I've had my Barth sence March and with all the things I've had to do to it,I now have another problem. When the engine is cool there is no problem with cranking. After getting things good and hot It will not crank until it cools down a little. It's not a problem with compression or battrey. You turn the key and there is nothing. The other day when we took it out for the weekend Our trip takes about 2.5 hrs I tried somthing. as soon as I shut it down and checked and as usual it didn't turn over. I took an electric leaf blower and stuck it up in the wheel well blowing air over the starter area for a few minutes. I jumped in and whatya know She cranked right over. Is there a problem with heat from the manifold on the 454's? I checks all the topics relating to starters and heat in general and came up with nothing. If I need to replace the starter I'll do so but hate to spend the money if it's not necessary. I'm debateing on installing a leaf blower in the area above the passenger wheel well with a dryer vent hose blowing on that area which should also bring the air temp down in the dog house. I would run it when getting ready to stop and for a short while after shutting down. Good or bad idea. Thanks for any and all imput.

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This is a problem that many have had. I know in street or hot rods header heat greatly affects the starter. I don't have a 454, but I bet someone real soon will tell you how to correct same. In my street rod I made up a deflector and wrapped with tin foil and bounced the heat away from the starter. I see no reason to set up a leaf blower or such to correct same. I bet before the night is over you will have a proven method. Don't give up it ain't as bad a problem as you might think.

Heat is a problem, on my 84 I cut out 3/8"on exhust manifolds webs between each port then had it planed flat,no more exhust leaks.I also took heating duct about 3"by 7" mounted just under front bumper and ran a 6"flex back to cool both sides of the motor,forces a lot of cool air into engine compartment and right on exhust manifolds on starter problems ,runs cooler GOOD LUCK BRES

You may have a bad solenoid which mounts on top of the starter. They get burnt to a crisp. You can buy a factory made stainless heat shield or wrap the starter in a Thermotec blanket. I painted the starter silver just to reflect the heat. These parts can be bought at Summit Racing or Jeg's Racing. They also have mini starters which are farther from the heat. Bill H. is the expert in heat shielding with his 502. There are a lot of homemade shields that can be made out of galvanized sheet metal flashing.

Boy, I have never had to wait for it to cool down but sometimes when we stop for gas etc. There is about a 30 second delay and my heart drops to my knees each time. I have a pdf from GM on the hot start problem I will email it to each of you.

Thanks for all the good advice guys. Will remove the starter this weekend and do whats needed. I am also going to install some type of air induction forcing the hot air out of the dog house. The engine always runs hotter than I feel it should,hopfully this will help all the way around. One of these days I'll get some pics of my old girl on here. Dave Thanks for the great site bringing all us Barthers together. Im going to send you the money for one of the disc with the photo on it and a little somthing to help with the site.
Bootdude