starter nightmares

G'day everyone
I haven't been here in a while,I need some help with starter motors,I have a 78 350 with a brand new 168 tooth flexplate and the starter I have is a stock staggered bolt type with a brand new gear on it,my problem it that the starter is too far away,I am in australia and have some mates that are pretty knowledgable with small block chevy's and I have no answer,I have tried a starter with inline bolt holes and it was way too close,I have a mate who gave me a mini starter to try with the 2sets of bolt holes and this starter is also too close on the far set of holes by probably 0.080-0.100 thousandths,I have also milled about .070 off my original starter and it worked for about a week and started making the same noise by jumping the flexplate teeth again I pulled it back out and noticed a few small cracks where I had milled it,so I'm guessing that it kicked out when jumping the teeth on the flexplate.has anyone ever had problems like this before?desperatly need help!the mini starter would have to come down about a 1/4 inch to fit.
Mick.

Is there a chance that you have the flexplate on backwards?

no the flexplate is on correctly,but thanks anyway.

If the flexplate is new, it must be built wrong, The engine worked with stock parts for years. Are you SURE you don't have it in backwards? I had the same problem a year ago with a 350 in my brother's S-10.

"Milled the starter"? That moves it closer to the crankshaft. Which direction is the starter out of kilter? The first bit of your post makes it sound like its too far forward.

Yes I have the flexplate in correctly with the 3 notches for the torque converter that are convex,denny thanks for the reply,but I'm in australia and the part stores here don't carry chev starters you have to order them,Denny if you happen to know the correct #'s as the one I have is the staggered type and would have to be for 168 tooth flywheel,the starter I milled because it was too far away as in not close enough to the flexplate not as in the starter not kicking out all the way and also it didn't mesh all the way as in only 2thirds of the teeth but the main problem was the distance as it would make a terrible banging sound as it was jumping the teeth.I'm maybe guessing that I need the longer nose starter so denny if you could remeber the #'s that would be great,Denny I have the starter in front of me and here is the #'s on it 11083 67-7L21 and it says delco remy made in canada also the complete length is about 11 and1/2 inches the holes measuring on a angle are 3 and11/16 the nose length is about 5 inches I hope this helps if not I'm going to see if delco remy has a website.
thanks Mick

thanks Denny,that would be great as i went ti the delco remy website and it did not come up when I typed in the part#,so I'm guessing that the starter was from here or canada as the cars here in the late 60'searly70's came out with chevs in em,
thanks for your help Denny.
Mick.

Denny thanks for all your help,I am trying to find the # you gave me,hopefully I acn locate it.
thanks Mick.

OH OH .... I JUST went through this....... Mine was doing the same thing. Tried many different solutions that didnt work for more than 2 days. I ended up ordering a Powermaster starter #9526 3holes for staggerd pattern SBC. I ordered mine from jegs; the price seemed avg. It bolted right up, no shems needed (it did come with some though). It's been on there for just over 2 weeks, and no more problems... so far. I drive it every day to work so its been well used for the time It's been on.

Here is a link to the one I bought.

http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...73&prmenbr=361

713-9526 Chevy XS Torque Starter, 168-Tooth Flywheel, Staggered Mount | View Product $239.99

I tried a med torq starter from the local Blue's auto part store. It lasted less than a week. Started doing the same thing the old one did ... I tried everything I knew, and everything the guys at the local mechanic shop knew. Nothing worked! I hated to drop 240.00 on a starter but I ran out of options. It actually FIXED it though. We'll see how long it lasts though. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and laminateing the receipt. :-)

Thanks smokin65 and Denny,yeah that might be my only solution,that one has the 3 holes compared to the other ones with 2,it look like it would be a lot stronger with the 3,thats a lot in austarlian dollars but I will have to see if I can't get the rite # starter over here.
thanks Mick