THANX , Ed !
My 350SLC's Bendix is just beginning to slip so I know it's just waiting for me to go out in the rain , or wear a suit or take SWMBO out in it before it dies completely....
I was planning to put it on the jack stands to-morrow anyway but now it's raining
BTW : it is very common for the ignition switch to wear out so it stays in the " start " position , you must manually turn the key back to the " run " position else the starter continues to grind as memtioned in this thread....
Lotta German cars have this same fault .