1970, 351c 2bbl was starting just fine but now is extremely sluggish while trying to start.
Originally I tested the battery and it was low and not holding a charge. I replaced the battery and checked all my connections.
I didnt see anything out of the norm. Im thinking it might be the starter motor.
If you have a voltmeter, check the voltage present at the starter while cranking. With a healthy battery, my 70 351C sees about 10.5 VDC while cranking at the starter post of the solenoid.
Also, your negative cable should be well grounded to the chassis at the voltage regulator (with clean bolt threads), and also where it connects to the block near the alternator.
I decided to go through and just re verify that all connections were clean and right.
Didn’t see anything, but gave everything a healthy tighten. The slow crank issue stopped but opened up a whole new can of worms.
I went to start the car and it still wouldn’t start. I didnt want to flood the engine so after a few times I let it sit for about an hour.
After the hour I went to try again and it backfired. Sounded like it came from the carb.
Out of curiosity and concern I went throughthe forum and found a few threads about oil and fuel mixing due to a bad fuel pump causing some of my issues. I pulled the dip stick and the oil was abnormally high and smelled like fuel.
Im thinking also that this may have been going on for a while and may be why my engine was running hot and dieseling sometimes.