Thread: Header Clearance

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Hi all,

I'm installing a set of headers on my Plymouth wagon (Nova subframe) and am dealing with very tight clearance issues with the power steering box. Right now I have a scant 1/8" of daylight at the top of the box. Do I need more room? Are there potential heat issues with the box?

Thanks, Bud

"Do I need more room?"

From the way you describe it, the headers are above the box. Since the motor will tend to torque over to the passengers side under power, you probably won't need more room for motor movement.

"Are there potential heat issues with the box?"

Possibly. I've done numerous engine swaps in my life and some of them have presented the situation you've outlined here. This is what I've done to prevent problems with the box.

The first thing you may want to do is to shim the motor mounts just a little to get another 1/8" to 3/16" of space between the header and the box. It won't hurt anything to raise the motor this little bit. Now, make a sandwich of aluminum with an air gap to position between the pipe and box. Using 2 pieces of thin sheet aluminum about 3" x 6". Drill holes through both on the corners and use a couple of flat washers between the sheets at the corners to make an "air sandwich" of maybe 1/8" thickness or so. You can use long screws that are threaded all the way to the head and are "way too long" in order to give you some mounting options. Air is a good insulator and if you mount this between the pipe and box properly, I don't think you'll have any heat problems.

I remember reading a story on Henry Ford and the Indy 500. He had 3 cars entered and all of them had the exhaust running too close to the steering box. During the course of the race, each of them cooked the lube out of the box and dropped out of the race one by one as the boxes seized up. I guess he was beyond livid and never entered another car in the Indy race after that.

techinspector1,

Thanks for the ideas. I may still have to bump the tube a bit - it runs straight down past the box and shimming the mounts may not gain me much room. I'll give it a shot.

Thanks, Bud