headerpipe too near heaterhouse

i am in doubt what to do... one of my header pipes comes soo near to the heaterhouse that there is hardly any space left. i have taped some thermotape between the pipe on the heaterhousing.. but still in doubt if that is safe enough not to  get my vette on fire.  the aluminium on the thermotape already have burnmarks.. .. my idea was to cut something out of the heaterhouse so there is some more space between headerpipe and heaterhouse?



any advice?

tia
art-corvette

art-corvette2006-10-04 06:12:36

Art, rather than cut up the car, I would modify the offending header tube. It would mean removing the header to do it, but, it would be better in the long run.
You can mark the area on the tube first, and then take the header off. With a large socket laying on the tube, you can gently(bash) hit the socket on the tube with a large hammer, and have a nice, smooth indentation right where you need it. It helps to heat the area with a torch, but it's not 100% necessary. The minor recurvature of the tube isn't gonna hurt the performance any.

I would also still have the insulation there on the box, for added protection.

thanks for the reply Joel,  for me it is easier to cut a little piece out of the heaterhouse and repair that from the inside of the house since my dashboard and the heater radiatior is not installed yet .
but you were right.. only i should have known before i put the body on the frame
my question was more if it would be safe enough to keep it as it is now  with the pipe almost touching the heaterhouse with just that thermotape inbetween or making  some more space between

art-corvette

It looks pretty scary to me, Art! I would definitely do something. If it's empty inside right now, then that would probably be the thing to do. Check the heater core with it in the box, to see just how much you can remove, without causing a problem putting the core back in when you're ready.


Actually... now that I think aboot it...that is where the A/C evaporator is, not the heater core. The heater core is on the inside of the firewall, the A/C evaporator in on the outside, where the header pipe is touching. So...it is the A/C evaporator that will need to be checked for clearance.
If you plan on having A/C that works, that's gonna have to be well insulated!
I would be afraid of that getting so hot that it melts/deforms the fiberglass box there. It is possible, if it got hot enough, to catch fire. You can cut/modify the box for more clearance, and then maybe install some sort of metal(alum/steel) heat shield on the box.

Always something... I hafta agree with Joel on this one. I would definately mark the offending spot and remove the header to correct the bend. (Meaning cut it out and weld in a new bend. I have had to do this before with headers bought to fit. (fit what?) It is extremely frustrating! Exspecially when ya just wanna get er done!
In the long run it will probally save ya some pain and mental anguish if somethin does happen bad. At least that way ya won't be singin I wish I had fixed that right when I had the chance.

I agree.  If you cut the housing it could mess with the HVAC air flow.  By all means modify the header.

i got convinced that i had to do something about it...and when taking of the thermotape i even noticed it already had a small burn hole it in.. but stuborn as i am i choose for cutting a little part off the heaterhouse   .. to my idea a much easier solution since i still had to install the heater and dashboard etc .....  it gave a space between the header and heaterhouse of almost 1 inch.
i glueed the thermotape from the inside of the heaterhouse so that sits rock solid :)










it gave only a small change on the inside so it won't have hardly any efect on the airflow.

all in all.. another worry taken away

art-corvette

Well...Look at you go!!!
Looks like that should work, Art! Now, you gots ta clean all the fiberglass grindings off the engine!!!

Looks like a good solution.  Good going.

who's headers came with the fitment problem? (which brand)huk_finn2006-10-09 06:13:59