i have a problem with my car please help. I have had my car for about two and a half years a 1939 ford coupe with a 350 chev motor and 400 trans when it started grinding when I started it. It would start and run but eventually it it chewed up the flywheel .I had a shop replace the flywheel and starter it didn’t help .I tried meany different shims witch didn’t help I am concerned about damage to the flywheel again can you think of a salutation to this problem
Only if you can find the reason for this problem to occur. Did this suddenly occur or has it been this was since it was built? There is obviously an alignment problem with the starter mounting holes and the flywheel.
If it has always done this, I suspect some work done to the block has changed the relative position of the crankshaft centerline and/or fore and aft location of the flywheel. Lone boring the mains will raise the flywheel a small amount but a starter shim or 2 will fix it. If the block was repaired (welded) where the starter is mounted, that can cause problems, too. If the gear isn’t engaging the flywheel enough, then shims under the flywheel can move it more in contact with the starter.
If the problem just started, and replacing the starter and flywheel doesn’t fix it, I would suspect the thrust bearing on the crankshaft may be failing and allowing the crank to move back and forth enough to chew up the gears. Pry the crank back and forth and see how much it moves. A 350 Chevy, I think, shouldn’t move more than 0.006 inches.