I had a similar problem for a while. I'll tell you how I fixed it, but I am not very proud of my methodology. There has
got to be a better way than this....
After struggling with my heat exchangers for several years (and bending at least one exhaust stud), one day I got pissed-off at them while trying to re-install them. So I took them off the car again, figured out which way the tubes that mate to the heads needed to move, and then took my favorite BFH (Big Hammer) to them. After a few whacks (felt good, BTW!) they were much more in line with what I wanted. After I called the alignment good, I took a large file to the ends of the tubes to get them flat. They need to be flat with respect to each other so they will fit flat on the gasket in the head. I went over both tubes at the same time with a single motion of the file--that's why I needed a large one.
The filing makes a
lot of noise.
They seem to fit pretty decently, and it is a whole lot easier to install them now.
--DD
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Pelican Parts 914 Tech Support
A few pics of my car:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/gallery/Dave_Darling