I have a 1966 BB convertible and have noted a difficult time restarting the engine immediately after shutting it down. If I wait for the engine to cool its starts fine or if I don't drive it very long. What may be the cause and how do I fix it?
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Re: 1966 BB starting problems
I would bet that there are a lot of hits in the archives on this. From reading this list, I have drawn the conclusion that BBs have starter heat soak issues. The starter solenoid soaks up the heat from the exhaust pipes after shutdown and won't work until it cools down. Does your car have a heat shield on the starter? I don't know BBs but I believe that the SBs did have a shield and would think that yours should.
Gary -
Re: 1966 BB starting problems
--------Sometimes the feild in the starter itself goes south and wont turn the engine when hot.........Bill SComment
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Re: 1966 BB starting problems
B dworsky-----
As Gary says, you should find a lot about this subject in the archives. In a nutshell, though, I can tell you that I fought this problem for YEARS with my 1969 small block, practically from the day it was new. I tried every "fix" imaginable. One thing positively, 100% solved the problem----that was the installation of a slave solenoid. After that, never a single problem again even with hot restarts in Death Valley, CA in July. That was the "ultimate test". When it passed that one, I knew I was "home free".In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: 1966 BB starting problems
Everyone kind of jumped the gun on this one. How does it act when you say you have trouble restarting?
Cranks a long time?
Cranks slow?
Doesn't crank at all?
Cranks and fires but just barely runs and stalls?
Each has a different solution and a different cause, yet each can be described as a difficult tiem restarting.Comment
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Re: 1966 BB starting problems
It will begin to crank slowly then quits. After that it won't crank at all. That is until I wait 10-15 minutes.Comment
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Re: 1966 BB starting problems
I'd start with a bad battery, bad starter, or bad battery cable.
When hot, the battery can go south rather quickly. You can troubleshoot this one quickly as I'm sure you have a battery in another vehicle to try.
You can also take a voltmeter and check at the battery terminals while someone cranks the engine. It will drop from 12 volts, but if it dips below 10, the battery is most likely shot.
You can also check at the battery cable terminal on the solenoid. If voltage is lower than at the battery, then replace the cable. Of course, you need to check that your ground cables from the battery to the frame and the frame to the engine are good. Fastest way is to take jumper cables from the battery negative to the engine and the battery positive to the solenoid.
Starter would be the last item to swap out as it is the most expensive. If you are lucky enough to have other Chevy starters, do a swap and see. It could be overheating from no heat shield. Believe it or not, but sometimes the ground runs through the front mounting bracket better than the two mounting bolts into the bellhousing flange. You can frequently loosen and retighten the mounting bolts and see if the ground is restored.
A rare but possible item is the starter isn't shimmed correctly and the starter shaft is now eating into the side of the nosepiece bushing. This eggshapes the nosepiece shaft hole. When cold, it still works. When hot, the shaft binds in the aluminum and drags slowly, finally to a halt.
Check this before giving away your numbers-matching starter. You can get a new nose and shim the starter further out from the flywheel.Comment
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Re: 1966 BB starting problems
I'll check the battery, the cable and connections. I just put in a "new" starter (never had the original) that seemed to go bad (slip,wouldn't crank) over the last 2 years. I was wondering about the starter since I wasn't aware that it may be shimmed if needed. What would be the method used to shim a starter.
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