All:
Several of you suggested that I remove my starter and basically ground-hop
(thats what they do to tank engine packs in the Army a scary and noisy
procedure) it with jumper cables and my battery. Thinking about continued
dollars flowing outward and the possibility that I would learn that the
starter is fine after taking it to the electrical shop - I overcame my fear
of the process and did it. It worked! In fact, I enjoyed the result so
much that I hit the SM terminal a few more times just to watch the $#@&ed
thing work.
So, I put myself back under the car, cleaned paint from all places of
contact, and then reinstalled the starter. Because I could not clean
between the bell housing and the engine block, I bridged the engine block
flange with a woven ground strap between the flange of the starter and the
flange of the bell housing.
Back to the top of the engine compartment to bolt the SM terminal wire to
the solenoid. Thats when it happened I cross-threaded the terminal on
the solenoid. (By the way, the culprit was a burr on the nut, not the nut
turning the wrench.) Went to the hardware store to get a < x 24 die (dont
have one in my set) to straighten the threads. Hardware store didnt have
one, either. So, back to the shop to rethread the terminal. Because the
terminal to the batt is the same length as the one I stripped, I couldnt
use a normal die holder. So, I used a 1 socket with a = drive, put two
very large diameter dies in it, then the one I wanted to use, last. Fixed
the solenoid in the vise, and started to turn the new threads with the die
in the ratchet. Guess I didnt use enough oil, because I soon noticed that
the terminal was turning, too. This did not seem good. But, I continued,
got the top half of the terminal threaded for a new nut, and reinstalled the
solenoid and made the connections. Turned the key, hit the starter and got
that awful click that one hears when a solenoid is shot. Well, Champaign,
Illinois is not a very good spot to find a Lucas solenoid. No choice then
I have to repair the one I broke or wait a few days for a Moss replacement.
Obviously, the seals on these are not meant to be breached, but I am bullh
er, determined, and took a small screwdriver to the lip of the aluminum
(aluminium) solenoid housing to pry it from the insulator. After stanching
the bleeding from several screwdriver wounds, I could finally see the work
piece well enough to finish the task. What I had done was to unseat the
terminal I was threading. Took this opportunity to clean the washer-like
copper contact, and both of the terminal contacts, too. Then put all back
together. However, the aluminum is of an alloy that is not very malleable
it is, in fact, quite brittle, and I could not bend it back over the lip of
the insulator to refasten it. I had no way to reassemble the solenoid and
keep it together - other than a hose clamp, that is. It looks weird, but it
works (new solenoid is on order, though).
Cleaned everything up, reassembled the mess, turned the key, pushed the
starter knob and heard a truly marvelous sound. Wish there had been some
gas in the tank.
We did it!!!!!!!!!
Of course, some of the blush faded from the rose later when I did put gas in
it, and it fired on the second push of the starter. Ran for a couple of
seconds, then I screwed around with the choke and killed it. Just as well,
cause I looked under the bonnet to see if a line had come loose, and found
a huge puddle of fresh oil under the engine. I think my engine rebuilder
didnt put a seal between the filter and the block (although the filter was
dry on the outside) or the side plug to the oil gallery is very, very
loose.
And I was really looking forward to taking a spin tonight
But, thanks again to you all I could not have gotten this far without your
input and advice.
Dave
David Dressel
Champaign, IL USA
'67 Mk2 3.4 Auto
'60 TR3A
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