Shifter cable woes

So I dragged my Cougar into the garage. Lo and behold, bad shifter cable #3.

You guys with aftermarket shifters, how the hell are you routing the cables so they don't go near the headers? the headers for a 429/460 and a C6 leave NO room. I'm about to track down a factory shifter, because this is ridiculous.

OK, it exists out infront of the shifter & circles around the passenger side keeping it above the trans crossmember. Loop around the back of the trans & tie it to the tailstock. You can't go above the crossmember on the drivers side so encase the cable in a metal tube/pipe (I just use a piece of 1/2 in. copper) & wrap the ends with some kind of heat protective tape. Been using this method for 25 years. Works great. If you have open headers make sure the pipe is long enough to protect against the blast area, but not too long where you can't turn the cable at the back of the tailstock. I hope I explained this clear enough?

I'm not sure & can't get to it at this time. I think it's about 10-12 in. long. Starting from where the cable nuts onto the pan bolt mounted bracket & it goes under the cossmember which is tight & gives it a downward angle. I just used a scrap piece I had around the garage. You could probably do a nicer job with some time. Mines just a race car.