Was at the river on Sat heading up river near Lazy Harry's amd ran out of fuel on one side. The elec. fuel pump fed the carb and hit the starter-- and it sounded like a coffee grinder. I suspected a broken nosecone oe a cracked starter mounting pad, but all the teeth are gone on the pinion gear. 4 starters in 2.5 seasons, last one in october 2011. (checkerzone rebuild)
Puttin in one of these:
http://cvrproducts.com/protorque-starters-chevrolet-gm-engines/
ON a side note 
THANKS to the jet boat guy that towed us to Lazy Harry's, wouldn't take money or beer .
Daniel
Mash on it
If you didn't already order,, maybe try a Proline from RB in Parker.
Are you putting a new flexplate or ring gear on the flywheel? If not,, you may end up hurting the new starter fairly quickly.
Make sure you use actual starter bolts to hold the starter in place,, if you use a generic bolt it can allow the starter to shift. Whatever starter you buy should have instructions about shimming and engagement,, important to get that right if you want it to last.
