1990 camaro 400 sbc swap. when i get up in the morning the starter works like a champ and starts like it should. after i drive around for 10 min turn the car off then start it again the starter struggles to engage the solenoid all the way and clicks and barely turns the engine over. if i drive it for over 30 min then turn the car off and try and start it, the starter just clicks and keeps trying to engage the starter but wont turn the engine over. i put an aluminum heat shield between that starter and the header, didnt help. never had this problem with the 350 sbc i had in it before (it had the same headers on it the 400 has now). got a new starter anyway just to try it, that didnt help. only way the car will start again is if i let it sit for about an hour so it can cool down then it will start gain. i dont really want to wrap my starter in heat wrap because that looks messy and i dont know if it will fix the problem. Any ideas or comments would be appreciated. thanks.

 

Yeah, a gear reduction mini-starter off a 96-up Vortec truck motor. They draw WAY less current than a full sized starter and shave a few pounds off the car to boot. Fit around headers a lot easier too. You can get them rebuilt for cheap at Autozone, etc. Even cheaper off FleaBay.

I'm assuming you've checked you battery cables, have clean connections, good grounds, etc., etc. No starter will help if you got bad electrical connections.

Heat is the enemy of all thing electrical. If it's marginal when cold, it's toast when hot.

 

thanks for the response!! i just might try that. a mini starter makes sense, draws less amps and is smaller so it will not be as close to the header as the stock starter. I cant 100% say that my terminals on the starter are clean.... when i did the engine swap 4 months ago they were clean then but i guess they could have some crap on them now. i will check that first and if that doesnt work then the mini starter will be my next purchase.

 

If you have a 400 block drilled for both starter flexplate combos you are worlds ahead.
I use the small flexplate on my 400 with a 88?- 96 vette mini starter. weighs 10 lbs and sounds nifty.