when cold it starts fine when hot it wont start, just bought the car.. previous owner said something about starter.. how do i get to the starter.. the bolts seem to be hidden behind manifold

No, it's nothing to do with the starter! The starter is probably new. Ask the previous owner the last time it was replaced. I had one of these cars. In the early 1980's, Corollas had a problem with the fan that cooled the starter. This caused the starter to shut down, and not start back up until the starter cools. All you have to do is run a bypass line through the dash to the starter to override this. Sure, I wouldn't purposely use it all the time, but if the car won't turn over (which I'm sure is how it's acting, almost like it doesn't even have a battery), the this is about the only solution. All of the fans are like this, so it's not like you can just go get another one off another Corolla and expect it to work... It must be done this way...