[tubman]

I ran my '51 for years with a marginal starter. It started 99.9% of the time, so I put up with it. About 5 years ago, I got sick and tired of it and installed a rebuilt from NAPA, which made the problem even worse. Back it went, and I decided to go through my stash of starters. I found one marked "Good" and installed it. Problem solved.

A few points here. First, a starter can be functional, but not operating at full efficiency. Second, as always, "new" doesn't always mean "good". Third, perseverance pays.

If you haven't already tried a different starter, do so.