[Junkyard Dawg]

I have one of those big bulky OEM starters on my '71 Chevelle's 350 sbc. It seems to start the engine fine cold but if the engine is allowed to run for awhile, if you shut the engine off and then try and immediatley restart it the starter won't crank the engine over.

If you wait 15 minutes or so and then try it the starter finally cranks the engine over again.

I've replaced the battery with an Optima. Does this sound like a bad starter? Or is the starter getting too hot from the exaust heat? (the engine does have headers)

 

[John_Muha]

When it's hot, jumper solenoid (S) terminal to the large battery cable terminal on the solenoid. A screwdriver works. Should tell you if the problem is towards the starter or towards the wiring.