[splashlog]

Yes, I will make that balloon tool, however other distractions are aloof. I am wondering now about something else; when I hit the start button, my starter spins up and engages, yet only very briefly, usually not long enough to get a good bite on the flywheel.

(I did jump the gun and install a new alternator mainly because finding the vintage voltage regulator that I had broken was more trouble than it's worth. So now I have a 65A alternator in place of the original 35A Prestolite....)

So the question is, would the new alternator affect the preformance of the starter? Is there perhaps too much load on the system now that the starter (bendix) just does not want to play? Or, am I just unlucky and that this is one more issue that I need to look at, like is it time to pull the starter and have a little poke about? The starter was begining to miss every now and then, but allways managed to hang in long enough to get things going. But now she spins and just makes a quick attempt at grabing the flywheel but then just spins out. This is making me lose my mind, as I am still trying to get this engine to turn over and get the timing sorted.