[webfoot]

Any chance you also upgraded to an HEI?

[brokengto]

Yes it has the grease-in fact M and H puts so much in it I had to remove some just to get it connected properly and I have taken it on and off a couple times- If the bracket in back of the starter if is truly needed to ground the starter it may be an issue-I have a lot of paint on the motor and want to start there-Also someone mentioned I should pull the starter to make sure it is working even though it was rebuilt

[brokengto]

Only change I made was to replace the points with a transistor style

[pugslyx234]

I dont think 68 had a clutch interrupt switch I believe it was an after thought that came out in 69, also I think the bracket is just there to keep it from breaking cause of torque not a ground so to speak.

[Simple Man]

Are all the body grounds in place?

[brokengto]

Body grounds I have connected are from the back of the passenger side head to the firewall and the strap from the frame to the passenger side inner wheel wheel-I do have a lot of paint on the motor and not sure if that is affecting the ground strap to the engine head.
One thing I noticed is when I put the key to the on position the temp gauge goes back to C and the oil pressure gauge goes past 80 to the point you can not see it anymore-When I turn the key to the start position the temp gauge also goes past the H to the point you can not see the needle either
Not sure if that means anything

[brokengto]

Not sure what gets the ground from what but all the dash lights/radio-exterior lights and the wiper motor are functioning

[webfoot]

Sounds more like a bad starter (or solenoid), or perhaps even bad ignition switch.

[brokengto]

Pulling the starter and having it checked is probably the place to start-With an M and H harness they do not supply the connector to the ignition switch so you pull all the old wires out and attach the new ones-I may have messed something up when I did that but thought I checked it a number of times-I should have taken a photo of the original wires in the connector so I could double check it again-Big mistake-I will have to dig up someone with a photos of the back of the ignition connector to make sure it is correct
Also noticed the radio went dead when I turned the key to the start position

[webfoot]

That could definitely cause some problems. I can easily disconnect mine and take a pic of the back of it if you cant find a good pic on PY.

[Simple Man]

It sounds like your grounds are good.

[gtohurstjudge]

Before you start pulling starters, you need to get a test light and check
for power at the big purple wire going to the starter out under the hood. Probe it where
you can access it easily. You did install it on the 'S" terminal of the starter solenoid and not
the "R" terminal correct? If the purple wire has no current in the start position, go under
the dash and check it on the interior side of the bulkhead connector.

[brokengto]

Just to clarify-check the purple wire where it is attached to the connector to the ignition
when it is in the on position if I do not get power somewhere along the engine harness

[gtohurstjudge]

The purple wire is only hot with the key in the start position. It's
sole function is to energize the starter. Ground a test light and probe the purple wire
out under the hood before it goes to the starter with someone holding the key in the start position and see if you have power. A good place to probe it would be at the back of the
driver's side head.

[brokengto]

Someone mentioned to me there is a jumper clip used on the double purple wire coming out of the dash harness which over rides the neutral safety switch system-pulled mine of the original dash harness and plugged it into the end of it-still nothing
Pulled the starter and sure enough I had the purple wire on the R terminal
Was putting the starter back and and broke the end off the positive battery cable
Of course it was the original clamp style with the 90 degree connector on it for ram air exhaust manifolds-
Going to look for one now but doubt if It will be easy to find one
Does anything go to the R terminal o the solenoid

[gtohurstjudge]

The "r" terminal was never used by Pontiac, but all Chevys used it. On your car the
"r" terminal is not used. I like to saw the stud on the "r" terminal off on Pontiacs as it
sometimes gets in the way of the starter wiring. Just so you know, the purpose of the
"r" terminal is to provide a full 12 volts to the ignition coil for a little extra spark intensity
on starting the car. The "r" wire on cars that use it goes straight to the bat side of the coil.
Once the car starts, the "r" terminal is de-energized and the ignition coil goes back to getting
7 volts on the bat side through the resistor wire from the ignition switch. One reason I think Pontiac
decided not to use the "r" terminal is that sometimes the solenoid would go bad internally and the "r"
terminal would stay hot with the key off and when that happened you could n't shut off the engine till
the "r" wire was disconnected from the coil.

[brokengto]

Like to thank everyone for their help-got the new cable today-put the purple wire on the correct terminal-put the jumper clip in the neutral safety wiring and it turns over!!