My dads truck was running well and he tried to turn it on. the starter would crank for 3-4 times then after it would not crank at all. It is a 1950 Chevy 3100 216 engine 12 volt all original w/ foot pedal start. The battery is good and all electrical components work. I pushed the truck and started it the old fashon way by 1st gear letting go of the clutch and pushing the gas. There are no carb. problems because I drove the truck around the block. The spark plugs are good. I assume the starter is the problem because it would not crank. Give me some suggestions? I dont know if the ignition coil may be the problem why the starter doesn't crank.
I,d Say If it,ll Push start & Run With No Issues, Its one of a few Things. Weak battery ( Have Someone put a Load test on it, Dont Matter it can be Brand new & Still Be bad . If Its Charging , Should Eliminate the Regulato or altenator, But Check all wires & Connections Anyway . Then Check all Connections Power & Ground. Including The Cables From top To Bottom, Could Be Rotten or Shorted Even Though they dont appear to Be, If Somewhere the Cable Feels Brittle Or Soft. Theres More the Likelly a Problem there . Lastly The Starter. Could Be The Problem , Stuck Brushes , a Bad Drive . Or A bad Armature . But The Last thing I would look at . Granted Its Been a Bit since I,ve worked on Some of the Older stuff, But at Least hopefully this will Help You narrow it Down without Spending a Bunch of Money Needlesly , Just My Thoughts . Best of Luck . After Thought . Sorry , If Its Got Gas in the Cylinders & Spark Its Gonna at least try to fire . The Fact You can push start it & all seems Fine, I,d say Your in good Shape, Just do some Checking like I suggested . before Spending any Money .
