I recently aquired a 1987 N/A Manual FC, with an engine that was rebuilt and ported a few years ago by some rotary head in South Dakota.

The starter pooped out on me and I ordered what i thought was the right one from NAPA but after pulling out the old one and compairing I would say its not the right one. I should've snapped a picture but didn't so im going to go off the pictures on Atkins Rotary.

The one that came from NAPA looks like this

While the one on my car looks like the Automatic / turbo / i dont really know kind pictured here


I've been meaning to get in contact with the builder to get more details for future work, but haven't got it done yet, so im looking for some help from you's all.

TLDR;
What does having the automatic starter mean? Do I have a turbo manual transmission? How can I tell what transmission I have?
Does the transmission determine what starter I have, or do I have a different engine than I think? If it were an Auto to Manual swap, would It still use the automatic starter no matter what transmission?

I've been looking for a definative starter motor guide but have come up with a lot of inconsistant threads, any help would be good help.
Thanks.

 

It’s easy to tell the difference between turbo and nonturbo manual transmissions. Just look up some pictures. I can spot a turbo transmission in an instant by seeing if the section behind the bellhousing is ribbed. The bottom of a turbo transmission has a removable inspection plate that is secured by a number of bolts and is also ribbed.

if you don’t know what you have, why not buy all 3 variations (if turbo and automatic starters are different) and just return whatever you don’t use.

 

Maybe this Youtube video will help: