My flex plate fiasco

[RodnRudy]

I got my 68 C10 together and driving last July. Ground up chassis and drive train rebuild, GM crate 350, 350 auto. From the get go there was a spot on the flex plate that the starter didn't want to engage. I suffered through the season with intentions of replacing the flex plate over the winter. I replaced the plate with a B&M heavy duty one, new ARP bolts and all. When I went to bolt the converter to the plate it wouldn't seat against the plate. I backed off the converter and cranked the engine over and found the plate had a terrible wobble in it. I figured it was warped so I removed it and went to NAPA and got an OEM replacement. Back home and new plate installed and it also had a wobble but not as much. While looking at the end of the crank shaft I found that there was excess flashing around where the flex plate bolts to it causing the plate to distort when I torqued it to the crank. This is a brand new crate engine mind you, seems they missed a step machining the rear flange. I went to my NAPA that has a machine shop also and made a template of a correctly machined crank. Back home I used the template and "relieved" the excess material with a burr bit on the die grinder and then put every thing back together. The converter fit, the flex plate has no wobble now and the starter engages as it should. It was a hair pulling experience for sure but as they say, "You live and learn."