Anyone have a problem with their mini starter not have enough clearence from the flexplate. Or what is a good fitting stater for a 350 with long tube headers

 

I don't know about longtubes but I've had a GMPP gear-reduction starter on my 355 for about 3 years and haven't had a problem from it yet. It clears my shorty Hedman's and 3" plumbing just fine.

 

With my GMPP starter, I can rotate the "motor" section o the starter to clear headers if necessary

 

same with the one i have i can rotate it too. but after it starts the car , when i take off it sounds like it is hitting the flex plate now it is all chewed up (the started gear.) it kinda makes me mad because i shimed it so many times and still it doesnt want to work right.

 

That sounds more like a warped flexplate to me.

 

A question. When you are looking at where the surface meets the block, are you seeing that there is a notch cut out and the starter is not hitting the oil pan? Ask me how I know that will cause a problem.

 

the flex plate is a brand new B&M flexplate so i hope it is not warped and i will have to check to see if there is a notch for the oil pan.

 

Click on this link and go to the larger image. It should have a notch like in the pic along the 4th bolt hole from the left.

 

I had a Hamburger starter in my 3rd gen, the gear would "buzz" the flexplate. Hamburger sent a set of spacer "washers" that spaced the starter back away from the mounting block. You unbolted the starter drive and motor from the aluminum mounting block, added a spacer and reassembled. This allowed the starter gear to clear the flexplate. (As far as I could tell, the Hamburger mini starter is the same as most other mini starters, I think it used a Hitachi motor). This may be the problem you are having as well.

My thoughts.

 

You did shim it with a feeler gage in place to check clearence, right? The feeler gage tells you how much shim to add. So how much did you have for a gage?

 

i had to do that but i think i need a bigger spacer the push it back even more. the clearence is tight from the end of the gear to the flex plate.

 

All those sound like are washers. I am using the regular shims that GM starters usually have.

 

They are washers, but they don't space the starter down, away from the block. They space the starter motor and starter drive towards the front of the car, away from the mounting block and the flywheel. We are moving it in a different direction, not down away from the flexplate, but actually forward (making it need to extend farther to engage the flexplate).

Does that make more sense?

 

If I follow what you are saying, you take the motor of the starter out and move it further back and then you shim the starter as you would, right?

 

right