The heads are AFR195 straight plug. The #7 plug is too close to the header tube to be put in. Hooker says its AFRs fault due to raised exhaust port. AFR says Hooker didn't bend them right. The best solution would be a shortie plug. Accel does not make one, 14mm, 5/8 hex, 3/4" reach, flat gasket. AFR said to dimple the header tube. Anybody have a solution to this? Did the search thing & found someone who cut down a plug to fit, but I am not to sure about the reliabilty of that.

 

I ran into the same problem you are having when I did my motor swap last year. I've heard of people making their own shorty plugs but I didn't like the idea of having to make a plug everytime I needed a fresh set of spark plugs. The hooker long tube headers aren't made for straight plug heads period, my Dart Pro 1's had the same problems your AFR heads do. I tried denting the tube but it looked terrible because it had to be dented so far and still didn't give me enough clearance. I ended up having the #7 tube cut and a new one welded in that bends out further giving more clearance. Even after doing all that I still wasn't happy with the fit of those headers because they hit the crossmember and the brake lines in several places. So I ended up buying a set of 1 5/8 full length hedmans and they bolted right in with no problems(only required one small dent to clear the crossmember). Atleast for me the Hooker 1 3/4 headers weren't worth the trouble. They didn't fit my car well at all, the 1 5/8 Hedmans fit great and cost about half as much. I really wanted the larger tube headers but to me the hassle wasn't worth it and I'm running very low 12's with a mild 383 with the 1 5/8 tubes so they don't seem to bee too much of a restriction.

 

There is no such shortie plug available on the market to my knowlege. I bought my AFR straight plug heads a few weeks back and had the same fruitless search for shortie plugs.

AFR's raised exhaust ports may not be the reaon for the interference- they also offset the plug slightly (1/4") towards the exhaust port versus a stock head. I thought it might cause problems with my headers, too, but in fact actually improved clearance, just by luck. Certainly no guarantees with the many different brands and styles of headers on the market.

There is always the time honored tradition of dimpling the header pipe for clearance....

 

I think I found a solution. Took an Accel 416 plug, unscrewed the connector tip & ground the stud down to the ceramic insulator. Then carefully broke about 3/8" off of the insulator, leaving the inner metal rod intact. Groud the rod to fit the tip & tapped it back on. It ohmmed out okay & fits good. I had the same problems with frame contact on the pass side. Energy Suspension poly mounts solved the problem by raising the engine up 3/4". Still had to do some serious cutting, grinding & rewelding on the control arm brackets, as have others on this board.