I have a self built 454 in my '72 Nova. I started with a 70's 454 had a machine shop do all the machine work 30 over flat tops cut cast crank 10x10 comp cams ext energy 555 552 lift cam eldebrock tbi (100 cc)aluminum heads rpm air gap intake street demon 750 carb hei dist with spring curve kit with msd 6 plus box ect.This is the first engine I assembled with a friends help.I have the usual mess ups that I expected like oil leaks ond blow by from not using file fit rings,or going for the first ride wide open not breaking it in. The car runs great I been driving it for 3 years with 100 plus passes at the local drag strip getting 11.70s driving it to the track and home.The problem is when the car is hot it will kick back and ruin starters when restarting.I replaced the flex plate twice with new ones tried many starters even gear reduction type the best luck I had was with the cast iron stock type.What happens is the starter will engage start spinning the engine over then the engine will fire back and cause a grind after that the starter will not mesh correctly with the flex plate and make a nasty noise when cranking if I remove or loosen the starter and retighten it will quiet up some. I thought it was timing but I couldn't get it to stop I bought the msd box with 20 degrees of retard when cranking but it still did it but not as often . This has been a problem from day one and it is embarrassing.I love my pump gas torque monster and want to get another one but need to fix this first.Any help will be greatly appreciated thanks Jerry  

Is the small stabilizing strap from the rear of the starter to the block still there? When a big block kicks back it can jack the starter sideways if the strap is gone. The mounting bolts alone won't hold it. The top long bolt that holds the starter together should have an extended, threaded shoulder on it. The strap goes from this to a corresponding hole in the block.  

I don't think that bracket is on there but I remember trying it. The gear reduction (small) starters don't have a place for that bracket.Why does the the thing kick back? It is probably only 10 to 1 compression? How do people start high compression big blocks?  

Jerry,

I was having the same problem with my 454 powered Jet Boat, and the best/cheapest fix I found was to add a small push/pull switch in the hot wire to my ignition system. Usually this is a result of slow cranking speeds due to high cranking compression, more ignition advance than the starter can handle, and Heat Soak, or a combination of the three. A big hint that this is the problem is that high pitched  whine from the starter when your trying to start it. With the extra switch, I just spun the engine for a second or so to makes sure it was up to speed, then pulled the switch to fire the ignitoin system. Worked everytime. The down side in a car would be if some one accidently hits it and kills the ignition, so make sure it's protected so that doesn't happen. Also, a lot of high compression race cars go to 16 volt starting systems, but this is a pretty big dollar mod (special battery, alternator, and possibly starter (but not sure about the starter, 12 Volt ones may stand up to it). On our dragster, we use 24 Volts, and buy starters with a lifetime  warranty, because the 15 to 1 comp. ratio is really hard on them. The rear bracket mentioned in the other post is also very important, I've found a starter hanging under the car by the wires before because it didn't have one, and the kick back broke the starter nose clean off! Several companies make starter insulation kits that wrap the starter body and solenoid in heat reflective material. I recomend this over wrapping the exhaust because the starter won't get out enough to induce metal fatigue due to trapped heat, but the exhaust very well may.