i've rebuit my engine (351m-400) in my 72 Galaxie and in the process, i've pulled my old clapper starter apart and it is on it's last legs-the brushes are nearly kaput and the armature is pretty sad. it still starts ok though, and I refitted it as the funds wouldn't allow a replacement at the time. Anyway, i have a set of 2nd hand extractors to fit in there to help the whole thing out. These will need a fair bit of modifying (read butchered,) especially on the drivers side to fit. I would like to fit a newer reduction style, rotatable starter there to give me as much room as i can get before i start that part of the project.
This is where it gets a bit tricky and why some of the big block boys may be able to help. The 351m-400 run a big block pattern on the C6, so they require an applicable starter. This seems to rule out the more available cheaper 351c starters out as they won't fit and leaves me with the $300+ jobbies to pick from. I have read on the good old internet that a starter for a 92-93 7.3l (460) will fit and they are at least a gear reduction and a bit lighter and smaller, so they may get the nod if a lot cheaper. Can anyone out there confirm this or come up with other options/advice. Cheers.

Hi mate, have a look here http://www.cvrproducts.com/protorque_starters.html , slide down to the ford starters, p/n 5048. If your keen, I may be able to assist. Should be around the $300 mark.

yup. thats what i sort of figured out already. It would be nise if there was an alternative though. It's good to check with the train spotters out there who know more than me, although thats not that hard on these things at the moment.

I've used that starter on a mates 460 big block / F250 4wd truck. He had lots of issues with various starters, including castle, and other "good" name starters, but they just kept dying. The CVR starter has been on there now for over a year, and looks like it will be a winner. I would recommend it to anyone.
TCI would be the best starter you could get, but you would be looking at $550 to $600, so the CVR one looks even better. I dont like your chances of finding a decent OEM one, there all a bit old now....

I hear you. I originally thought i was up for $300 odd until i saw some of the cheaper ones out there.Ii then had to wake up to myself and realise I need one for the BB not a cleveland hence the email. Then i read about the later model one for the 7.3l and thought it would be at least worth asking the question. In my haste, I put this post on another site (ford forums) and they are as hopeless as they were a couple of years ago. In a week or so, it's had about 90 people look at it with no advice to give. I had exactly the same experience several years ago. Some-one replied to this post with 30 minutes.Ii know you are in sales as we have discussed bits and pieces in the past, but at least you replied. I have another post on there as well that I have moved over to ford mods as i really think they (ford forums) are a waste of time. I must have had a major brain f@rt to even try.

The starters aren't any different. The rat trap on my 390 is the same as on small blocks. Your's is just a 2-bolt starter right?

Yes, but while I cant remember when we refitted it, i believe it has something to do with one of the holes being threaded vs a clearance hole for a bolt/nut instead of screwing one in. It is too much of a pain in the a** to loosen it enough to recheck it but i could climb under it and may be able to determine it with a mirror. I'm not sure about the pinion, offset PCD etc. when you go shopping for one one CVR, castlemaine etc, they lump the 351m-400 in with the 429-460 ones, not the 302-351c jobbies so there is a bit of conjecture on my part.

I have tried a starter from an EB 5.0 on the mates 460, and it was nothing like fitting. Pinion length was different, and the locating flange/spigot was a different size. I think your going to have to bite the bullet and spend the $300 to get a good one.

Could well be.

I'm talking original RH starters.

depending on which way you are lookin at it, my car is an RHD and the starter is on the same side as the steering wheel

Yep, only EB-up have a LH starter.
Everything previous is U.S. based and therefore RH starter.

http://www.ashdowningram.com.au/Branches/newcastle.html

tried these guys. no good clevelands or windsors only. Worth a lash though.

Cleveland and windsor are the same as bigblocks. All you need to state is whether it's manual or auto as this determines the length of the snout.

390/427 (FE) engines are the same as windsor and cleveland, but 429/460 (& 351M/400) use a different starter. I have tried a clevo starter on a 460, no chance of fitting.
CVR & TCI only list the one starter for a 400 & 460, for both auto & manual.