[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Ron,

The original starter is nothing special, standard Ford Small block manual trans unit, 153 teeth if I recall.

Yes, go for the mini-starter. There is a seller on eBay from Tenn. that has good units at a fair price. You need to run the positive cable right to the starter, not the solinoid. The starter is then energized by a smaller gauge wire from the dead side of the solinoid when the key is turned. The mini starters have more torque and are less affected by header heat.