The starter under the intake manifold is not that big of a deal. The Toyota v8s are the same way, and I have replaced exactly one of those in hundreds of thousands of miles. It took one weekend. Given that's a Toyota and not a GM, but a repair that needs done once every 150k or so taking a weekend doesn't bother me. And you can refresh your intake gaskets and fuel injector o-rings without it taking any extra time.
In reply to rambler68:
I believe anything north of the 2000 model year engines are ok. The Northstar used a composite intake manifold and those goofy half rubber half plastic gaskets, but I have never heard of any leaking issues.
Older Northstars backed out the head bolts.
The best thing you can do is research the hell out of them.
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