Mystery starting problem in '76 350 engine

[Rickchevy56]

Hello All
This is about starting problem in my '64 Chev with a '76 Caprice 350. It was going off and on for about 3 months before dying. I figured I would'nt repair it since I was going to replace the engine; but it's rebuildable and was babied so I like to get it running without too much $!
One day I turned the ignition on and there was a little cluttering sound maybe near the starter, then a double click then like no power , lights radio completely dead. So i took the 6.5 year old battery down to Kragens to test it. It was weak so I replaced the battery and the car worked perfectly for about 3 weeks. I checked out the alternator, it was Ok. The starter was a quality starter I had replaced 10 months ago. I swapped batteries from my '56 wagon and the '64 started up just fine. after a couple weeks I noticed that when I re-started when the engine was hot it would take longer to start.
My mechanic could'nt figure it out. battery cables are good, connections to the starter are tight. I thought it might be the old HEI but some thing the starter could be defective. whatcha think?
Thanx Rick

[silicon212]

I will relate you a problem I had with my last car, which was a 1975 Pontiac Grand Am.

I got this car in July of '93, and in October of that year it stranded me in Ehrenberg, AZ (east of the Colorado River on I-10, directly east of Blythe, CA), with what I thought was a starter problem. It would just click as if the solenoid was bad or the battery was dead. It was niether, and nor was it the starter. It didn't act up all of the time, so I somehow found a way to live with it, until 9 years later. I was unable to trace the problem and so I converted it to a starter relay system (using a F*rd starter relay, or 'solenoid') and connecting the battery and start terminals on the starter solenoid directly together, running the ingition start wire (that originally went onto the "S" terminal on the starter solenoid) to the relay instead. Never had another problem with it. Never found the original problem, either. This was on two engines in that car - the original Poncho 400, and when my beloved sister blew that engine, a Chevy 350 (the same one that is now in my Caprice).

It may well have been a problem at the junction block where the harness passes through the firewall, and this might be your issue too, so check that. In my case, there might have been enough problem to prevent the solenoid from fully engaging, but being able to pass enough current to light the relay.

[bobss396]

I have used the Ford solenoids for GM applications. The trick is to splurge for the marine versions, which last longer. On hot rods, it makes it easier to wire than the GM type.

I used them on stock cars and it was the cure for the GM solenoid failures associated with high heat conditions. Just make sure you use a 10 gage wire for the solenoid jumper and use ring lugs with the proper crimp tool.

Bob