Bell housing,starter,flywheel puzzle

[Skip Perkins]

Hi everyone! First time user,so bear with me.
In my 68 GTCS (standard shift)I have a '77 302 block,a flywheel for 10" clutch with '66 Mustang part #(C6Z etc.)and an aluminum bell housing with C5DA etc. part #. The problem seems to be that the starter does not fully engage depth wise on the flywheel gears.It worked for awhile but eventually ruined the starter and flywheel teeth.Is there a starter with a longer snout I should be using? Help would be appreciated. Thanks

[hobgoblin351]

I know ford did change the internals on small blocks a few times. Was the starter for a 68 or 77?

[Skip Perkins]

Thanks for responding. The starter was for '68.

[hobgoblin351]

Ford used a few different flywheels. on there small blocks. They had one with 157 teeth and one with 164. Thats probably where the problem lies. I'm not ta big 4-speed guy, so I couldn't tell ya which starter to use. Anyone else have an idea?

[rbohm]

if you use a 164 tooth bellhousing with a 157 tooth flywheel the starter wont engauge properly, and vice versa.

[mustangman65_79]

And besides that diff teeth count, some bellhousings had a diff depth then others. For the '77 bellhousing with a '77 flywheel, a '79-'86 starter should work, that is, if u can't find one for a '77.