A friend of the family is currently restoring a '64 1/2 Mustang. He is installing a standard trans 302. The starter is not making any contact with the flywheel. Is there any difference in the bell housings on the 289 and 302? I'm thinking wrong starteras there are two starter part numbers for three different engine/trans combos. Any help will naturally be appreciated.
2 different tooth counts on flywheels are possible also, and there are different balance factors on the early vs. late 302's too. Do some searching on a Ford specific site with the actual year of engine and trans combo. You can really get a wrong starter too.
On my 289, when I went from a c/4 auto. to a t/10 standard , I had to get a different starter. You may want to check to see if you have a big housing from a 300 /6 that needs a big flywheel. You may have the small flywheel, that will give you problems.
Did you use a bellhousing from a pickup truck?They are different.Don't remember how different,but its either deeper or shallower than the car bellhousing.Also, I think the automatic starter has a different bendix than the straight shift starter.
I'm not sure. The one who is building this car lives in Mississippi and I haven't actually layed eyes on the combo he is running. I'm trying to get more info from him.
The only bell housing difference between 289 and 302 are the rare very early (64 1/2) 5 bolt vs. the later and more common 6 bolt. They won't bolt to each other. The other difference is whether it is for a 157 or 164 tooth flywheel. Most 289/302's in p***enger cars used the 157 and trucks used the 164. You have to match the flywheel to the bellhousing as well as the block plate. The early motors - pre 81, are 28oz, 81 and later are 50oz imbalance weights. Sounds like you have a 164 bellhousing and a 157 flywheel.
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