I bought a HPI .12R XS Non-Pull Start Slide Carb Engine and after putting it on my car and trying to start it with my Ofna Starter Box it locked up.

I looked at the engine and the Flywheel would not spin at all! I let some friends look at it and they took off the bottom peice of the engine to look inside and the the piston shaft is totally vertical.

How can I fix this? Does this happen a lot to other people? Will this problem eventually go away?

Some motors are just super tight.Take a hair dryer or better yet a heat gun to get the head nice and warm.That should help.Also until you break it in you can use a flat head screwdriver to turn the fly wheel.