flexplates
 

on a new internal balance 168 tooth flexplate since both sides look about the same should the side with the sfi sticker go toward the transmission?

That is the way mine went on..

Both sides shouldnt look the same ? The center of the flexplate should tapper in and out ? Yours does right ?

Look at the area where the converter bolts up, the raised side goes to the converter.

what you should always do is put the plate on as you think it should go ..finger tighten the bolts and pull out the starter gear to make sure it engages fully into the flex plate ring gear...
the ring gear on the flex plate is off-set to one side...place the plate on backwards and the starter gear will not engage the flex Plate ring gear properly..

its a good rule of thumb to do this no matter what..some starters have to be shimmed irregardless.
Brian

flexplates
 

gonna check all this tonite as the problem has been the starter teeth grinding on flexplate no matter how we shimed it. tried both staggered and straight bolt pattern starters.just when we thought we had it shimed right it would crank once or twice then start grinding the teeth again. thanks guys for all the info.the engine is a 505 stroker bbc.

Re: flexplates
 

I've got a couple of SFI flexplates in stock, i'm going to take pics tonite and post them. Who know which side the Manf. puts the SFI sticker, i'll show you which side goes to the crank and which side faces the converter.
You may not read this until fri am but you will know what has to happen to make it work.
It is absolutely necessary that you shim the starter correctly. To do this put a 1/8" pin between the starter gear and the flex plate gear when you pull the starter gear into the flex plate with the gear ingaged.
The next post will show the proper side of the flex plate to the engine.

Zip.

Re: flexplates
 

And here they are,

The first photo shows the proper side of the flywheel to the trasmission, in this case the manufacter put the SFI sticker on the Transmission side of the flywleel.
It is the side where the raised mounting pads always are. The second photo shows the depressed side of the flywheel, they always go to the engine side.
Donot always count on the manufacturer to put the sticker on the trans side. i don't think you can go wrong if you have followed the above instructions, i haven't in over 50 yrs.

Zip.
http://img31.picoodle.com/img/img31/...1m_3794e62.jpg


http://img37.picoodle.com/img/img37/...2m_01ab653.jpg

NOTE: After shiming the starter correctly I always put that mount that everybody tosses or is missing on the end of the starter that holds the starter square and keeps in from shifting.
You mentioned that after shiming the starter and cranking the engine a few times the starter is grinding again, well whats happening is that the starter is moving out of position horizontially which is what the rear support bracket is there to prevent. if you dont have one you can fab one up out of some 1/8 inch angle iron and your grinding problems will go away.
Goodluck >< Cp

Just last year I put a used tilton starter that I hadn't used for a couple of years, and when I installed it, it would do the same thing regardless of how I shimmed it. What was happening is when it kicked out and turned the engine over, it wouldn't retract as though it was stuck in the flywheel, but it wasn't actually stuck. When I took it out of the car and tested it with a battery and cables, it would kick out and stay that way until I pushed it back in. I went and bought a new starter and problem solved. Now, if you're using a new starter, then disregard. fyi..........