I've tried all the advice everyone has given, which I really appreciate, but still have no luck. I have tried numerous starter heads, but none fit better than the one I have. I have tried starters with offset bolts and starters with parallel bolts. I have tried shimming the starters.
It seems that when the starter is bolted up, the gears start binding by the second tooth, but when it is loose they mesh well.
I had a neighbor that is a mechanic come and have a look and he thought it needed a different starter, but everyone he tried didn't work.
The flexplate isn't worn and not backwards, but I'm beginning to think that it may be the problem.
Here is what I know; The engine is a 350 LT1 from a '70 or '71 Vette, the tranny is a Turbo 400 with a 2800 hi stall, the flexplate is 14" with 168 teeth, there are three bolt holes for the starter ( I assume for the offset bolts or parallel bolts).
If anybody has any ideas (however stupid or crazy), I would really appreciate it.
My next step is to remove the tranny and try a different flexplate.
Thanks