Starter and clutch question

Texas275 · Feb 21, 2025

I have 78 Mustang II that is about to get a 302 out of a 1970 Mustang (the flywheel is a 157 tooth) and a RUG/SROD 3+OD transmission out of an 1982 Mustang. My question is do I need to match the starter to the 1970 engine or the 1982 transmission? I don't get the same options from the parts sites for the specific year models. Trying to keep from buying and returning because it wouldn't work.

Thanks in advance, Tom

LILCBRA · Feb 21, 2025

You'll match the starter to the flywheel/flexplate/bell housing of the combo. I'm guessing that you're using the SROD flywheel and bell housing? If that's the case, I'd say you'll probably want a starter for the 82. If the flywheel is original to the 70 engine I'd suggest doing some research on the differences between that and the 82 flywheel. If the ring gears are different or if they're set at different depths you may run into problems. So, if that ends up being the case, you'll want to check to make sure that the distance from the face of the bell housing and the ring gear coincides with the throw of the starter. If I had to guess - and that's all I'm doing at this point - I'd say that that depth is pretty close to the same between them. So as long as the overall diameter and tooth count is the same you may not have a big problem.

Other than that, I'll let someone else give their opinion - I am definitely not the worldwide expert on this....

Texas275 · Feb 21, 2025

The flywheel is from the 1970 motor so it has 157 teeth. The clutch0 size (10 inch) is the same for both engine and transmission. The write up on the old MustangII.org says he used the clutch, PP, bearings, and flywheel from the RUG/SROD car so I'm assuming he used the starter as well.

LILCBRA · Feb 21, 2025

I'll make a semi-educated guess and say you'll want the 82 starter. Late models are also 157 tooth gears, and unless they changed the tooth pitch - which I highly doubt - the diameter would have to remain the same. The last variable would be the depth of the gear - but again, I'd think that would be pretty standard too, so you can use the same starter for different models to minimize the use of vehicle-specific parts which then lowers production costs. In that vein, you could probably get away with whichever starter you wanted to use - but I'd probably just look for the 82 starter. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if they're both the same parts.

Texas275 · Feb 21, 2025

I was thinking that either would probably work, but I'm not sure. Just wondering if anyone else has figured it out one way or the other.

LILCBRA · Feb 21, 2025

For reference - the only difference that O'Reillys lists is the "series" which I believe relates to the diameter of the starter. So they probably made some improvements to the inner windings. The 4-1/2 is for the 70, the 4 is for the 82.

LILCBRA · Feb 21, 2025

Oh, something else to note: I have the II bell and flywheel in my car, but I use a later model starter for a 92-04. I say this for a couple reasons: first, I think that most all starters are pretty close to the same and are more or less interchangeable, and second; this may be an option for you, too. They're smaller in overall diameter which helps in our engine bays. Just some food for thought.

Texas275 · Feb 21, 2025

In my research I saw several other forums saying the same thing about the smaller starter. I actually ordered one on Amazon and it should be here tomorrow. Between the fox body transmission and the headers I’m really hoping it works.

Texas275 · Mar 2, 2025

I got the smaller starter and it bolted up fine. It is smaller but still not able to use my Headman headers due to the 82 bellhousing. I haven't been able to test it since I don't have wiring under the hood yet. I will probably just jump the starter off of a battery to see if it will turn it over. I still have several things to do before trying to turn the motor over.

Next issue is, I'm missing the lock nut that goes on the end of the clutch cable at the flywheel boss. Anyone have any idea what size/thread that is? I'm not wanting to pull the whole cable out to take it to the hardware store to find the right nut.

LILCBRA · Mar 3, 2025

Texas275 said:
I got the smaller starter and it bolted up fine. It is smaller but still not able to use my Headman headers due to the 82 bellhousing. I haven't been able to test it since I don't have wiring under the hood yet. I will probably just jump the starter off of a battery to see if it will turn it over. I still have several things to do before trying to turn the motor over.

Next issue is, I'm missing the lock nut that goes on the end of the clutch cable at the flywheel boss. Anyone have any idea what size/thread that is? I'm not wanting to pull the whole cable out to take it to the hardware store to find the right nut.

If it's any consolation, I don't think I have one on mine and it doesn't give me issues. If I recall, it seems that there weren't enough threads sticking out to even attempt to put a nut on it. But, if you have the tools and space, you can measure the diameter of the threads then just count how many threads per inch. Maybe someone else can answer this more definitively than I can.....

Starter and clutch question

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