Does the exhaust manifold have to be removed to get at the starter bolts and cable connections? The heat shield is in the way of getting to the top bolt. Any help would be appreciated.

You can do it without removing the manifold but it is a giant pita, not a fun job. Used to haze new mechanics by making that the first job they did here at the shop, took one guy 8 hours lol. I usually attach the cables first then install.

I used to install a new starter every summer in my old '71 Hemi Charger, & never removed the manifold. The heat shield was a bit of a pain, finally after 2 years I just left the heat shield off. Didn't seem to make much difference.