[Gearhead1956]

Is that off the piece that runs between the engine and rear end under the exhaust manifold?

Mine is very close to muffler at wide open throttle. You most likely just need to do some adjusting, or bending on the linkage.

At some point it must be hitting the exhaust. If you had enough heat to melt that with a good air gap I believe you would have noticed the engine not running correctly, low power, engine getting tight. starting to seize.