heres my problem, i have converted my 1980 f-250 4x4plow truck from 300-6 to a 73 LTD 351 w it ran good for a year but now im down to 90 psi per cyl. and smoking a lot. my 6 had 4 sp man. the 351w had c-4 that i ran with untill it decided to shift in to reverse at 60mph. (took out transfer case and used 2wd) then i found a man. flywheel and installed new ring gear and put the stick back in, now hers where it gets inter-resting, using the 300's bellhousing i put the starter on hit the key and boom the ears broke off the starter so i took off the cone and using the starter cone that came on 300-6 put it back on. it works but it turns extremly hard and doesn't sound right. ran this way for 3 months till the engine started dying.
the starter was new from N.A.P.A for auto c-4 73 351w LTD the ring gear was new (napa)10"clutch also , new1100cca bat, swaped relays, new cables, ect .
took out the 351, the ring gear is wearing funny and the starter is worn only on the top of the gear. so i though may be they gave me the wrong ring gear but it has 164 teeth.
the only thing i have found is their is about 1/4 inch differnce in the starter cone length from the 6 to the v-8
i think the starter is not traveling the hole way and i need 302 bellhousing to obtain the correct depth
any ideas ?
i got a 302 out of a 83 lincon that runs good and plan to intall but not untill i figuer out this problem.

 

Maybe it is a bad starter? Seems you have done everything right. Sorry I otherwise have no reasoning for it. Hope someone can help you out. You will need a new starter anyway if you choose to use the (83) 302 with the 4 speed as it has a 50 oz balance and your 351 flywheel has a 28 oz. besides a 81+ flywheel has 157 teeth so either way you need a new starter. You probably already knew that but thought I would throw it out there in case you didn't, later and good luck with it

 

thanks, priced out starters today think along those lines.
might go with a 4wd c-6 .

 

on second thought im going to put a 300-6 back in for now. thanks again

 

I thought the main difference in the starters was the nose is different length for manual or automatic transmissions. Not sure which is longer but if the starter is binding with the nose off the 6 (with the 4-speed) and the rest off the 351 (automatic) the armature might be too long.

 

update , still doesnt start very good, took starter in to napa and had them check if it was the correct one, and that it works. they say its allright, but i have replaced every thing from bat to starter and ground cable . i think its just a lemon starter.
so i am living with it for now , since its just my plow truck thats not driven on the road.

 

I have 3 different depths bellhousings for my c4-c5 transmissions, a really short 74 model, a medium depth 80 or 84 model (I don't know which, the donor car was an 84 but it had an 80 v8 motor in it) , and a really deep one, I cant figure what the deep one is good for because when I tried to use it on a internal lockup c5 torque converter (square front converter) the converter ears did not engage the transmission pump. There are at least 2 starters, a 1 1/4" stroke one for pre 80 models, a 1" stroke one that sort of fits the 84 model bell housing but it doesn't fully engage and I chew the tips of the teeth off in a year of daily driving. If you use the 1 1/4" stroke old starter on the 84 bell housing, it chews the teeth off the starter drive in a couple of weeks. if you set the bell housing on the ground, the depth to the back flange must be correct for your converter or clutch. You may have to cruise the junkyard to get another bell housing for your 351. Incidently, you can change starter drives instead of changing the whole starter, they cost about $25 and are in the Balkamp book at Napa, I get Borg Warner brand at Obriens parts store. Make sure you put the spring back in the starter when you replace the drive, I forgot the first time and it wouldn't disengage. Look at the pictures in the order book, there are three different number teeth on the gears on the starter drive, you have to match that to the number of teeth per inch on the flywheel. 95 mustang flywheels are more teeth per inch, older ones are less teeth per inch.

 

thanks
i'll check it out