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Had hoped to start up my '40 with the refreshed '47 engine this weekend. New heavy battery cables, everything's cleaned up and shiny so grounds are good, battery fully charged. Key on, ammeter shows life; starter button non functional. try to start it using the solenoid button; brief movement of the engine, then nothing other than a hum in the starter or solenoid when button is pressed.

(this was the starter on the '47 engine that I refreshed. The starter got no work though.).

Swapped the starter out, thinking the '47 starter might be at issue. Put in the '40 starter, which hasn't been used in 32 years. No sounds, no movement. The '40 starter, when last used 32 years ago, did not have an issue. It was barn-stored all that time.

Pulled it back out. Bench tested it and the '47, other than a hum from the '47, nothing.

Haven't checked the solenoids yet, but I suspect the problem is deeper.

Any advice? I'll likely take the '47 starter to my local rebuilder.

Which engine or starter. If a small engine and starter with the 3 terminal solenoid it could be the starter or solenoid or a bad wire or connection. Solenoids for those are inexpensive and easily replaced if that turns out to be the problem.

If the 356 with the Autolite starter and large 4 terminal solenoid, those are a different beast and have an additional wiring need in the car that has to be hooked up and operational or else completely bypassed. The internal solenoid electrical path it needs to pull in also requires the starter motor, particularly the brushes and armature to be in good electrical condition. If you have that solenoid and want them, I can provide a diagram of the solenoid and a simplified diagram showing the extra car wiring it needs plus an Autolite test procedure for troubleshooting the solenoid. The solenoid will probably be harder to find and expensive if it turns out yours is the issue and it cannot be repaired.

both are off of 245's with three terminal solenoids. I tested both solenoids and both are good.

Edit--Both starters are Delco; I did not get the model numbers off of them though.

Having the starter looked at sounds like a good decision as the brushes and armature or even a worn bushing could be the issue. On the solenoid, it might pull in just fine and appear to be OK but if the internal contact plate is worn or burned it is also possible enough current is not being passed to the motor for it to start.

Another thing could be the condition of the battery or cables and terminals. Corrosion could have set in inside a terminal or cable connection resulting in a high resistance and again not enough current to turn the motor. A battery cell can also fail and while the battery will often test OK with a regular voltmeter, the bad cell is only putting out what is called a surface voltage which might be enough to power a few lights but it will not be able to supply the needed current for the starter.

Good point on the solenoids; have not checked with a known good spare (which I'd need to rob off of my '37 115c, and will not).

Battery cables are new, locally built.

Battery is two years old, borrowed from my '37 115c; a spare 1 year old 6v from one of my Ford 8N's didn't make any difference. Load tested them both and they're fine.