69gmachine
Member
Looks like I was backwards on my guesstimate. You may have short snout where you need a long snout. If you could have a long & short (manual & automatic) handy at the same time you could test fit to be certain. If need be, you could buy the opposite of what you have (or both long & short) and return whatever wasn't pertinent. Looks like the one you have is pretty close to whooped. Seeing those pics is very enlightening. They show the geometry of the setup which explains a lot of the why and wherefore.
Gene
I think you're correct horseballz. What may be causing confusion here is that the 157 tooth flywheels are now available with the early 28oz imballance but have the same ring gear placement as a late model '81 up which shares the same starter as the automatic. Why Ford does such goofball things like this is anyone's guess. The OP has provided part numbers for everything but the flywheel. If you match the starter to the flywheel. I'm sure you're problems will go away, however, if you've damaged the teeth on the flywheel, it will in turn damage the new starter, so make sure all the teeth are good before installing a new starter.