Kramer Sam has it right. I have driven the car into the trailer on the starter. This Tilton is strong. Having the correct clearance is so important for full contact of flywheel to drive. I did have to replace my starter drive from the beginning when the center bolt came loose and the motor spun the wrong way. The rest of the starter has 15 years on it.
Getting the Lakewood bellhousing centered was the biggest pain. This was .038" out of center, and I didn't cut my bellhousing either. This also didn't help in the beginning. I found that about .035" and the drive all the way out are good specs.
As far as the trans, if you goto autozone of pepeboys they sell a plug kit for all trans. These are cheap but for the couple of times to pull the trans, well worth the money. If you don't want the
oil leak in the car and can't get plugs, drain into a clean bottle and reuse.
I agree with Sam about the stock starter DON'T have the power to crank big stroker motors or high compression motors over 10.5. Big heavy cables and 1000 cca battery with a 12.6- 12.8 total charge will crank it but slow if hot. It's not how fast the motor spins to start it, just that it can crank it 50 to 75 rpms. Think of it as a merlin P-51 motor.
As far as bellhousing. Quicktime has gotten their info now correct and SFI testing done. The next bell I am going with will be a Quicktime (SFI) for my 498 motor. They are about 10-20 pounds lighter than Lake wood. This is also with a 22 pound aluminum SFI flywheel. If I was to use the 40 pound flywheel, ONLY a lakewood for me. I have them on all my stick cars and trucks. I have blown 2 clutches and had discs pieces all over inside these bellhousing. They are heavy and work.
When you pull the trans, If you are a bull, it's a one man job. If you are not 100% sure you can handle this 85-90 pound trans get some help. I have swapped my trans in about 1.3 hours. I have done bull work all my life, the guys laugh at me for this. My car has no rugs or parking brakes.
When you put the trans back into the car get 2 long studs as guides to slide in and hold the weight. You may need 1 guy on top and the other under the car to slide the trans the last 1/2" DON'T use the trans tabs to pull the tran in the last 1/2". Have the clutch hooked up. When you get to this point and the trans will not slide the last 1/2", engage the pedal enought to unload the pressure plate and let the disc move and the trans should slide in easy to the bellhousing. A little high temp grease on the pilot bushing or bearing abd end of input shaft. If you have a problem Call SAM and say HELP ME!!!!!! Good luck. I have to install my new twin disc setup myself. It's raining good day to do this. Rick L.