We looked at both starters(the one that came with the old block and the one I bought) and thought about milling the starter mounting block down. I realized that we would would have to take off so much, it would not work. The starter gear on the old starter was removable(from the shaft). By putting the gear on backwards, it moved the gear closer to the end of the starter. I took a grinder and beveled the edges of the starter gear. I had to make a small retainer for the end of the gear and put a snap ring on top of the retainer. The funny part is the old junky looking starter turns the engine over much faster than the brand new powermaster starter did! Well, at least I have a spare brand new starter- the only bad part is it won't work!