bell housing issue

hi, i have a bit of a problem. i have a 351m bell housing bolted to the bak of my 1973 ( if my research is correct) 460. i have the factory starter for the 460 which has rebuilt at one time and is still in working order. my problem is that when bolted to the housing there is a pretty good distance from the fly wheel to the teeth on the starter. i was hoping that there is somebody who could tell me how to fix this whether it be which starter to use from which motor or what ever the solution may be. any help or advice would be greatly welcomed.

i'd say you have the wrong flexplate/flywheel.

I think that you have a bell housing set up for a 184 tooth flywheel and you may have a 164.....

i havnt checked to see but that is probably the problem. just for the sake of asking, is there a starter i could use from another engine that could work?

bigblock outlaw wrote:i havnt checked to see but that is probably the problem. just for the sake of asking, is there a starter i could use from another engine that could work?

i'd say no. i had the same problem with my 351w and t5 swap.i got a 157 flywheel,28oz for the 351 and shoulda got a 164.the 3.8 t5 had a big bell and used the 164 flywheel.it did the same thing as yours,starter spun like hell,just did'nt touch the ring gear. i tried every starter i had,even a bbf csr i had for a spare,the 3.8 starter,old 302,and one i think came off a 95 cougar 5.0,none worked.

I did a little research on the dimensions for a 184 tooth manual trans compared to a 164 tooth auto trans.
My info shows a difference of .6436" from the center of the crankshaft to the center of the starter between the two setups.
I am not aware of a starter with such an offset, but that info may help with your search.
Keith

ya thats about what i thought. so i would basicaly need to get a flexplate for a manual then. thx for the help guys.

A flexplate is the term used if an automatic. A manual is a flywheel which is a lot thicker, flat, and accepts a clutch disc and pressure plate.

A 460 uses a crank flange common with the FE and MEL series. You should have a 176, 180, or 184 tooth flywheel. If you have a 460 also have to know if it is internal or external balance as a externally balanced 460 requires an externally balanced flywheel.

As to what starter will work, first need to count the teeth on the flywheel.

Steve

its an internaly balanced 460, as for the tooth count im guessing its a 170 because there is a pretty good gap between the starter teeth and the flywheel.



as for addressing my problem, with the 351m bell housing i have , if i get a 184 tooth manual flywheel it will work with my factory 460 starter.

bigblock outlaw wrote:its an internaly balanced 460, as for the tooth count im guessing its a 170 because there is a pretty good gap between the starter teeth and the flywheel.



as for addressing my problem, with the 351m bell housing i have , if i get a 184 tooth manual flywheel it will work with my factory 460 starter.

what is the numbers on the 351M bell ?

bigblock outlaw wrote:im guessing its a 170 because there is a pretty good gap between the starter teeth and the flywheel.

Guessing is not going to accomplish anything more then wasting a lot of money on wrong parts. You need to figure out what you have before you can guess what you need.

ok the numbers on the bell housing is D7TA7505AD.