Someone has probably "flipped" the ring gear at sometime in the past. A ring gear is a shrink fit on the flywheel, and it can be driven off carefully with a mallet and a brass punch, heated to expand the diameter, and reinstalled with the "good" side facing the starter drive teeth. It was a pretty common "shade tree" fix for guys with a little ingeneuity and a tight budget!
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!