Thanks for the tip, will try it out on wednesday.

Your problem could be the small thingy on the top of the starter, with wires going to it. Basicly its an electrically operated switch that carries the heavy current to turn the engine. It's called a 'solenoid' With 40 years of use the contacts become burnt.

I had this experience.

Brian.

Brian is referring to the solenoid on the starter.

Edit: Of course, I missed the third sentence of Brian's post completely where he said it was the solenoid. I need to wake up before posting.

Edited March 1, 201115 yr by SteveJ
Noting my lack of reading comprehension.

Correct.