Folks,

She's working again. Went out for a 30-mile drive this afternoon. Runs better than before. Sure feels nice to drive it instead of working on it.

The last piece was the starter. There was a bad ground in it, and the brushes had worn down. Brought it to a local starter/alternator shop (Carolina Quality Starter in Greensboro, NC), and they fixed it for $50. It was a Bosch reman, so I know that this was the car's second starter, at least. Engine turns over much quicker now.

In retrospect, there was no single problem that kept the car from starting over the past couple of months. Here's the best breakdown of the problems that I can provide:

30 January: Car put down for service.
6 February: Turned engine CCW between a fifth and an eighth of a turn.
27 February - 2 April: 10 degree woodruff key inserted backward, making timing 20 degrees late.
2 March: Battery replaced, shorted cell.
8 March - 11 April: Jumped glow plugs directly from the battery before cranking (spotty relay), but did not realize that the glow plugs should stay energized while cranking.
1 April-17 April: Starter begins to burn out.
11 April: Battery replaced, shorted cell.

No where was fuel starvation a problem, although I thought it was at first.

Perhaps on a cool day I will go back and do cold v. warm compression numbers for the engine. Here's what I've got already.

Woodruff key in wrong position, slow starter, cold engine at 7* C:
1. 203 psi
2. 200 psi
3. 232 psi
4. 270 psi

Woodruff key in correct position, slow starter, cold engine at 12* C:
1. 226 psi
2. 232 psi
3. 240 psi
4. 248 psi

Thanks for all the help for the last couple of months. I would be lost in fixing the car if not for this place.

__________________
'Betsy the Getaway Car' : 1978 MB 240D, 582k
'The Mistress of the Sea' : 2001 Giant Boulder, 10.30k