any ideas on starter grinding and noise i bought a brand new starter for my 454 and shimmed it it sounds fine after cranking it a coule times then it starts to grind and make very not awesome noises dammit this sucks help please

i would also like a solution to this, as i would prefer the smaller. lighter, stronger high torque model

I know buy a Ford     

the starter is a autolite ro from checker it was cranking good with no shims then i put some gas in the carb to try and start it and the starter started grinding again o and the oil is kind of milky should i change it and be alright or do i need to pull the motor and do work

The main reason it is necessary to shim a Chevy starter is because remanufactured starter housings are bead blasted every time it is rebuild and looses a little material every time.  This along with slight casting flaws with the blocks and starters cause the starter drive to be to close to the flexplate.  Most high torque starters are using a new nose cone and don't require any shims.

As far as your starter grinding after a short time, I would guess that it has a bushing that is tight that starts to drag when it gets hot.

What was the reason for replacing the previous starter anyway?

Are you 100% positive you're using the stock Chevrolet starter bolts? They have knurls on them at the beginning of the threads and the knurls are used to line up the starter.

doh, I forgot to mention the bolt thing.

Chevy starters are supposed to have an L shaped bracket from the stud on the front of the starter to the block above the pan rail. If not installed, the starter will move away from the flywheel/flexplate after a few starts. Most parts guys have trouble finding the part#, the wrecking yard is a good place to score one. Also, the bigblock and smallblock ones are different.   TIMINATOR

Thanks! I'll put mine on.