The exhaust manifold and pipe is very close to the steering shaft on my '53 Chevy. About 1/4" clearance. (SBC, Rams horn manifolds, Mustang II steering, 1978 Chevy collapsable steering shaft modified to mate to the rack). Any recommendations for a thin, durable heat shield or wrap that I can put on the shaft OR exhaust? The shaft is transmitting heat to the column something fierce!
With 1/4" clearance your are a little bit limited in the heat shield dept. I would think that regular exhaust wrap either on the steering shaft or the exhaust and then maybe some of that shiny aluminum tape like they use in the heating and cooling industry on the steering shaft itself.
I have a similar situation on my '46. SBC with a Saganaw 605 box so I had to route my exhaust around the box. I used header wrap around the pipe but what really helped was a PS cooler. You don't mention what steering box you have but it is a power rack, it worked for me. I found a great wrap, a lot thicker from McMaster Carr, I'll try to find the part no. for you.
For the header wrap, log onto the McMaster-Carr web site. Type in "insulation" and then "high temperature fabrics". Great stuff, cheaper and thicker than the header wrap sold in speed shops. The stuff I used was PN 8817K86, 2" x 1/8" thick. You can get any width and any thickness from them.
No steering box at all - Mustang II has rack-and-pinion steering. I never thought of a cooler, although I don't know if I'd have room for it. (Between the V-8, power steering pump, and air conditioning it's pretty tight in there!) I'll check out the McMaster-Carr stuff. Thanks. I never thought of the reflective tape. I already have some of that in my shop. Worth a try I suppose. I was considering a sleeve rather than a wrap for the shaft?
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