This morning I started my cobra and backed it out of the garage, let it warm up, and started tuning the engine. My voltage regulator was bad, so I replaced it and then it started to rain. I started the engine (Ford Boss 427w) to pull it back in the garage and it kicked back, the starter made a horrible grinding sound, and smoke came out of the carb! I wasn't really worried about the smoke, but all I could imaging was my poor flywheel. I pulled the starter and found this:
The flywheel looks fine and I got all the pieces out of the bellhousing, but could this just be the result of a cheap starter or something else?
I've since discovered that the starter was made in China. Figures...