modifying header tubes

[hemi68charger]

Hey gang..

I have my friend's '70 Challenger over at the house. It has a 383 with TTI headers on it and the ugly-idler-arm-hitting-a-header-tube bug is there. Don't really have a lot of room to shim the motor since it has an aftermarket intake and carb on it, thus the air cleaner is already pretty close to the hood. So, we're thinking of dimpling the header tube at the spot the idler arm is hitting it. I will use a curved surface, probably an impact socket with heat. I was thinking of getting a simple handheld propane torch to heat the tube up prior to attempt at the dimple... You think a torch like this would be sufficient heat to get the metal hot enough to bend?

[Hemidog]

I just did this last week The #3 cylinder kept burning the spark plug boot.

The propane torch worked perfectly, used a round solid steel bar between the header and hammer.

[hemi68charger]

I just did this last week The #3 cylinder kept burning the spark plug boot.

The propane torch worked perfectly, used a round solid steel bar between the header and hammer.

Awesome.. Thanks for the reply !!! That gives me more confidence to do this very thing.. I will try to do this with the header still on the car and see how that goes first before taking it off.....

[Hemidog]

I just did this last week The #3 cylinder kept burning the spark plug boot.

The propane torch worked perfectly, used a round solid steel bar between the header and hammer.

Awesome.. Thanks for the reply !!! That gives me more confidence to do this very thing.. I will try to do this with the header still on the car and see how that goes first before taking it off.....

Cool  let us know the result