That's exactly what I did. I sliced away the material that held the wire in place. It will be another week before I have time to finish it. My current plan is to use JB Weld or fiberglass epoxy to hold the new wires in place, and then fill and smooth over the epoxy with something like bondo. I'm not sure if bondo specifically will take the heat from sitting directly over the engine, but I'm sure I can find something at the auto store.
If I ever replace the wires in the future, then I'll just cut them off a couple inches form the coil and use a splice joint to add new wire material. I just figured it was time to remove the original wires since they were more like plastic than rubber.
I used a dremel with a grinding wheel to cut through the coil casing. It cut well, but made a bit of smoke and sent little pieces of molten plastic flying around. If you go that route, then do it outside or with good ventilation, and wear eye protection.
When slicing the material away, make sure to slice length-ways with the wire. Cross-ways slices will leave ugly scars on the coil casing. The last half inch or so of the raised hump that encases the wire should be left alone as it is a direct path into the coil. I cut too far into it and broke through to the coil cavity in one area. There is plenty of room around the coil, so it wasn't damaged, and it is not oil filled, so I can just fill in the hole. I'll take pics tonight, and post the whole thing when I'm done in a week or so.
Camelman