[Frank Messina]

Seems like the fitment issues with these bellhousings are almost like one of the features. My condolences to you FE guys. I chose a McLeod for my Windsor motor as the prevailing opinion at the time was that the Lakewood was a worse fit if you can imagine that. Also, McLeod is within spitting distance so I thought that might come in handy. Well it did, as the thing wouldn't mount up to the block, and the starter hole was jacked up, so I tossed it in the trunk and marched over to McLeod. That was an experience, but it worked out okay in the end because I got a new backing plate and I learned exactly what the hangup issues are and what to do about them. The problem with the backing plates is that their supplier doesn't always weld the crescent in the starter hole correctly. A lot of the time it's in there cockeyed which results in starter misalignment, and no ring gear engagment, etc. If you inspect the backing plate before installation, the crescent should be flate in relation to the backing plate. If it isn't, pound it flat with a BFH. Next, the points of the crescent should transition smoothly into the radius of the starter hole. It's not uncommon for one end to stick up a bit. If it's only a little, you can just grind the point off. If it's really a mess, you can send it back to Mcleod for a new one, or so they say. The other issue is that the dowel holes may need to be reamed. Mine were so undersized it wasn't funny. I used a hand held 1/2" drill and bit to start off, then followed it up with a light touch with a rat tail file on the high spots. Even with all this, for a Windsor motor, the McLeod is still probably the best thing out there. If you know about this stuff going in, it's really not all that hard to deal with before the engine is in the car. HTH somebody.
Frank