"John", - On Winged1, I removed the tattered remains of the heat shield, and couldn't face the prospect of the same configuration going back in. There are a number of "thermal protection blankets" out there ... I chose ThermaCool. They make a little blanket that wraps around the starter, and is retained by a couple of band clamps. The procedure for installing these blankets is to partially remove the starter, wrap the blanket, and then reinstall the starter. Very simple, and it seems to work great. I know that you are interested in keeping your car "stock", but this may be a wise upgrade (IMHO). Toby Peterson VIN 2248 Winged1 --- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "John Elgersma" <delorean@xxxx> wrote: > When I removed my RH manifold and installed a new gasket, I also > removed the starter heatshield at the time. The asbestos was so > disintegrated that I left it for the time-being.