1972 chevy pickup ignition problems...

[chevman51]

I have a 1972 chevy pickup 3/4 ton 4x4 with a big block. I has been running great and one day I was driving it and the cab filled up with smoke. The problem is in the ignition and pig tail. The 2 red wires coming from the pig tail of the ignition are melted about 3 inches. When it first started smoking I turned off the truck right away let the truck cool down and when i turned on the key to the start position I could hear my starter turning. Since then I cannot make it do that again. I turned the truck on and let it idle and watched the ignition and I saw smoke coming out of the metal housing of the ignition. I pulled the pig tail off and it looks perfect. I also held onto the two melted wires to see if they got hot again and they did not. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Classic Heartbeat]

If you are running headers, I would look at the purple starter wire. The headers may have melted the insolation off of the wire causing it to short out. WES