Starter problems....

[Xavier]

When I purchased my engine from a profesional builder he through in a OEM $30 Autozone starter. I new I would upgrade later, but I noticed the starter's pinion would not engage the fly wheel when mounted. I belive it has the offset for an automatic transmission, which I do not have. Of course this was all checked after the bell housing was on, and I wish I checked everything before hand. The starter was a DL3185 which from Autozone specs is a stock Ford Galaxy replacement, which is where my block is from. Knowing that I would have to eventually upgrade anyhow, I called Powermaster and they recommended the Powermaster 9603 for my application.

The specs for the application are the following;
Optima Red Top Battery 9002-02 (1 ga battery leads a cut off then to the solenoid)
Lakewood 15202 bell housing
164 tooth flywheel in a 351w w/10.5:1 compression ratio
I have a 4 gauge ground wire from the engine block to the frame.
TKO 500

After I finally got my engine timed correctly, I started it ran it for about 20 minutes for the break in period and turned it off. I try to start it again, and nothing, not any engine turn over at all. I just hear the remote starter solenoid clicking over. Measure 12v everywhere, check the voltage on the solenoid, check the battery, make sure no wires were burned up from the original start and I can find nothing wrong. I put the battery on the small motorcycle trickle charger I have (12v@6amp) and leave it on the battery for a day or so and try again. Nothing happens. Pull it out and have the battery tested at Autozone, everything they say is good. 14v at 4.8amps sitting in their tester is a brand new battery. I tried the old rubber mallet trick on the sarter too, nothing...

At this conclusion, I can only assume the starter is bad, manufacturer defect. I called Powermaster, told them the story and replaced with a new one. I noticed the diffrence between the new and the old was the pinion in the new one was much tighter, it took much more strength to pull out of the starter. Other than that, it looked. No burning smell, no electrical smell, the pinion looked brand new. No abnormal wear. Flywheel teeth perfect. I put the new starter on, same as last time. This time wrapping a heat bearier around it, although I think it is uncessary for the distance from my headers, what the hell...Also, this time, unlike last time, I used the spacer that came with the starter based on Powermasters recommendation. Maybe the pinion was staying engaged to the flywheel while running and that is what ruined the starter...

Again, same as before tuning the carb, I ran the engine for about 20 min. It started on the first crank with no problem, and this was last weekend.

But again, I tried to start it today, same issues as before repeated all over again. No start, good battery, good solenoid, I can only conclude, bad starter due to something I am doing wrong. I can only assume the pinion gear is staying in contact with the flywheel whilest the engine is running, ruining the starter....or am I wrong and how to fix? Any advice?