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Hi there!
You sure do have a very interesting car on your hands and have too say I have not had the joy of owning a car quite like yours but have seen one on the TV like it. Its name was "KIT." (:-)
Since yours can tell the time of day you could try starting it, the first time for the day, only in a dark garage but make sure the clock was set for 9:00 everytime! (:-)
Funning aside, I am sure the time of the day has nothing to do with it.
I can say from experience that these cars suffer from an earlier history (my '78- on up in CIS) of a weak electrical system in overall design. Most of this lies within in the charging system.
Accessories were added on in the later years than beefed up the alternators size. Their regulators are now made electronic plus doing away with the external harness.
If you are still running the older setup it could have declined in performance due mostly to corrosion of copper cables and connectors.
The main cables and their respective ends you need to look at are going from the alternator under the engine and around to the starter terminal that the positive cable from the battery connects.
Charging currents travel that path and battery power to the starter share that common point.
Then there is always the negative ground cable from the battery to the engine block and a smaller cable that grounds the body of the car for all functions of the rest of the car.
Any weaknesses in these pathways effect repetitive starts, longevity of battery performance of which you describe as being rather funky!
If the starter motor cannot get all the current it needs it will spin slower and thus the engine compresses it fuel charge more slowly.
Same for ignition systems as they get starved for power under heavy power drains or fade outs!
It is at the end of the Daisy Chain!
I have never heard a starter motor cough but wheezing might be a sound it could make if the bendix engagement device was weak and spun out too early when the engine should have hit.
Starters in these cars are very robust. Unless this car has seen a lot of days of bad tune ups the solenoid may be worn. A 134,000 miles of cranks is nothing for original equipment starters!
If the battery is low in capacity, the result is the same. Old batteries or cruddy charging circuit paths will result in the same temperament you describe and it can be day or night! (:-)
Short drives or loose drive belts will get the same results too!
How knowledgable are you with a digital voltmeter?
There is a couple ways to poke and prod answers from these cables that you would hope a "professional" whiz bang mechanic could do for free! But..... don't hold your breath.....and it takes about that long for each one too!
I have written about this before and it may be in the material that CB put in his post for you to look into!
You are right, that its the simplest of things that lie right in front of you, that you just wish, you could catch grinning at you!
Armed with the right visions and thoughts you can smile back, and say "got-cha!"
Phil
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