Todd; I have done that very thing in my youth, and it will run OK but things will shake loose. The clearence will be tighter, but should be tolerable. I would fix as soon as possible. The plate acts as a vibration soak and it also positions the starter. So if you are carefull about the starter install, and fix the problem in the next two weeks with the other tranny, then you should be fine. Just another lesson in lifes highway....Russ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com