Curbkrawler
Shitbox Connoisseur
Did some measuring this weekend. From the face of the engine plate to the ring gear is 0.75". Even with a shim, the bendix will still hit the rear face of the flywheel when engaging the teeth. Went upstairs and pulled the OEM flywheel out and measured it. The new flywheel is 0.1320" thicker (oil pan side) than the original. New flywheel was used because it is drilled and balanced to accept a modern diaphragm pressure plate. So our options appear to be either going with an aftermarket (powermaster style) starter or remove the exhaust, transmission, new ring gear on original flywheel and change clutch back to original three finger style. My vote was to just say fvck it and change the starter. Old man reminded me of how much effort we put to making it original and he wants to put original flywheel and clutch in it so we can use correct starter. Sigh...