Where can I get a NEW (not remanufactured) starter????

I have replaced three of them on my '68 396 in the last month, and all have a problem when they get hot. They're noisy, and a mechanic (who's doing some carb tuning for me) said he tested it and it was drawing 600 amps.
NAPA can only supply remanufactured and I'm kind of worried about mail order, since I'll have to pay shipping if it comes to that.

Any help is appreciated.

Believe it or not Autozone has new and rebuilt starters. I just purchased one for my 86 truck for $89 and it seems to work well. This particular starter is also same one for early big blocks with the staggered bolt pattern. However if money is of no concern then you have many choices. The Autozone starter has a warranty and it required no shims. BTW Summit Racing has free shipping and only a small handling charge ans super fast service. http://www.summitracing.com/

What exactly is failing? Might be all you need is a genuine delco solenoid, they work much better than the "auto parts store" variety.

I am not familiar with BBCs at all, but half decent SBCs need a bracket on the starter nose to support it. I had a problem like that and the bracket really helped. It also used to break nose cones (damn if I know the right term for it)

Big battery cables helped too. No 4 gauge stuff. Save that for ground straps.

Doesn't GM (and after market companies) sell brand new gear reduction starters? I never used one, only seen them in ads & such.

Thanks, I'll do some more checking around.

I still have the bracket that attaches to the nose.
The car starts okay cold, but not when hot. Sounds like the solenoid, I know, but like I said before the starter is drawing 60 amps, and that's not right either.

60 amps, or 600 AMPS?

600 would indicate very low resistance, probably a bad motor, this would be extremely unusual.

60 amps would jive with a solenoid having a bad reaction to heat.

Here is your starter brace setup. One bolt to the block in predrilled and tapped hole, other end bolts up to the front of the starter on the case bolt that is extra long and threaded.
There are 3 sizes I think when you go to buy one, so measure twice, buy once. :)
http://www.brainerd.net/~knudsen/69RS/Misc.Stuff/StarterBrace.jpg

60 amps, or 600 AMPS?

600 would indicate very low resistance, probably a bad motor, this would be extremely unusual.

60 amps would jive with a solenoid having a bad reaction to heat.

Sorry, I meant 600 as in my first post.

600 amps would be a dead short....

I found a GM part no. for one (09000852) now I just need to find one that isn't over $200.00.
Sallee's site lists $221.76, my friendly neighborhood Chevrolet dealer, who gives our Camaro club members a discount wants $250.00 with the discount. They say retail is $287.99!

Starters always seem to be a problem. The heat from headers gets to them, and higher compression tends to take them out early. It seems you can't get a quality starter in an original configuration. I used a tilton starter on one big block and now just put a powermaster on my smallblock. These starters are small and lightweight and crank like heck. I really think these are the ticket to reliable starting for about 200 bucks. When I got mine and took a look at it, you can just tell they are a quality part. Use one on your big block and your starting problems will be over.