Anyone with a 3K motor (it should have a 106 tooth ring gear on the flywheel)...

here's my dilema...

I am adapting (at least trying to adapt) a 3S-GTE to RWD with a W58 & a 2S bellhousing. I made my own flywheel to position the clutch plate splines properly with the trans input splines. My flywheel uses a 106 tooth ring gear from a 3K motor. I am using a 1kW starter motor from a 22-RE ("4-Runner" in north america). The starter just BARELY clears the side of the block to mesh properly with the ring gear, but the stumbling block in the project lies in accurately placing the starter motor so that the starter pinion is located properly with respect to the ring gear! I tried to dig up data on the two meshing gears; ring gear = no problem. starter pinion = not a chance in hell because starter pinions use non standard dimensions, and all sorts of goofy addendum modifications to the basic (basically screwball) pitch center and tooth profiles; this also makes measuring any dimensions from the starter pinion into a hopeless exercise in frustration...

I figured I'd post on here in hopes that anyone with a 3K block, bellhousing, starter and all that kind of crap might be able to tell me the starter pinion to crank center distance (with accuracy) - of course assuming the starter I'm using has the same pinion as the 3K starter (it should, "theoretically"...)

Anyone who can lend a hand, or throw an opinion up here, or just plain throw up too I suppose... any help would be appreciated.

Some guys in the USA suggested that I loacte the starter pinion by stuffing a 0.025" shim in the root of two ring gear teeth, then clearance the pinion teeth to interfere with the 0.025" shim, then "voila", 0.025" clearance (sounds good on paper, but it seems a bit rogue to me)

??? (help)