The last time i touched the car was when i was trying to bolt up the starter. If i recall correctly, it didn't seem like it was going to fit. The motor is a 350(355 now) out of a '74 Nova and has been swapped into my '88 IROC with a 5 speed manual. Can anyone tell me which starter will fit or if i just need to modify one of the two i have? I have the stock one off the automatic 350 as well as the stock one off the 305 manual.

 

If I had to guess, you would use the 305 starter in order to fit the flywheel. I am assuming you are running the smaller flywheel (153 tooth/12 inch) Generally automatics of that vintage sported a 168 tooth/14 inch flexplate. I also assume that your starters are both a straight bolt patter typically found on Gen 1 small blocks. If any of these thing are wrong, a good parts store typically has every starter gm made in stock for comparison.

 

I'll have to check the diameter of my flywheel. I swapped out the flexplate but not sure what size i have on there now. Will try and bolt up the stock 305 starter and go from there. Thanks for the assistance.

 

If you used the flywheel from the 70's motor, then you will need a 70's starter. If you used the flywheel from the newer 305, then you should need that starter. At least that's how it works with the flexplates on automatics - I installed a 1969 350 block with fflexplate onto my 700R4 and had to get a earlier model starter.

 

Uh-oh.... here we go again....

You MUST use the F-body bell housing in your F-body. No other stock one will work. Aftermarket ones can be made to, but they pose other problems. So this entire discussion is about STOCK ones which is what it sounds like you have anyway.

The F-body T-5 bell housing WILL NOT allow the use of a 14" (168-tooth) flywheel. It won't fit inside there. It MUST use a 12.8" (153-tooth) one.

Since the flywheel is the smaller one, the starter has to be close to the crank. This requires the one particular type of starter, which has a bolt hole that's ALSO moved closer to the crank. Since the guts of the starter have to be closer to the crank, then if the inboard bolt is not also moved over closer to the crank, it would have to go RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE of the starter drive. For this reason, THERE IS NO MAGIC STARTER that has its drive in the place where it will contact the smaller flywheel, but which uses the older bolt pattern. It's not physically possible; unless of course, you know where to go to buy a bolt that has an "offset" in the middle of it so that it can "curve" around the starter drive.

The 12.8" flywheel / flex plate DID NOT EXIST on V8s before about 1977 or thereabouts. ANY block built before then WILL NOT have the right bolt hole, unless it's been drilled by somebody besides the factory since the block was made. You MUST drill the hole. The odds of your block having this hole in it already are VERY VERY slim; not impossible, mind you, just very unlikely.

People who have never experienced this will tell you all about how this or that or the other starter "ought to" work, or how their uncle's brother-in-law's buddy from work talked to a guy in the McDonalds parking lot one time that said he had heard of somebody making it work, or how the Summit or Jeg's tech says it will work, or how the catalog says the starter is for either size flywheel. The problem is, those things are only true, IF AND ONLY IF your block has the right hole drilled in it.

Starter holes are special. They have a "lead-in" that's larger diameter than a normal bolt hole, and the threads are deeper down in them. Starter bolts are correspondingly special: they have a larger section right behind the threads, that acts like a "dowel pin" to positively locate the starter to the block. While it IS possible to drill one laying on your back underneath a car, I strongly recommend that you not try to do that; but rather, take it to your local machine shop and have them drill it BEFORE you install the motor. DON'T fall for the drivel from the people who will tell you what you want to hear, and just stick the motor in anyway, and then discover to your eternal disappointment that you can't bolt up a starter; because that WILL happen if you try to get by without the right bolt hole.

Once you have the bolt hole drilled, the 305 T-5 starter will bolt right up and work. The 350 auto starter will NEVER work no matter what, as long as you use the stock bell housing.

Also, if you don't already have it, you'll need the flywheel from a 83-85 305 T-5 car. No other stock flywheel configuration will work. The 88 one WILL NOT, because the crankshaft bolt pattern is different. No other flywheel has the right combination of diameter (12.8" 153-tooth) and the 85-back bolt pattern.

 

ooh, the motor is in the car and you're now trying to bolt on a starter?
If you don't have that bolt hole (and i'm guessing you don't), you are now in a world of hurt, where you'll be scrounging to find any excuse not to pull the motor again.
Sorry, but that's what you're going to have to do. It sucks! But if you drill it on your back, and tap it, you've got such a slim chance of it working (for more than a few days at best), that you might as well go buy lottery tickets.

I did it myself with my motor on the stand, a few jigging features, and a whole lot of luck. Search for my thread on it if you want to know how I did it.
(keywords =starter, flywheel, tap ---- thread starter = sonix)