Hot engine - no start

[g356gear]

On hot days when my bigblock gets up to temp, it does not start. It's not all the time, just occasionally. When it does it, I don't even get a click out of the starter. If I wait 15 minutes, it starts right up. Is this a case of a starter issue or just excessive heat from the headers on the starter that could be answered with an insulator wrap on the starter? Thanks for any feedback.

[Lowend]

You are almost certainly overheating the start solenoid.
Get a Moroso Heat Shield and you'll be fine

[My427stang]

I agree completely, lack of a click means the solenoid is getting hot. Sometimes if its real bad, a little strategically positioned header wrap can help too, as can ceramic coated headers if you dont already have them.

[Lowend]

If all else fails, a couple of companies offer remote solenoid kits.

[Yoda4561]

Yep, it's heat soak. Solenoids don't like to work properly when overheated. There are basically two solutions; prevent the headers from overheating the starter, and getting a remote solenoid installed. I think both are good ideas, and neither one is very expensive. Remote solenoids kits are under 30 dollars, and if you can source a ford remote solenoid and do the wiring yourself it's damn near free. I suggest trying the heat shield/header wrap first, and if that doesn't nail the issue install the remote solenoid. If you installed the remote solenoid first (like I did on my cutlass), even though it will probably start like new every time, get a heat shield on the list of things to do. Overheating it like that can't be good for starter life, and replacing a starter with headers in can be a real PITA.

[g356gear]

I picked up a Thermotec starter wrap today to try. We will see if that does the trick.

[PT_79_TA_461]

If all else fails, a couple of companies offer remote solenoid kits.

i agree, the remote kit is the way to go...

[68sixspeed]

If the remote kit doesn't get it fixed, changed the starter. I bake one out every couple years. I've changed the battery one time thinking it was cranking slow and starting hard hot... it was the starter just getting weak. The heat shields are a good if they will clear your headers, but I found the wrap insulation actually baked one out sooner so I stopped running the wrap.