With a 460 V8 your starter probably is a "mini" (may be called "high torque" "gear reduction" "permanent magnet" or "permanent magnet gear reduction" "PMGR") that looks about like
and not the old style direct drive like this
but your can convert if you like. And I would. We had a PMGR on our boat that ran for years and years in a salty damp environment. Drive got stuck twice and I cleaned/lubed it, continued to march.
Here's one for $45 at
DB Electrical. I would NOT simply order this without calling them, as they suggest. Many parts applications don't include the F-53 Ford Motorhome Chassis, but many of their parts will indeed work.
DB Electrical may not be familiar in the RV community but they're respected on the Boat and Automotive forums.
A friend called me one morning, his partner owner in a Class A with 460 tried to start it on a dead battery and it wouldn't crank with a new battery. Starter turned out bad, and they also replaced the remote mounted relay/solenoid. This makes me suspicious that these VERY reliable Ford starters don't tolerate bad batteries very well. Our battery's acting shaky and I'm going to replace it now...
