[85_SS]

I'll start this off by noting that a few years ago I had problems with an intermittent hard start issue that turned out to be the ignition wire being too close to the block, resulting in the insulation burning off and causing what I believed to be a partial short when cranking:
http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=678538

...I fixed that up and was careful to keep the wiring away from the block and manifold (as much as possible - it's awful tight in there). That was three years ago and not a single problem since then.

Fast forward to yesterday and I took the GTO out for only the second time this year to a local Father's Day car show. Car started fine in the morning, and I even moved it (while hot) about 10-15min after I got there. When the show was over, it started fine again and I parked in the driveway when I got home. After wiping down and parking my other car, I went to go start the GTO and it cranked well, but didn't catch (I'm think I mistakenly pumped the pedal and flooded it)... went to try again and it just died out and didn't want to turn over again. I (luckily) got out to pop the hood and let it cool off and I immeditely see a fair amount of smoke coming out from the breather where the heat riser connects. First thought was unburnt fuel from the no start (which makes no sense)... but then I barely heard some crackling and caught a whiff of burning rubber - it immediately clicked what the smoke was from and I sprinted to the garage for a couple 1/2" wrenches to disconnect the battery. I loosened the negative first and when I went to pull it off of the battery, the cable pulled right out of the connector:


Had this happened anywhere else (like at the show), the car would have been up in flames... and had I not thought to pop the hood to let it cool off, same thing. I can't believe how "lucky" I was - if this is going to happen, it couldn't have happened at a better place or time.

Here's what the positive cable looked like at the starter (before touching anything):


Here's both cables removed:


At first I was thinking the positive cable must have shorted somewhere and hopefully it's only the cables that were damaged - everything looks fine, but I won't know until I get it fired back up. The car just had a stardard aftermarket cable with no protective loom anywhere. After researching this a little further, I found that the ram air cars are supposed to have a tube (RPE629A) that mounts to the DS motor mount to keep the cable in position (I'll have to pull the motor mount to drill the mounting holes for the tube).

I already have the proper spring ring cables and battery topper that I planned to put on when I bought a new battery (the topper won't fit or look right on the Optima that's in the car now). These cables come with the protective loom and I will order the tube shortly, along with some extra loom to go over the ignition harness for extra measure. I ordered the solenoid heat sheild at the same time, but never bothered to install it as I never had any issues after correcting the partial short on the ignition wire.

That being said, I don't see any obvious signs of the cable shorting, which got me thinking that perhaps the starter itself shorted out? I plan to pull it out soon as well as I will need the room to get the motor mount out, but any suggestions on this? Does a mini starter offer much more clearance?