar with the smaller starter but not necessarily the ignition. Do you see any harm in hooking the yellow to the same point as the purple?