That darn LHD steering box!

You're right Dodgeman. I was getting steering box mixed up with gear box (we don't use those terms here in the US). So feral probably did say gear box originally. Thanks for all the ideas. I'll probably try some combination of grinding and compressing that tube a little, or bend the whole thing if I can make up some sort of jig to do it. Hey Feral, tell the manufacturer to give a little bit more clearence in that area and they could more easily sell them here. Even with shipping it's cheaper than a Nismo header, assuming the exchange rate stays about where it is. Well, maybe not when you throw in the $50 western union charge but there may be a way around that (paypal??). Thanks again
Michael

If it's hitting on the lower (American) driver's side then there's no load bearing there and you could just grind off some material, no?

Matt,
Some cars locally have trouble around the clutch cover area but most dont. I think there may be a small varaition in the OD of the clutch housings between gearboxes.
These headers are designed as a one fits all type and normally dont have much of a problem.

The US ones I have sold all have had this same clearance problem. Maybe your trans is slightly different diameter to ours???

Quote:Ummmm, i always thought that the gearbox & the transmision were one & the same thing. We usually use the word "transmission" when talking about autos, & "gearbox" when talking about manual transmisions, but they are pretty much interchangeable terms.
"Tranny" seems to be the US term for either type of gearbox /transmision.

I tend to think that if you can gradualy deform the tube, rather than beat it in, then you will not lose cross section or flow capability. By this i mean that if you can convert a section from round,.. to oval, or other shape, without pushing the wall of the tube inward, then the cross sectional area of the tube will remain pretty much unchanged.
Doing this may require a sturdy "G" clamp & a couple of shaped dies, maybee carved from wood, they need only to be able to spread the load over a small surface of the tube to allow deformation instead of crushing.
Just a thought.

What I was talking about was making a loop of steel to clamp around one pipe near the housing where it hits and run a tube back to some part of the engine or bell housing bolts so it pushes the tube away from where it hits. two gaskets just give some flexibility of position with minimal movement on the head face. If it was worth the effort this would be a way to keep the pipes pristine.

As side draught said, if a small dent was not a problem, the dent would have a very small effects on performance if any.

I have had that exact problem a couple of times with A series extractors and have solved it by use of a hammer on the offending runner.I think any loss of power would be negligable.

I'll try to get a pic showing where it hits and how it sits on the head. Feral thought it would hit the gearbox - not the tranny which would make more since. Or maybe it also hits the gear box when the wheel is turned one way or the other. I should try that.

Shouldn't any header made for an A-Series be able to clear the transmission whether auto or man?

The car is a manual. It's hitting the bellhousing, nowhere near the gear box. I figured if I made a smooth dent several inches long to keep it flowing it won't affect it too much except for the slight reduction in flow area of that tube (probably will still better than the stock exhaust). What concerns me is that it may rattle against the bellhousing or heat it where it makes contact. Maybe I'll need an insulator between the header and the bellhousing.

What I might try to do is build a wooden vice to grab all 4 tubes near the flange and try to bend the whole set of 4 at once. It won't take much I think. The wood will keep it from scratching and will keep pressure off the flange as I bend it. I'll just need a lot of leverage to bend all 4 at once. If that doesn't work maybe I"ll try your idea feral. But I'm not sure if thickening the gasket will help enough. Thanks for the ideas.
MIchael