Leaderboard

My first thought would be a bad cable running to the starter or ground if the battery meters fine but doesn't crank could be luck that it started other times. I would replace the positive cable running to the starter and the negative running to the alternator. If there's any corrosion anywhere, I would replace the terminals as well. Something like this is nearly indestructible but may be hard to use on the positive terminal depending on your setup: https://www.amazon.com/Ampper-Military-Battery-Terminal-Vehicles/dp/B07JJKVHD1 Maybe a bad relay?

New member, not a new enthusiast though. I've built a few Subarus through the years, this one has been the biggest challenge yet. I'm a few months into it so far, so these first few posts will be pictures of the various steps. I've been posting updates on FB, but it will be way easier to organize everything here on a forum. Also, maybe this will help with google results, as my search for info on this super rare car has been rough. Alright, the story begins: This car popped up on FB marketplace about 2 and half hours from me, and as soon as I saw the ad, I knew I had to go get it. It's a 1971 FF-1 Deluxe Wagon, in surprising shape for a midwest car. It sat in a garage in central Illinois since '78-'79, until the owner passed and his family liquidated his car collection. Here are some pictures of me winching it onto the trailer, zero of the wheels turned of course. More to come soon, I haven't been active on a forum for years, so it'll take me some getting used to.

Try using jumper-cables to bypass the +ve cable from the +ve battery-post to the 12V input on the starter. This can be tricky. Wear safety-glasses, and connect the jumper-cable to the starter FIRST, and to the battery-post LAST. Then try to start the car. EDIT: Just had another thought - the 12V input on the starter is usually a stud on which is threaded a hex-nut. If that hex-nut was loose, it might explain your symptoms.

since things went from bad to worse with the battery changes, I would also suspect bad cables... every time you changed the battery, the cables were moved, making any weak connections worse.

Update time! I pulled the trigger and made the 4500 mile round trip to get the parts car. I live in Madison, Wisconsin, and the car was just north of Seattle. It is also a '71, but has a 1300 engine (1300G?). It has the window, it has a good subframe, and tons and tons of other small parts I'll surely need. I also picked up an EA71, an EA63, and an EA61 short block. I'm back in business! Picture time: The car is safe at my storage lot, it snowed a bunch while I was gone so I need to get everything re-organized over there. More progress to come!