Hard cranking engine

FIrst off let me be clear this is a small block motor that I've bee messing with for a few years now. Did a cylinder head, cam, Intake upgrade and also installed a mini high torque starter for header clearance only. This thing cranks over very hard like it has to much timing in it. My base line with the old set up Has not changed in the distributor. 12-15 degrees at Idle and 36-38 total@ 3000 rpms . now it has had 2 optima batteries and I even sent the starter back to the company to have it checked and recheck for any problems and they said its fine. Now I really don't like the cam for the engine and the customer service sucks and will always blame something else other than his parts. Is it possible that a cam could be to far advanced to cause this kind of problem?

Ace

You didn't mention how much compression you're running, and is this a race deal or a street car? Using an MSD box or something similar?....If so, is there an option for a start retard? That's probably your best solution. I doubt it's a cam advance situation. Wrong starter?.....There are lots out there that will spin the engine and the tires at the same time.

Poor man's remedy: A switch in the 12V source to the coil. Spin the engine with the coil switched off, then light the fire. Sometimes helps.

What kind of starter & how is it wired?

How does it crank with the ign off?