Be careful about enlarging holes for one's starter.  It may cause minor movement and fatigue of your casting.  Flywheel gear damage may ensue.  Be sure you keep an eye on it and check that it doesn't loosen.  Those old casting lose strength over time.
Dave B. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Alex MeVay <alex@MEVAY.ORG>
To: vanagon <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thu, Mar 14, 2019 5:29 pm
Subject: Re: starting problem

FWIW, I recently purchased the starter mentioned below (my
remanufactured Bosch wasn't reliably engaging).  When I went to
install it, I found I couldn't get a socket on one of the two mounting
bolts.  Turns out the two mounting holes had been drilled at the wrong
rotation around the main axis (like the casting had been put into the
jig improperly during machining), and the bolt hole was closer to part
of the casting than it should be.  I weighed the options, and decided
to Dremel out some clearance for the socket.  Now that it's installed,
it cranks strongly, and build quality otherwise appears good.

Just be warned that the QC on these is not A-plus number 1.

Happy motoring,

Alex

> And if you need for a diesel:
>
> https://www.amazon.com/DB-Electrical-068-911-023M-0-001-110-009-0-001-110-010/dp/B01MTV01VR/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1540169373&sr=8-3&keywords=vanagon+starter
>
> These are new (China) and seem to work as they should.
>
> Dennis