My '75 has been having this starter problem for a few months and I've procrastinated and not gotten it fixed. You may have remembered my previous posts. Starter gets hot and won't restart after stoping. Usually cools down in 30-45 minutes and I'm on my way again.

Took it out last night, w/o the tops, and drove around for about 30 minutes before stopping for a something to eat. It's been 105 degrees every day this week in Fayetteville and last night was "cool". I did not think it had gotten hot enough to not start. I was wrong. Turn the key and nothing but silence.

Well, I'm not too worried since it always starts after a cool down period, but it looks like it's going to rain and the breeze is blowing in. I call my son and have him bring my t-tops. Now I feel better. Haven't seen it in a few months with the tops on. Look good. Real good. My wife comes to see me after a while and argues that I have a dead battery and should call AAA for a tow. I cannot convince her that it's the starter and that it will start any minute now.

I sit there for over an hour and it won't start. Silence. The pretty young girl at Wiener Works wants to know what's wrong with my classic Corvette. I tell her 32 year old cars don't always start when you want them to. I'm thinking I will have to have it towed this time, but I still think it's the starter. I try it one more time before calling and it starts right up. No problem. Battery is strong. Took much longer to cool this time.

I guess I need to either manufacture that heat shield part or get a new starter.

 

This used to happen on my 78 some years ago......started cold all the time...take a drive..stop..go to start and nothing..did not happen each time,but often enough to be a pain...turned out it was the spring in the solenoid..changed spring and have not had an issue since...

For weeks,my trick to getting it started was using a jumper wire to bump engine over at the main harness....re-connected harness connector,and it would start each time..that was better than using a screw driver across starter terminals laying in a hot parking lot somewhere..

Rich

 

I had the same problem. I got lots of opinions everything from heat soak to a ground problem. I changed the starter and never got stranded again.

 

I came close to having the car not start a couple times due to heat soak and decided to go with a GMPP gear reduction starter. No problem since.

 

This used to happen on my 79 just like you describe. I had to call into work and tell them I was going to be late because my car would not start. They gave me hell because they all knew I had more than 1 car. Anyway, I wound up changing the solenoid and the car never gave another minutes problem. Solenoid is much cheaper than a starter too.

 

This exact same issue happened to my 1980 Corvette shortly after getting my starter rebuilt.

The end to my issue was to replace the round rubber grommet on the top of the starter.

Darcy Bast

 

Are you sure it is not a ploy by your car to talk to the pretty young girl?

 

I had to push start my car one day with the help of a friend at the front entrance to a large corporate office. Very embarrassing. I added a $20 heat shield and haven't had the problem since.

 

I replaced my starter with a Delco mini starter and haven't had a problem since. The factory copper-plated aluminum garbage battery cables are also a problem...I swapped mine out while I was replacing the driveshaft u-joints.

 

I needed a car with this feature back in high school.

 

Same thing happened to me. Its been about 5 years now since I changed the starter and no problems....................LT

 

I rebuilt the original starter and added a heat shield and still had an (occasional) problem. Too annoying to ignore. Added a remote solenoid from Jegs and cruise with confidence now. I've been out on the hottest days so far this year without a prob.

 

Perhaps you should take a hammer with you. I had the same problem
with my '75 when I first got it and my trusty mechanic told me to wack
the heck out of the starter when need be. It worked - what that is doing is "moving" the starter brushes so they will align. Got bored doing
that so got a new starter and all is well. (I had to do that once when
I was at the Richard Petty museum. Laying on the ground hammering
away. I bet the visitors thought I was a real pro mechanic!)

 

The %$#@!& warm start problem can really be frustrating. Replaced the starter and it was good for awhile. Next replaced the solenoid and it was good for almost a year. Now I've ordered battery cables and aconsidering a heat shield.

 

 

I had a heat soak problem with my '82 so I decided to buy a high torque mini starter from Quality Power. The mini starter is so much lighter and easier to install. I didn't even need shims. Now my car starts right up even on the hottest days.