header tube almost touching spark plug?

impreza13 · Sep 10, 2013

hi all, so I put my headers on today and what a chore. the passenger side was cake but the drivers side not so much. I have a 383 with hooker super comp darkside ceramic coated full length headers. well managed to get them in and bolted up, not a lot of room between steering box (cpp 500 series power steering box) and header about a heavy 1/8th I think I can deal with that my question is the 3rd plug back on the drivers side is so close to the header tube you can't get a socket on it. if I did put a plug wire on it it would definitely melt. what can I do I read there are shorter plugs but not sure how to find out which ones I would need I have autolite 3924 in it now. any help would be great, thank you guys and gals in advance.

m21man · Sep 10, 2013

accel actually sells a shorty "header plug" for a chevy 350 that you can get from most parts stores (pep boys/adavnce auto), I had the same issue with my dart pro 1 angle plug heads, I had to use a breaker bar and actually bend the header tube for some more clearance!, because even the shorty plug would not fit

67Rally · Sep 10, 2013

I used the accel shorty plugs with my old vortec heads. The other thing that helps is to use an open end socket wrench on your spark plug socket when installing/removing, rather than a traditional socket wrench.

The ones you want are Accel 0414S or Accel 0416S (S for shorty) depending on the heat range.

Everett#2390 · Sep 10, 2013

It's one of the idiosyncracies of owning a First Gen and installing full-length headers.

impreza13 · Sep 10, 2013

Thank you guys thats a good start ill give the accell a try, thanks agian

Fred Ficarra · Sep 10, 2013

Rich, do like I did and trash the super comps. Easily the worst header on the planet. If your setup is similar to mine, I had to lead the plug wire from the back of the head and under the tube. It can only be changed or checked from under the car. The #5 plug access is grounds for criminal charges. Do you want to know how I really feel? The full list is on my wed site. Of course those POS are in the barn awaiting a swap meet.

flat tire · Sep 10, 2013

I really love my hooker super comps:noway:
it takes me 1 hour and 45 minutes to change the 4 plugs on the driver side

i place a blanket on a piece of card board and slide it under the car to catch the #5 and 7 plug that I usually drop about 10 to 15 times trying to get it started

67Rally · Sep 10, 2013

With the new LS engine/headers I can swap out all 8 plugs in about 10 minutes. Even less if I don't gap them...

impreza13 · Sep 10, 2013

Thank you fred,kevin,brent and everyone else. Ireally would like to leave them on there all hooked up it looks like the only one relly giving me issues is the third one back on the drivers side. Ill check out the accell plugs and see how much shorter they are. If they arnent short enough I might have to get creative with a hammer or something lol. Thank you all.

L30 327 · Sep 10, 2013

I used a lawn mower plug on my # 5 cyl to get more clearance. Very short plug worked great,same heat range as my other plugs. I have Dougs D368 headers and my only problem was # 5 tube was almost touching plug boot. Now I have about 1/4 inch.

impreza13 · Sep 11, 2013

Thanks Eric, so I think I need the one with 3/4 inch reach also need to be the gasketed seat type is that what you found? Thank you for another option. I was at the shop today and looking at it and I think if I could get a half inch shorter and run a boot protector I might have her made. I also might have to throw a spare wire in the trunk too lol.
Thank you 67 rally and 69&76 a tool im going to pick up now looks pretty handy anyways another one in the arsenal. so it sounds like this is kind of a common occurance huh. and is it also common for not much room around the other stuff as in power steering box, steering arm, idler arm etc. it seems if a quarter inch or more were givin there'd be a lot less worries. but on the bright side it clears the msd starter pretty well.

69&76 · Sep 10, 2013

Best tool for changing hard to get spark plugs.

http://www.harborfreight.com/21-piece-saemetric-go-thru-socket-set-67974.html

67Rally · Sep 10, 2013

That's what I use, and what I meant by open end socket wrench.

Vega$69 · Sep 11, 2013

The Shortys should work great. May need some hot socks on the wires though.

BTW I love the Supercomps. Have them on a 355, 383 an LS2 and My LS7

impreza13 · Sep 11, 2013

Vega$69 said:
The Shortys should work great. May need some hot socks on the wires though.

BTW I love the Supercomps. Have them on a 355, 383 an LS2 and My LS7

Thanks john, I'm just glad I have options and am able to probably use them. I love the way they look with the black ceramic coating :yes:. is the area around your pwr steering box, idler, etc kind of tight too?

header tube almost touching spark plug?

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