Tom M.'s starting problem

["John Hofstetter" <hofs@domain.elided>]

Tom M. or Montana Tom as he is known to his friends (Both of us)

I was thinking about your starting problem, and it occurred to me that
regardless of which of the many suggestions that you received turns out to
be correct solution, that you could solve all except the possible
disintegration of your ignition switch, by doing the Ford Solenoid as a
relay installation. You wouldn't need to do the more elaborate high amperage
replacement as described by Darrel in the FAQ, but simply use the Ford as an
intermediate relay that takes the heavy load off the ignition switch, and
gives you a new S terminal to use for ballast resistor bypass. If the
problem is in the bulkhead connector, the reduced amperage through that
circuit would probably mean that the bulkhead would now handle its duties,
and if it didn't, you could simply run a new wire from the switch to the
Ford Solenoid. 

I think I mentioned earlier that I was a disciple of Darrel's technique, but
the simpler approach is used by my son on dozens of gas and diesel engines
that use the Delco starting system and seems to almost always avoid further
problems. 

Anyway, something to think about.

Your source of fatherly advice,
John H.