Well, I did my best to look through previous posts, but was not able to find the exact issue I'm having. I have a rebuilt 49' Mercury motor in my roadster back up by a later open driveline truck toploader. I've been running the car for about two years now... and probably have 700 plus miles on it. So far no real issues other than a dead fuel pump. Its been sitting for three months, and when I went to start it up it would not crank. At first I thought it might be a dead Optima battery so I switched it with a newly charged one and it didn't make a difference. I was able to turn it over by hand, so I pulled the plugs and cranked it without compression to get some oil up in the bearings , and it turns but seems labored. When I re-install the plugs I still can't get the thing to crank. Anyone have any ideas on what the problem might be? Last time I drove it everything seemed find. Thanks in advance! Pins&Needles
Remove and clean ALL cable connections, (both bat posts, both sides of solenoid,starter,ground on block...if no luck there remove and bench test starter, it should realy zip on the bench.....good luck! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
If you are going to try to "bench test" a flathead starter, be aware the whole case is not bolted together when removed from the engine. You will need to jury rig some nuts on those long clamping bolts to hold it in one piece.
Thanks for the help! I'll recheck all connections to make sure they are nice and clean... if that doesn't work I'll pull the starter and bench test it (thanks Alchemy for the note on the starter housing... I've had that problem before) The starter turns the motor over, so I don't think its the solenoid... I do have spark at the points... but the engine won't turn over fast enough to get the thing to light off. Thanks everyone for the help!
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