abcxyz91291

My car is so close to being done.

Total swap of everything in my 66 coupe, start to finish, and now we're coming down to the last few details.


I got a clutch cable conversion, and once the engine was in, we saw a possible issue;

The clearance in between the headers where the cable goes is very small. We wrapped the cable very thickly with high-temp wrap, and then put a reflective sleeve over the outside. The thermal padding on the cable is about a half inch all the way around it, but it's touching the header tubes. My headers are ceramic coated.

My question is this; Is this a big enough problem that I should re-form the header tubes so the cable doesn't touch? Or is all the padding, and the ceramic coating enough to keep the cable from melting / getting too hot?


Give me your wisdom!

JamesW

If there is any way to pull the cable away from the header, give it a shot. Dimpling the ceramic coating will more than likely damage it.

I had a similary situation running Hedman long tube headers
http://www.midnightdsigns.com/james/.../cablewrap.jpg

I ended up swapping to a hydraulic clutch

fakesnakes

I also had the same issue and went with a mid-length header.

abcxyz91291

Sorry I took a while to reply.

If i only had to choose between either leaving it alone, and hoping it doesn't burn up, or cutting and re forming them, what should I do?

Half the people I ask think the amount of heat wrap on the cable is enough, as well as the ceramic coating on the headers, and half the people say it's still not enough clearance, and I need to give it some attention.

guitarman376

Even with all the insulation, headers get HOT! I know my ceramic coated sometimes get an outside temp of 400+ degrees. Save yourself from future problems and find another way.

abcxyz91291

Not what I wanted to hear

But thank you for the advice, It's better to do it right then have a melted clutch cable.

pootypeters

I don't have header wrap on mine and I also have the cable conversion kit with the heat shield and my cable is about an inch away from the headers and I haven't melted the casing yet. I know there is a big difference between getting close to and actually touching those bad boys so it's a tough call. What kind of headers are you running?

abcxyz91291

I have dynomax full length ceramic coated headers

here's the part number WLK-86124


I'll upload a picture in a day of what it looks like now, the clearance and everything

pootypeters

The reason I ask is because it seems that choosing a pair of headers that is compatible with the cable clutch setup is a recurring problem with everyone. You can maybe wrap that section of header with the heat tape as well to add some extra heat protection. Yeah, some pictures would help.

palerider

Might be all right but anything touching the headers just does not sound like a good setup.