A friend of mine just bought a '30 roadster, 302 with a blower, really nice ride. Really hard to start, runs good if it does.
We found the starter was draining the battery voltage so low it wasn't making 'good spark' while cranking. The clue was: It WOULD start most times JUST when you left off the key and stopped trying to crank it! In that 'instant of time' THATS when it would fire up!
To test I rigged up a wire direct to the alternator battery terminal and touched the other end to the positive side of the coil WHILE he was cranking it over. The car started everytime and instantly! He will replace the Ford solenoid which, in his case, does NOT have the "I" terminal, only the "S" terminal. The "I" terminal gets wired directly to the positive side of the coil (depending on your ignition system) and provides the highest possible voltage while cranking.
FYI
We figure the car has been like this for YEARS and was probably a factor in the 'low price' he was able to buy the car for!
