I have a 1979 gmc 350 that i put in my dirt track car and I bought a starter or it but the bendix won't reach the flywheel!!! i've tried several starters but can't get none too work plz someone help? thnks. Drt trak devil

Could be that there were 4 cylinder engines and 6 cylinder engines and you may have the wrong starter. There could be several bendix drives that have thinner or broader gears or that need to go farther into the end bushing. If the end bushing is too long, the bendix will not be able to travel far enough to engage the flywheel.

Check timing belt first , check starter also .

If you mean the starter grinds from time to time and won't crank the engine when it happens, the problem could be a bad spot on the flywheel and/or a faulty starter. The starter uses a magnet and bendix gear to push the starter gear into the flywheel. If the magnet or bendix is weak, the gear will not engage and can damage the teeth on the flywheel.
You need to have the starter removed and check the flywheel teeth for damage.

All is possible but it would help to know the make, model, and year. If you suspect ice fouling, try warming with a propane torch using gentle sweeping strokes.

the starter needs to be able to drive the gear on the bendix out to the flywheel or as you said, it won't work. Generally the solenoid does that by way of a lever. I'd remove the starter and check to see what's causing it to bind up. I've built lots of high horsepower engines and unless there's a huge clearance problem I use a normal factory starter (old style) on just about everything. On very high compression engines I make an ignition cut out so you can get the engine spinning without spark and then turn on the ignition.
If you can see the gear not engaging then it's not being driven out far enough. If you can't see it, then suspect the bendix itself as well.. It's an overrunning clutch and if that's bad it will engage but fail to turn the flywheel.

it sounds to me like its probably your starter bendix. when the starter turns over it springs out and engages with your flywheel and turns over your moter

Make sure to check the flywheel when you remove the starter there may be flywheel damage and that would cause the same problem.

It's not a flywheel, it's a flex plate that bolts to back of engine. Why do you need one? If your starter is grinding it needs a starter drive (bendix)

If your starter is turning but not turning the engine over then the "bendix drive" in the starter needs to be replaced. This requires disassembly of the starter once it is off the truck. Usually the best bet is to replace the starter unless it is new in which case the bendix is probably defective.
It's a remote possibility that there may be damage to your ring gear on the flywheel, but that can be checked when you have the starter off the truck. Just look at the teeth in the starter hole and make sure none are missing or chipped or narrower than the rest. They probably are but it doesn't hurt to check. Hope this helps.

hi there this seems that you have some bad teeth on the flywheel the flywheel attaches to your motor and transmission the starter motor rotates and spinns over the motor to start if the teeth are gone in certain areas on the flywheel then the motor wont spin you need to remove the transmission and replace the flywheel ,once replaced then make shure the teeth on the starter motor are new not cammed over as you mentioned was the isue earlier hop this helps let me know ho this works with a vote of fixya thanks for using sutch a helpful website like fixya