Those old style flex plates have caused a lot of needless repairs and even the junking of a lot of Y-Blocks with Ford O's.
Just curious but I noticed the new plate appears belly out and the old one belly in. Is that the way it's supposed to go? I think it might be reversed. The center ring is to equalize bolt pressure and prevents cracks in the flex plate.
The transmission looks like it is all the way in. You should fell it drop in (back) twice as you rotate it to get it back that far. Their are two tangs on the front shaft that engage.
Notice the two drain plugs on your converter. Those are the ones that must fit into the large holes on the flex plate. I usually set the flex plate with the holes vertically aligned and converter the same to keep me from getting dumb.
You can pour a couple of quarts of ATF into the snout of the converter prior to fitting it to the transmission. This prevents a dry start up. Be ready to add a bunch of ATF after you get it running. If you drained the transmission too its something like 6 to 8 quarts of the stuff.
Asking questions when you are not sure is never dumb or a pain. It's the only way to learn. Believe me we have all made plenty of mistakes (oversights for the more brainy ones). Let us know how the project comes out. Chuck in NH
Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.
MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire