Matt Drayer's Journal

"Okay....pop it!"

It was the fifth time I had rolled the MG down our driveway, prompting my daughter to engage the clutch and use the gearing to coax the engine to fire. The car quickly ground to a halt, the engine continuing its hibernation. So frustrating. I had booted up my Jeep Wrangler this way just a year ago when my nephew had arrived to trailer it to his place in New Hampshire. It's not black magic, it's science, and it works...most of the time.

When we looked at the car, the previous owner had said it had started up just a couple months before, yet wasn't currently turning over due to a possible starter issue. He had recently replaced the battery, which was great, but the starter remained dormant. I didn't care, though -- I was all in on the proposed father-daughter project experience. So we bought the Midget, loaded it on a U-Haul dolly, and towed it home.

"Let's take five, sweetie -- I need some time to think."

Something wasn't right. I opened the airbox -- dirty looking filter, could it be original? Seemed fine enough from an airflow perspective, though. Maybe that ancient looking Zenith carburetor is clogged up -- hmm, not ready to get into that just yet. Fuel? Gauge says 1/2 tank. Maybe the fuel pump is dead. Where IS the fuel pump on this thing?

"Press the clutch in and turn the key again?"

Yeah, nothing. No solenoid click, no starter whirr, no fuel pump hum, hmm. Battery dead? Multimeter reads fine. Maybe it's the starter solenoid. Interesting, this starter doesn't seem to have a solenoid...it must have a solenoid. Battery is connected to...oh, weird, it looks like it has some sort of separate solenoid-type device. Seems like it was attached to the body at one point, but now it's just dangling in space...maybe it's no longer grounded -- I'll re-attach it.

"Okay, give the key another shot."

CLICK!

"Dad, it did something!"

"Yep, the solenoid is now activating, but still no starter..."

What to try next? Maybe I should try jumping the solenoid. That always worked for my Beetle -- the starter would get stuck all the time and I'd have to jump it with a screwdriver. Did it this spring on an outboard boat engine, too. Worth a shot. Got the big screwdriver out, jumped the contacts annnnd...nothing. Sheesh.

"I think the starter might be dead. It looks like it's the original design, so I'm not surprised. Although I must say I no longer believe the car ran as recently as this summer. That 2017 inspection sticker on the windshield might be a clue." I don't know how I missed that sticker when we looked at the car. I guess I was already sold on the project at that point -- after all, it's just a car, and a simple one at that, right?

"We'll probably need to buy a new starter. I'll have to look around online to see what will fit."

"Alright..."

I could see the disappointment in her eyes. She had envisioned zipping around town with a friend in the passenger seat and the radio on, taking it to school, getting ice cream at the beach, and was now feeling that vision sliding into "maybe next year" territory. I was feeling my own disappointment growing, too, realizing that this wasn't going to be easy...or inexpensive....already envisioning a new engine hoist in our future.

"You did say you wanted a 'project car'. Well, this is definitely a project car. And, this is the fun part! We get to figure out what is wrong with it and then fix it up. Based on what little we know so far, it could be a total restoration project. It's definitely a total degreasing project.
There's a lot of gunk coating the engine, and the transmission, and the underside, and the suspension. I don't think I've ever seen a car so clean on the outside, and so dirty on the inside/underside. It's like someone has been spraying the engine bay with oil for decades. Hey, do you want to remove the starter and we can test it? I'll show you how to do it."

"Sure!"

Hadn't lost her yet...