restoring a 77 mustang, could someone tell me the number that should be on the starter. Its a 4 speed standard,302 v-8 motor. Or post a pic of what the starter should look like, and what should the bolts be to fasten to bell housing.my motor came in pieces.thanks
Ok, going from memory (meaning don't take my word for it.... ) I believe the bell housing bolts are 5/8-11. You'll have to measure the bell thickness in those areas to provide you with bolt length. Industry standard is thread engagement = 1.5 x thread diameter. So, in this case, it would be 1.25 + bell thickness.
Some people will tell you different - but I haven't had issues with it over the years - I use a standard issue Ford starter. I have the original flywheel in my car and I installed a Fox starter IIRC. The reason I went with the Fox starter is that it's slightly smaller giving me a little more room between it and the headers. I'd have to dig up receipts or look up my history at the store to make sure that's what I have but I don't have any problems with it at all. Previously, it was an O'Reilly's reman starter meant for a 302 4 speed II. The exhaust overheated it, but it never had a problem as far as flywheel engagement.
thanks for the bolt size, the numbers on the starter I have are D2AF-11131.CA. It wasn't on the motor when I got just want to make sure it is the right one before I put it on don't want to chew up the teeth on the ring gear.could you confirm this is the proper one.
Those numbers really don't tell you anything about the application. Here is a website that describes Ford's identification numbers to help decipher what that number actually is: https://www.fordification.com/tech/partnumbers_overview.htm
I couldn't tell you with 100% certainty that that is the absolute correct starter for your application. I do remember someone posting different engagement depths at one point, but I have absolutely no idea where I saw that as it's been years! Here's a site with some information between some of the different flywheels/flexplates used through the years: http://www.rowand.net/shop/tech/fordflywheeslandflexplates.htm
About 1/2 way down the page there are some bullet points. While they don't reference the 148 tooth flywheel in the following comment, it seems to still hold true.
Starters can interchange between 164 and 157 tooth flywheels in many cases, but not all cases. Check the original application data for the transmission you are using to verify. Remember that the starter is bolted to the transmission bellhousing and not to the engine. For example, late model Mustangs (1986-1993, for example) used the same starter for manual transmission applications (157 tooth flywheel) and automatic transmission applications (164 tooth flexplate).
As I said before, I have never had a problem using a standard Ford starter. In my application I have always asked for one from a standard transmission car since mine is also a standard transmission. My suggestion would be if you question if this starter will be correct, use it as a core and exchange it. As far as parts go, starters aren't all that expensive. Worse case scenario you put it in with some kind of marking compound, engage the starter for a moment, pull it out and check engagement for piece of mind. I'm sure it'll be fine as long as it's a good starter to begin with.....
You know..... I just re-read your first post - I think I misunderstood your question about the bell bolts. The size I mentioned are what I think attaches the bell to the block. It looks like you were meaning to ask about the bolts that attach the starter to the bell, correct? I think those are 3/8-16? A quick way to measure for the proper diameter is to measure the clearance hole. If you have calipers handy, they will be the next nominal size down from what you measure. Industry standard for clearance holes is 2 drill sizes over nominal, so a 3/8 (.375) bolt will take a 13/32 (.406) clearance hole.