Cable clutch friendly long tube headers?

I'm going to post this in 5.0 and classic tech since it applies to both.
(Cross posting not allowed, removed by moderator)

What I have:
I have '65 mustang with a '86 302 block with '85 mustang HO heads and a '95 T5 I added in. I originally had Headman long tube headers that were set up for the manual shift linkage on my old 3 speed.

My issue:
When I added the T5 I switched from manual linkage to a cable clutch but this puts the cable running through the headers(like the manual linkage did). And even with heat shielding it's just to hot and starting to melt the linkage shield(which is what I figured would happen).

I decided my best bet would be to change headers from the '65 long tubes to '85 long tubes(in most cases the '95 headers were the same part number). I know that some '85 mustangs had standard transmissions with cable clutch. The issue is the Flowtech headers I bought must be for an automatic as it puts the tubes in direct path with the shift fork.

Does anyone know of any cable clutch friendly long tube headers for this engine/transmission set up or would it be easier to get 5/8 tubing and modify my headmans? I'm not trying to break my bank with $900 headers either, I'd like to keep cost around $200. Anyone got any input on this?

Also the Flow Tech's were a horrendous fit, One tube sticks out 3inches for no apparent reason...