Personally, I was never in favor of wiring a Ford solenoid to power a Chevy starter. The solenoid on any GM starter is the weakest link. Rarely, if ever, does the field wiring on a GM starter short or open, but the brushes eventually wear out. Replacing brushes and installing a new solenoid is considerably cheaper than a new or rebuilt starter. And occasionally the bendix needs to be replaced. I'd venture to say that new bushes and a new solenoid would have brought your old starter back to life. The starter on my Vette is a combination of the original starter, a 400 starter, new brushes and a new solenoid.