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I'm sure this has been addressed before but I cannot find it. I have a 57 Bel-Air with a small block having headers that are right up against the starter. The starter has failed as I anticipated it would because of the excessive heat from the headers. My question: is there a smaller starter I can buy where the starting motor does not lay against the headers. I found one at Auto-Zone but the solenoid is off-set into the headers.
The real problem here is the headers. Any header manufacturer that had any sense or skill should have routed the header away from the starter. It's not like there isn't room to do that, there's plenty.
But now that you have those clunkers, if your block is drilled for a block mount starter, you can use an aftermarket mini starter. Not all 57 blocks and no 55-56 blocks are drilled for a starter, on those the starter mounts to the bellhousing. If the solenoid clearance is a concern, some mini starters have a "clockable" solenoid which can be used to increase clearance.