87 Monte Carlo SS aerocoupe -2nd chance-

[-83MONTESS-]

It's coming together nicely! I VHT painted my headers on my old car, lasted about a week of beating on it, have you considered wrapping them?

I really don't wanna wrap them. In my opinion even the nicest header wrap jobs look like sh*t and lead to rust quicker than just leaving them bare metal.

I have heard a lot of good and a lot of not so good about header paint. A buddy of mine painted a set of headers for his small block with the VHT and got a full drag season out of them before the paint started wearing. They still look good and he didnt even blast them down like I did. All he did was lay them out in the sun for a few days to cure.

 

[-83MONTESS-]

When I put my body back on the frame I had bought a four body bolts longer then what is used so I could hover the body over the frame and get the long bolts started. Then drop the body down to put in the proper bolts after measuring everything a few times to make sure the body was on straight

I didnt think of that. Im just glad that I got all the bolts in and tight except for the few I gotta cut out from the top. I was really dreading it but it went smooth and hopefully never has to be done again.

 

[84_SS]

I really don't wanna wrap them. In my opinion even the nicest header wrap jobs look like sh*t and lead to rust quicker than just leaving them bare metal.

I have heard a lot of good and a lot of not so good about header paint. A buddy of mine painted a set of headers for his small block with the VHT and got a full drag season out of them before the paint started wearing. They still look good and he didnt even blast them down like I did. All he did was lay them out in the sun for a few days to cure.

I was just reading about this Duracoat stuff, I'm thinking about coating my exhaust and my cold side piping in it. They use it on firearms and it sounds pretty durable if done right from what I've read.

 

[pontiacgp]

headers rot out from the inside faster then they do from the outside

 

[565bbchevy]

I really don't wanna wrap them. In my opinion even the nicest header wrap jobs look like sh*t and lead to rust quicker than just leaving them bare metal.

For my application I use header wrap and have never had any rust issues and in my opinion it is best at reducing underhood temperatures compared to ceramic coatings and I have never seen any kind of high temp. paint that will last all that long.
Installing header wrap takes patience and following procedures but it really is more for race applications and would not be durable in a daily driver situation.

 

[Mrockatansky]

I got my headers blasted with Cerakote thermal coating and although can't tell you about the results as the motor hasn't been built yet, can tell you that all the research I did led me to go with this process for both the heat reduction in engine bay and aesthetic value.

Don't particularly like the look of header wraps either, unless on a cafe racer motorcycle.

 

[-83MONTESS-]

headers rot out from the inside faster then they do from the outside

Makes sense but with the set of wrapped headers I had they had pin holes after a year of semi-daily driving. I had the set of out-of-the-box paint Hookers on the big block for going on 2 years now and even though the paint is gone in a lot of areas they are still clean and solid.

I figure if I can get a season out of these and live with the shitty paint while I get everything dialed in I can always pull em off later to get coated or bite the $600 bullet and get the same ones I have just already coated from Hooker.

 

[-83MONTESS-]

For my application I use header wrap and have never had any rust issues and in my opinion it is best at reducing underhood temperatures compared to ceramic coatings and I have never seen any kind of high temp. paint that will last all that long.
Installing header wrap takes patience and following procedures but it really is more for race applications and would not be durable in a daily driver situation.

Yea those look better than most of the wrapped headers I have seen. I'll worry about headers later. Right now I just wanted to get em painted so I can set the engine in and start the massive assembly I have ahead of me. I'll decide next winter what to do with em if they don't last.

 

[-83MONTESS-]

Got a few updates: I have the engine and transmission sitting in the frame now. I had to get the engine where it would sit and then lift it up a few inches to get the headers in. Went in pretty smooth. I also got my ignition box/coil panel made up and mounted, hydroboost with brake pedal installed, and the new master cylinder bench bled and installed. Like a dumbass I forgot to tighten the brakelines at the prop valve while the body was off so I had to tighten them while the brake fluid leaked everywhere.

I also got my new FiTech fuel pump mounted up in the spare tire well. There was really no better place to put it and it didn't come with a mounted bracket so I wrapped some rubber around it, used a 2.5" exhaust clamp and some sheet metal I had laying around. Its sturdy and does the job. Just curious of how loud it will be.

 

[drogg1]

Looking good. I'm excited hear your thoughts on the FITech system.