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I posted earlier and I got allot of good advice about how to get my 51 started. I bridged the carb starter hooked up the 6volt battery(the right way) turned the key. I then bridged the larger lug on the solenoid (from the battery) to the little lug on the solenoid with a jumper cable and it worked! The old girl kicked but then...nothing. I tried again but nothing not a sound, not a kick, nothing. Any suggestions. I'm trying to back track everything that i've done prior to login in to get help. I replaced the starter solenoid(new), new coil, good 6volt battery.

I have a few questions.

1)Is there a front or back to the starter solenoid when i installed it I assumed that the writing on it represented the front of the soleniod. Is that correct?

2)My battery is only about 55% to 70% capacity would that still be enough at least to get it started.

Thanks in advance!

G'day Kamstilla, I suggest that your starter pinion may be jammed in the flywheel. I would suggest that you pull out and re=attach your starter motor. i would suggest that you jumper the starter with a good 12V truck N120 or better battery and give it a try. So long as you do not have any of your lighthing, brake or instrument lighting systems on, it should not blow any bulbs, it will certainly rotate the engine at a good rate and it will start if most fuel/air requirements are ok. If it doesn't start then i suggest that you get professional advice on the problem. This may not necessarily be expensivwe as many mechanics operate "moon light " services at a much reduced rate. best Regards Peter Toet

Hi Kam. I sometimes have a similar problem with my 57 Clipper. What I have to do is take a breaker bar or long ratchet, the appropriate size socket, and turn the engine by hand a bit. This releases the starter and then I can begin trying to start again. I don't know why it does this, I pulled the starter and took it to an old school shop here in town and it works like a charm on the bench test. Also, I've experienced problems with the carb switch sticking in my 53 Cavalier, so in order to prevent the starter from engaging every time I push the accelerator pedal down I installed a toggle switch under the dash. This is just a cutout so my Bendix gear doesn't get ground down again. Aside from that, I'd recommend a day's worth of multimeter checks on your wiring accompanied by a six pack of your favorite beverage.

I have also experienced the one-kick-then-nothing phenomena many times--it is usually caused by a poor connection at the battery terminals. They LOOK fine, but are actually covered with non-conductive lead oxide. A good scrape with a pocketknive will cure it, or better yet use one of those nice terminal brush tools you can get for a couple of bucks--on the posts, and inside the cable ends.

Always, the key to 6 volt happiness is spotlessly clean connections everywhere. You don't have any extra volts to waste. The electricity makes a circle, so to speak, from the battery to the starter and back to the battery. Any connection along the way that impedes that circle is hurting you. Plus, 55% on the battery probably won't cut it.

If it's not a sticking starter, try disconnecting the battery and reconnecting it. My wires are loose on my starter solenoid (striped the threads) and sometimes I'll try to start it and nothing happens (shorting out). I noticed your wires are in bad shape and so are mine. I play with the wires on the solenoid to make a better connection, but the car will not turn over (or have any indicator lights) unless I disconnect and reconnect the battery.

Charge that battery before you go any further !
If you don't already have one,invest in a VOM .
A fully charged 6 volt battery should be around 6.4 volts.
Check the battery voltage while trying to turn the engine over with the starter.If it drops to less than about 4.5 volts your battery may be failing.
If it doesn't drop,or drops very little you have a poor connection.
Thats when you can preform a voltage drop test to find it.

The VOM is the easy way to check for all the problems in a starting circut.
Even a "cheap" one lets you see the magic smoke that is inside the wire, before you let it out ! lol
RT

Its late here in Houston so i'll try tommorrow thanks for the insight