The heat wraps that are made for starters and what have you will help shield the starter from the heat. They work in a similar fashion to the fire gear firemen wear when fighting a fire. The material is fire resistant and highly insulated. Same is true with header wraps and starter wraps.

Massey

Pop the starter off a junkyard car during your lunch break? Wow, good luck with *that*!
On my 94 dropping the starter was a total mofo. The gap between the block and the subframe was barely big enough to get the starter out and there there was the exhaust pipe and the transmission cooler lines... It was ugly.
With 131k miles on my starter I know it'll be coming out soon and I'm dreading it.

well my starter was going to be off but the spacing between the y-pipe and trans isnt big enough so i will finish pulling and prying after school lol.
i also bought this
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...1811&ppt=C0379
hopefully it will work great

my starter is acting up and its not that old so i ordered one. found at thermotech for 29 bucks, ordered a couple other insulators for the fuel lines that go by the y pipe. thanks for the info and good luck.