My suspicion proved correct. The old starter is fine. It turned out to be a defective ignition switch. The problem reared its ugly head when I tried to leave the parts store with the new starter in the rear floorboard. No click, sputter clank whirring, nothing. I borrowed a floor jack to reach up under and jump off the solenoid with a screwdriver. Key in run. It fired right off.

Today I took off early from work to play.. I have the dash out, and I'm chasing down a list of gremlins. Turn signal indicator, blower motors, speedo, AC compressor, and radio.

Also I want to rewire the volts Guage, install a headlight switch with dimmer, convert the wipers to electric, fix the heater box, seal the front windows.

I'm not sure what to do about the ignition switch. I guess there are plenty of generic ones out there. I have an extra headlight switch left over from the firebird, but not the actuator knob.

Lots to do, but rain tomorrow. A week of nice weather after that!