What would cause slow cranking? The car is an '84 240 wagon with 350,000 miles, manual transmission.

Battery and alternator are less than two years old. I haven't checked voltages yet, but I am fairly sure that the alternator is charging.

Symptom is that on the first start of the day, the car cranks very s-l-o-w-l-y. Chug........chug.........chug.....chug....start. If I turn it off even just a couple of minutes later and restart, it cranks at normal speed.

I wonder if there could be a bad cell in the battery? I drove it three hours yesterday and after sitting over night it was back to its slow cranking again this morning. But, I made five or six stops during my drive yesterday, and it fired right up each and every time.

Or could the problem be mechanical? Starter needs to be replaced? Engine tough to turn over when it's cold due to wear - I'm not even sure that is possible, since usually engines get "loose" with age and high mileage.