Starter hang up with modern bendix?

[pklarkin]

Hi all,

My restoration was coming along well until I tried to crank the new engine for the first time today. I've upgraded to a 12v system and put in the modern Bendix drive on the existing starter. When I try to crank the engine, I get a click and then nothing. The starter seems to spin well when I try it out of the engine, and the Bendix drive seems to spin and move like it's supposed to. Brand new battery, so that's not the issue.

I can crank the engine by hand and it doesn't seem too difficult. Not sure if I installed the modern Bendix correctly or something, but it seems straightforward.

Any thoughts on what else I should be looking at? As always, your insights and help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Pat