The saga of the starter solenoid, Episode 2: She's Really Built...er....Rebuilt

I laid out the kit and tackled the rebuild job one evening with the help of a borrowed soldering iron.

The Offending Solenoid

Rebuild Kit

As I removed the end piece from the solenoid, I was encouraged to discover that the bolt that connects to the starter had broken loose from the soldered solenoid wire.  This told me that the power would not get to the starter even if the solenoid made a proper connection.  That did not, however, explain why the lever was not engaging and throwing the gear into position to engage the flywheel. Note the worn contacts on the circular contact disk in the middle of the solenoid in the picture below.

Broken Solder on Bolt Head

Installed: gasket, center contact & spring, wire lead (not yet soldered)

After one finger burn, several failed attempts at soldering the rebuild kit contact wire from the solenoid to 

the starter contact post, and some soldering assistance from my 21 yr old daughter (she builds LED Hula Hoops as a hobby), the rebuilt solenoid was ready for testing.  

 '56 Chevy Starter Solenoid - Rebuilt (L) and New (R)

The first part of the video shows the rebuilt solenoid exhibiting the same behavior as the old solenoid.  Oh, well, it was worth the $25 to gamble on the rebuild kit versus the $75 price tag on the new one.  

As it turns out, it was the main body of the solenoid that was bad.  I had to buy the new one anyway.  All in all a great learning process that I really enjoyed even though it came at a very inopportune time.  

Next up, re-installing the starter in the Bel Air in hopes that I can sell it.