How Low Can You Go?

[XXQQQME]

I now have all the pieces to start re-assembly of my drive line.

New flywheel, clutch disc, pressure plate, modular bellhousing and throw-out bearing. All of these items are Mcleod except the t/o bearing which is a Tilton. (Mcleod T/O Bearing for sale if interested send PM)

Last night I started fitting some of the pieces together, namely the block plate (part of the modular bellhousing assy.). I found that it needed to be trimmed near the starter register hole to clear the chassis (West Coast). Even after this, I could only get it in place thru the engine compartment. Fitting of the bellhousing itself remains to be seen, perhaps tomorrow.

Anyway, my first question is this:

For those of you who have a McLeod Modular Bellhousing, was it necessary to trim the lower part of the bolt flange to establish reasonable ground clearance?

My second question:

The bellhousing has an access hole for the upper starter bolt. It seems to me that if the starter needed to be replaced and the upper bold/nut happened to drop into the bellhousing, the drive shaft, tranny and bellhousing would have to be disassembled to remove said bolt/nut. Seems like a lot of work to me.

With that being said, have any of you (who have this kind of set-up) welded the upper starter nut to the inside of the bellhousing to avoid the disaster of dropping it in the bellhousing should the starter need replacement?

Any thoughts on the above???

Thanks!