Dodge Progress

It's been going slowly, but going none the less. Got a path cleared to the shop - no easy task, several days of shuffling cars, the boat & even a small shed. Next order of business - see if i can get it running/rolling so I can drive it to the back. Pulled the plugs & put in some Seafoam ( because I had it), then Marvel Mystery Motor oil ( because it was so widely recommended). Let it soak for several days. Rebuilt the carb. Pulled the battery - actually took a charge but still shot. Pulled off the tires to get some "rollers" ( anything that will hold air for more than a day or two). Engine locked up - couldn't spin it with the fan belt ( after sitting for maybe 10 years - go figure). Pulled the radiator to get at the crank pulley bolt.

Searched all over for my 1-11/16" socket that has been buried since a 70's rebuild - no luck. Borrowed a socket & breaker bar from a friend & got the engine to turn with very little effort ( ) - amazing! Found my socket the next day, but not the 1/2 to 3/4 adapter. Next - turn the engine a bit every so often. Rig up a small temporary gas tank ( gravity feed) so I can get the engine running. Pretty sure the gas line & tank will need a flush. Get some new spark plugs and a battery...hopefully followed by a startup?

Ooooh, an adventure. What fun.

Yeah, what an adventure...

Guess it stands to reason that a starter that hasn't spun in a while would give me some trouble. Anybody familiar with 6 volt, positive ground, mechanical solenoid starters? The starter spins OK, even better now that I've been through the whole thing several times. I haven't been able to get the engage apparatus to kick the gear into the start position. I guess you call it the mechanical solenoid? If I start it out a bit by hand & then give it the juice, it works - except that it won't kick back out ( or, in this case, in). Do the flywheel teeth kick it out once the engine starts & the starter stops? It seems like there may be a spring missing, but if it is, it wasn't there when I pulled it apart.

How about it - can anyone school me on this wonderful engineering marvel? They may have all been similar back in the 40's-50's? A diagram would be wonderful.

Edit: Pulled out a 64 Chiltons. They refer to it as a "sliding gear" type starter, and one of the troubleshooting tips is to look for a "weak or broken meshing spring". I gotta find a diagram!

Edit #2: It's an "Autolite Folo-Thru Drive". The small diagram is almost helpful, as is the larger exploded view. Not much to go on. However, the answers may lie in---

Wikipedia: This overrunning-clutch pinion arrangement was phased into use beginning in the early 1960s; before that time, a Bendix drive was used. The Bendix system places the starter drive pinion on a helically-cut driveshaft. When the starter motor begins turning, the inertia of the drive pinion assembly causes it to ride forward on the helix and thus engage with the ring gear. When the engine starts, backdrive from the ring gear causes the drive pinion to exceed the rotative speed of the starter, at which point the drive pinion is forced back down the helical shaft and thus out of mesh with the ring gear.

Hear a Folo-Thru starter
Play sound
A Prestolite starter motor with Bendix Folo-Thru drive cranks a Chrysler Slant-6 engine. The Folo-Thru drive pinion stays engaged through a cylinder firing but not causing the engine to start
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

An intermediate development between the Bendix drive developed in the 1930s and the overrunning-clutch designs introduced in the 1960s was the Bendix Folo-Thru drive. The standard Bendix drive would disengage from the ring gear as soon as the engine fired, even if it did not continue to run. The Folo-Thru drive contains a latching mechanism and a set of flyweights in the body of the drive unit. When the starter motor begins turning and the drive unit is forced forward on the helical shaft by inertia, it is latched into the engaged position. Only once the drive unit is spun at a speed higher than that attained by the starter motor itself (i.e., it is backdriven by the running engine) will the flyweights pull radially outward, releasing the latch and permitting the overdriven drive unit to be spun out of engagement. In this manner, unwanted starter disengagement is avoided before a successful engine start.

I'm a little late, but these might be of some help.
http://www.oldmopar.com/oldmopar/D30Info2.jpg
found here--> http://www.oldmopar.com/