Hey Fran,
Yep, the motor is too far forward and solely my doing as mentioned. As we discussed it can be pulled back and I can use about any Porsche 911 starter, no issues. But I like the position it is in now and if it can be made to work there I prefer the position from a cg and cosmetic perspective. If there are no somewhat easy work arounds it'll go back two inches and the normal bits will be bolted up. Besides, if it is easy then everybody does it and what fun would that be?
Mark, do you have any shots of the Ultima piece or dimensions?
In the end very few of the starters made for all the various cars are that much different in function, just in geometry. I imagine if you could stand in a "starter warehouse" with bins of flanges, motors, pinions, etc. you could make about anything under the sun.
Ron