What you said is exactly what I was thinking.... bad grease in the solenoid that gets "sticky" when cold. So when I put in the new solenoid, instead of using regular silicone dielectric grease, I used synthetic bicycle chain lube...lighter than grease but still very tenacious.

I can't imagine this problem is specific to the wagons...I belive the starting system is exactly the same in sedans and wagons.

A possible hint (not wagon specific)....I work with the previous owner of this car, and a few years ago, I helped him adjust his valve clearances. To jog the engine I attached the aligator clamps of my push button tool to the two connectors in the connecting block just forward of the battery on the wheel hump, and when the ignition switch was on, I could not jog the engine like this...it just wouldnt work like in my own car. So we had to rotate the engine by hand with a socket on the main pully bolt. So maybe there is a bad connection there!?!?

My sticky solenoid theory is out the window...now I am thinking of a carbonized connection that when cold will not conduct (maybe wet and frozen?), but when the ignition key is turned, voltage is applied, the connection heats, dries, then bang...the thing starts.

I read previously that a bad ground strap connection can cause many subtle problems, and it is a regular maintenance job (cleaning ground strap connections) that most of us ignore (myself included). The strap is certainly located where it gets wet (bottom of engine, drivers side).

So first thing tommorrow morning out in the cold, I will clean ground strap connections, (as well as the connections in the block on the wheel hump).

At this point, I'm betting on the ground strap. What is the "bendix" you mentioned in your post?

Mark

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1984 300TD Wagon, 407,800 mi (current daily driver)
1985 300DT Sedan, 330,000 mi (gone to that great autobahn in the sky)