Chevrolet Repair: 76 G20 Van Starting trouble, flywheel teeth, chevy g20 van

Question
Hi Robert,

My 76 Chevy g20 Van w/350 4bl has had continuous problems with starting.  I had to replace the carb/alt/fuelpmp/battery/ and a head last year when i bought this thing and now when running- its seems to purr with maybe a slight sputter once in a while- yet from the beginning when starting it, I often hear clanking and binding. It has had 3 "Auto Zone/O'Reilly" starters, and A new one would work to get me somewhwere and then fail when trying to start again.  A certified chevy technician told me to purchase an oem version and use NO SHIMS.  I did and it was working on the few trips i have taken but after trying to start it today in the cold, it made the noise again before starting finally. (cranked a few times-she's old) I have replaced the flywheel and the timing was on the last time i checked it.  Do you have any feedback as to further diagnosis?? Is this a motor problem and not a starter problem? I have inspected the bell housing and it seems to be fine.  I appreciate your time in reading this.  Darin

Answer
Hi Darin...You are having a starter height problem...you will need to install and or remove shims till you get the right combo as too the depth of the starter drive to the flywheel when cranking.what i have done is take a piece of stiff wire and put it against the block where the starter bolts on and bend it 90 degrees so that the wire will set in the bottom of the flywheel teeth. using the wire with starter on the bench set wire in the teeth of the starter drive and up the side of the starter to the mounting surface. what ever length of the wire sticking above the mounting surface is how much you will need to shim...shims come in different sizes 10 15 20 and 25 thou. that should get you close to what you need to shim then it's just trial and error. hope this helps...merry Christmas