black1961

Posting for my brother, who has a nice early 63 convertible. He has rebuilt the chassis and done a lot of work on the car but is frustrated with it. With a fully charged battery, the engine is hard to crank and doesn't spin as quickly/or freely as it should. The engine starts fine, but the slow/hard crank drains the battery. The battery, starter and cables are new. Repeated starts drains the battery completely and he is looking for a jumpstart or battery charger. When the engine is running, the gauges indicate that the battery is charging. The engine runs well with good power. The car still has the original engine and was rebuilt in 1978. It should spin like a top when cranked, but instead we are scratching our heads. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, black1961

5thvet

How old is the battery? Even when you fully charged an old battery you can drain it pretty quickly. Might just need a new battery.

Hitch

That or to much initial timing...

vettsplit 63

Another thing to look at is the starter-- bad alignment can cause the starter to drag.

JohnZ

The connections at both ends of both cables need to be clean and shiny; resistance can climb in a hurry if they're not. If it's tuned properly, it should fire right up without extended cranking. If the bypass wire from the "R" terminal on the starter to the coil (+) terminal isn't in place, it'll crank all day and never start.

MiguelsC2

A properly charged battery should be able to turn that starter plenty long.
Assuming your connections are correct and tight. I would bet it's a charging issue. Make sure the voltage regulator is grounded with its own wire from the reg base to the radiator support. Then have the alternator tested. Buy a low priced multi meter at the auto supply. It can tell you all you need to know. You should be getting 13.8 + volts from the alt,horn relay and at the battery when charging.
If the engine does not turn freely and takes a long time to start? Then you might need to look at timing issues.

MikeM

I'd have a look inside the starter motor. It may just need a cleaning of the armature, new brushes and lube on the end bushings. It could have other problems too.

gofastvette

before you do that, re-read John`s comment above

Kerrmudgeon

If the battery is tested good on a load test, then I would agree with the guys and suspect either the connections or the starter is drawing way too much juice. Has the timing been messed with? Check it statically before you retry it.

TheSaint

If it turns out to be the battery i would replace it with one that gives a lot of starting amperes