further to my last post the 10 tooth cog ended up having to be changed for a longer one with a narrow neck because the welds on the teeth of the first one i did made the starter noisy as they contacted the flywheeel , to make this hotchkiss longer cog work i also had to shorten the length of the bendix by 1/8th inch and fit the collar to stop the cog going to far forward when cranking , Its far to involved but is possible If your a good engineer and have a lathe, you can see more on my website willysjeepuk
If I can find a readily available 12 volt 10 tooth per engaged starter with the solenoid in the right position, this will be very easy to modify and fit , I will keep you all informed If I get any luck finding a more suitable base unit, the original 6volt slam bang starters will destroy your jeeps flywheel teeth eventually and they sound horrible and destructive in use, especially the ones that have been running with a 12 volt battery.
However did we get away with such slow cranking in the war, I wonder how many soldiers couldn't start their jeeps quick enough and had to abandon them and run for cover
the second picture shows the 1950s upgrade pre engaged Hotchkiss m 201 starter , this is a superb upgrade and so refined, It will protect your ring gear , just the sound of its quiet smooth in action will confirm this , the only one modification you have to do on this Hotchkiss starter is the change of voltage from 24 down to 12 volts , its original 24volt solenoid will work fine on 12 but the internal field windings will have to be changed , Robson and Francis motor rewinds were the people i used to get this done