So, it seems lately that if I run the car, shut it of and go to start it back up while the engine is hot, it either struggles to start, or like yesterday, won't start at all!

The characteristics of the hard start are that it sounds like the battery is dead. But that's not the case. The battery is brand new, and even with another car hooked up to mine and running, it wouldn't start until it had cooled down for about an hour.

Any ideas what's going on?

Heat soak on the starter Adam. Buddy of mie has a '69 w/ a 427 and had the same problem until we installed a mini starter. You can try one of those insulation blankets for the starter, which keeps heat off of it. It really isn't the starter, it is the soleniod.

Back when I had my 1978 I had the same problem. Embarrassing as heck to pull into the gas station, fill up and then sit for an hour or so until that thing cooled off. I was an idiot back then. I didn't know what was wrong and didn't know who to ask. I was young (21) with no money so I traded it off. If I had known then what I know now I might have kept the car a while.

Ditto on the starter solenoid, Adam! My '79 started doing it about a year after I bought her and it took me another year or two to get the Kahonehs, and the money of course, to get the starter replaced. I prefer not to have just anyone work on my car!

And yes, while it is often the solenoid that is bad, the heat that is sustained by the starter tends to make replacing the starter the most viable option in the long run. Have someone put it on the hoist for you and look at it together. Then yes, buy the heat blanket for your new starter. MidAmerica has one in their catalog.

I'll be getting one for mine next year as well.

Mark

Ok, so it sounds to me like I should replace the starter, and while I'm in there, put in a heat shield.

How about a recommendation on which type/brand starter to get, and where to get it.

Thanks again!

Hey Adam ,,,,, just got back from vacationing in the mountains and I saw your post ! There is a simple test you can try to help you determine exactly what your problem is . Run the engine until you get this hard start symptom . Connect a volt meter to the battery terminals and attempt to start the engine while reading the volt meter . If the voltage drops below 9.6 volts your problem lies in the starter motor itself . The most common problem is a pole shoe rub caused by wear in the end frame bushings . Lottsa folks call this heat soak as the heat seems to agravate the problem . The large drop in voltage indicates this problem at times I have seen the voltage drop below four volts on a brand new battery when attempting to crank the engine . If this no start problem shows no voltage drop you can usually bet on the solenoid being the culprit .

In the long run no matter what you find ,when you consider the job that a starter must perform in rather hostile conditions ,,,,,,,,,, replace the starter unit. Its better than sitting some where wishing you did anyway.

BTW when you have this pole shoe rub or heat soak , you can actually hear the high current draw , at times in excess of 400 amps !

gman

George,
where should I get a new starter from. I priced one at Pep Boys today, it's a "ProStart" New (not rebuilt) for only $40. Is this too good to be true? If it's $40, does that mean it is crap?

Hi Adam,,,, The price for the starter is a good one . There are lots of low priced imported stuff floating around that are good units . I recently decided to install a new master cylinder when I installed the hydro boost unit on my vette . My supplier suggested I purchase a new unit as it was cheaper than a rebuilt ,,,,,, go figure . Pep boys is a good choice and they have a warranty so I would go for it .

geo

Adam, I got a rebuilt one from Autozone for mine about 3 weeks ago. Cost me $40 and wasn't too bad to put in. You shoud already have heat shields there over the soleniod, maybe they took them off when they put the new motor in?

|QUOTE|82dukman said: Adam, I got a rebuilt one from Autozone for mine about 3 weeks ago. Cost me $40 and wasn't too bad to put in. You shoud already have heat shields there over the soleniod, maybe they took them off when they put the new motor in?|/QUOTE|

Actually, I took the starter off, didn't see any heat shield.