Re: 1954 Clipper 327 Starter

Posted by HH56 On 2017/12/15 18:44:51

Believe that is a pinion shift starter so the solenoid will need to function to bring the pinion into mesh with the flywheel. It could be the solenoid and the starter will need to be removed to reach the mounting screws. Once the screws are out some plungers will slide out without disconnecting the pinion shift linkage but others may need to disconnect from the linkage before the solenoid can come off..

Before you go farther have the ground side of battery hooked up and use a length of decent size wire same size as the wire that normally connects to the small terminal on top. You want a connection from the hot battery terminal and then just touch the other end of the wire to the small terminal on the top and see if the solenoid comes in. There will be a little spark and if nothing happened before but this time it makes noise or comes in chances are the problem is before the solenoid. If still nothing at all happens it is the solenoid and you will need to remove, & repair or replace.

The solenoid coming in is the most important part but there could still be a problem with the contact plate inside the solenoid being worn and intermittently not starting the motor. The next test would be to reconnect the battery and motor and then use the jumper wire to try again. Make sure the trans is in neutral for this test. If the motor turns the problem would most likely be the ign switch. Those type solenoids draw a considerable amount of current and really stress the ign switch contacts in the 54-56 switches.