52 Special won't start

**bwave** · 04-15-2009, 10:42 AM

Hi everyone, first post! I have a 52 Buick Special Straight Eight and I just replaced the Battery, Ignition Coil, Rotor, Plugs and wires and she turns over but won't start. I did get her started a couple of times after I replaced all of that, but now she won't start. You can hear it turning over, but it never cranks. I am wondering if I could get away with just replacing the starter solenoid or if I need to have the whole starter rebuilt. The car has been sitting up for a while, but in the past if I let the battery charge and put it some fresh gas, I could get her going. I need to be able to move her back and forth in and out of driveway when necessary. I currently have a battery tender plugged in all the time on the new 6V battery to make sure it stays charged. I am looking for advice on what to try, I can order a new solenoid, its a push button start and not a pedal start, but I don't know if that will fix the problem. Any thoughts? Any suggestions on where to get the solenoid or have the whole thing rebuilt?
Thanks,
Dave

**gph1955** · 04-15-2009, 12:57 PM

Dave: I have a 52 special, like yours. Precision Power, Inc, in Lansing, MI does a great job in rebuilding starters, testing them, etc. They are not the cheapest, but they are good. I also think that CARS, oldbuickparts.com, does rebuild starters, and they are very reliable in all the dealings I have had with them. Good luck.

**bwave** · 04-15-2009, 02:09 PM

Thanks for the reply and the references, should I take that to mean that you don't think just replacing the solenoid will fix my problem.

**da1958** · 04-15-2009, 02:12 PM

Hi Dave, I can recomend Glenn Cheaney with Ace Alt and starter. This is a link to his web site. Had him do my starter and gen. and am very happy. He is in Kansas and very nice to deal with. Has a very good personality and really enjoys his work and his customers. Very one on one and personal. http://acewichita.com/ Hope this helps. Doug.

**39CENT** · 04-15-2009, 03:18 PM

Originally Posted by bwave

Hi everyone, first post! I have a 52 Buick Special Straight Eight and I just replaced the Battery, Ignition Coil, Rotor, Plugs and wires and she turns over but won't start. I did get her started a couple of times after I replaced all of that, but now she won't start. You can hear it turning over, but it never cranks. I am wondering if I could get away with just replacing the starter solenoid or if I need to have the whole starter rebuilt. The car has been sitting up for a while, but in the past if I let the battery charge and put it some fresh gas, I could get her going. I need to be able to move her back and forth in and out of driveway when necessary. I currently have a battery tender plugged in all the time on the new 6V battery to make sure it stays charged. I am looking for advice on what to try, I can order a new solenoid, its a push button start and not a pedal start, but I don't know if that will fix the problem. Any thoughts? Any suggestions on where to get the solenoid or have the whole thing rebuilt?
Thanks,
Dave

You say that it turns over, but it won,t fire up? but when you charge it up, and add fresh gas, it will start up. If the starter is turning slow then you may have a bad ground, your starter is dragging because of worn bearings or brushes, could be the contacts in the solenoid have poor contact, or the battry tender isnt getting the batt to full charge.

**Great Balls of Fire** · 04-16-2009, 11:14 AM

make sure you have your positive and negatives on the right side of the coil and such.

**David Juricic** · 04-26-2009, 09:08 AM

Check your ignition points and see if they are burnt, or not fully closing. I have got engines started in the past by making sure the points were fully closing. The points can appear to close, but if not properly adjusted will not close and you get no spark. The same holds true for burnt points. They can appear to close, but do not actually close due to the rough surface of the points. Good Luck.