Hello guys, I've finished the rebuild on the 351W and was thinking I would bolt the C4 up to the engine and drop the whole engine/trans unit into the car in one shot. Here's where it went sideways; the manual stated that I need to place this "engine plate" on the back of the block prior to bolting on the flexplate. I didn't get one with the core motor or the trans I sourced for the project. I did some research and have heard this thing referred to as an engine plate, motor plate, index plate, block plate, block saver, etc,etc... Is this 1/8" aluminum plate that goes between the block and the trans necessary? Can you run without it? If you do, does your starter sit at the right depth? Please advise, I am at a stuck point until I get this figured out. Thanks for your input, past, present and future!
Yes, you need to run the plate. If you are using a C4 from your old engine you can use that plate as long as the same bellhousing was on it.
