@ElMariachi Problem solved?  later on i asked myself could it be that your starter is turning in the wrong direction? (+/-  wrong inside or out..)  

just a thought..

I am constrained to working on it part time on some weekends, real life gets on the way.

I tried a couple different starters and they all have the exact same dimensions, including one with gear reduction.  So, this is not going to be solved easily by replacing the starter.  I think the long term fix is to drop the transmission and replace the ring gear and possibly the flywheel (and definitely the clutch while I'm in there).  In the short term, I'm modifying one of the extra starter motors with a custom made bracket that would mount the starter and ~8mm deeper into the bell housing.  This means cutting off the cast aluminum mounting tabs and attaching my bracket in the same orientation but recessed from the original.  It's going to be super ugly but a chance to practice welds.  I'll post pictures if I have any success.

It would be interesting to know if your ring gear/flywheel is set deeper than it should be.  Need somebody with a working setup to take a measurement. 

Maybe a previous owner didn't know about the automatic's flex plate spacer and built their own hack to get the flywheel mounted.

Good luck.  Seems like a lot of work but a fun project.

On 9/1/2021 at 3:19 PM, Yarb said:

Recently did the a/t to manual conversion and the difference is a spacer on the crankshaft to the flex plate.

 

I finished the modification and it's a success, pictures attached. There is definitely something screwy with the flywheel/bell housing configuration. 

As I was installing it I pulled the spark plugs and rotated the crank shaft to listen for interference.  I heard a little scraping and I painted part of the motor housing.  There is about 3mm where the ring gear was grinding on the enclosure.  I suspect the engine and transmission are not stock for a '76 since it has a four speed transmission and the block/head stamps match those of a '77.

Regardless, I'm happy it's working again, thanks for everyone's input.

Your ring gear/flywheel/starter must have an issue. Sounds like you’ve made an adjustment on the drive gear depth but certainly not a permanent fix. Are you trying to buy time or is the fix you were looking for? Keep in mind if that ring gear comes loose for some crazy reason it will be catastrophic. Just my 2 cents. 

 

I think that the ring gear presses down to a seat on the flywheel.  Found a video.  Most likely somebody hacked the flywheel on over the spacer with some longer bolts or hanging by a few threads.  Like Yarb said might not be good to run it for too long.  It's not right.

 

@Zed Headjust looked back at post #15. Could it be possible that this was an automatic at one time? Spacer never removed? Secondly the give away would be the neutral safety switch being jumpered at the harness where the reverse light harness is located. Fresh in my mind because of the conversion I’m doing. Totally different harness. Thoughts?

Another thought, Would the bolts not be barely long enough to reach the crank? I realize this is a stretch….

Edited September 6, 20213 yr by Yarb

Thanks for the ideas.  I'll tear it apart this winter and figure out what's going on.