Well, last time I took the starter apart, cleaned up everything, and reassembled it.
Didnt work, I then decided it was dead and put it aside and start looking for a replacement.
After thinking about it, and reading what Bird told me, I took it apart again this morning.
Everything looks allright, I did turn the solenoid contacts 180 deg because the contacts were a bit used but the brushes looked pretty good and made good contact.
Heres an example of what I mean when I say I turned the contacts 180 deg.
This is not an actual GM solenoid and the contacts were not as bad but it shows what I mean.
(I dont have my cam here with me.)
Just pulled the bolts out and turn them around, put them back in, little trick I used in another life.
Now why was the starter NOT working???
Well, lesson no 1, USE A GOOD FULLY CHARGED BATTERY LOL
lesson no 2, dont asume it's dead because it's been sitting for years!
The battery I used was the battery from my wifes car, (Mustang GT) that sat on the shelves for the winter.
It wasnt charged and the starter didnt have enough juice.
Charged it up all night and this morning, starter works real fine!
matter of fact,
When I connected the wires to jumpstart it, the damn thing almost jumped off the workbench
It's back from the dead after 25 years!