im trying to shim my starter but not sure what to do or how much i need to do. at first the starter was too far from the flywheel so i wedged it towards the flywheel with a washer on top of only 1 side of the starter and it got better so i added another washer and it got better… i got shims for the starter but they shim both sides at the same time and i think that will put the starter further away from the flywheel. basically the starter turns the engine over right now but its noisy.
i have never in my life had to shim a starter on any of my sbc motors.
so your saying the starter needs to be closer to the flywheel?
it nneds away,get a starter shim kit,start out small add till it sounds & works best for u!
x2
funny dealing with the same crap with mine
like don said i have never had to shim a starter on a chevy motor
this is first one for me
I think with the old sbc starters being rebuilt so many times, they maybe are machining the mounting surface of the noses to true them up, which could be causing this shim issue.
this is a first for me also but i remember my dad had starter problems along time ago and it had shimming problems . too many or no enough im not sure what he did.
X3
Exactly my thought also, I have never shimmed a new starter, but always end up adding shims to a cheap rebuild. Hell I even keep shims in my tool box now.
But if your adding shims on one side to tilt the starter to get the starter to engage the flywheel you have either got the wrong starter or wrong flywheel. I’m still not understanding why the starter you had from the 305 didn’t work. I always thought there was only to different sbcstarts, straight pattern and staggered pattern.
There are 2 different sbc flexplates…A 150 something tooth and a 160 something tooth, which take 2 different starter noses…There is also different angles on the noses…Possibly your using the 150 something starter nose with a 160 something flexplate?
There is 153 tooth & 168 tooth flywheels or flexplates. The staggered nose is for 168, and straight nose is for 153.
Could be the other way around. It’s been awhile, but I am almost positive it is this way.
So as vito said there is only two???
Yep, there are only two. I’m pretty sure Gen I small blocks were mostly 168, if I remember correctly.
not true at all
168 tooth were used mostly in heavy duty applications. usually trucks or anything with a t400 trans. most times t350’s had 153tooth, but not always. i have seen big blocks with both, as well as 305s with both. my 454ss was 168 tooth when stock, but with the T56, i have to run a 153 (168 won’t fit in the bellhousing). i also use a 4.3 blazer mini starter (gear reduction) and have had no issues for 6-7 years.
I stand corrected. I’m just hoping that whatever tooth I had on my 350 in my blazer will fit my LT1. 
Damn,
I finally got something right…
i dont want to sound like a know it all, but I have seen my fair share of chevy small blocks & big blocks over time.
For me, it’s kinda nice working on a Pontiac these days, because things are much simpler. Not so many options for stuff like this. For instance, from 1965-1981 they used the same flywheel diameter & one starter design. after 1981, the “pontiac” motor does not exist. I would really say after 1979 it don’t exist, because 301s are junk and not real Pontiac motors.
My first car was a pontiac with a pontiac 400. I always liked Pontiacs, but somehow got stuck with playing with chevys all these years.
IT’S ALIVE…
good to hear
congrats