Ceramic coated headers

I've never spent the $$$, but the ceramic ones sure look nice! It's up to you....if you don't mind dingy rusty looking headers after a few years, then just bead blast the factory low temp paint off (rather than have it burn off right away) and squirt on some black high temp paint, and put them on. That's what I do. They usually end up a dark grey color on the top, and mud colored on the bottom.

If you find a nice friendly reasonable indepent shop, and it's a relatively straight shot, then $75-150 would be about right...but lately I've seen some rather high prices for exhaust work, and having dabbled in it myself, I understand why.

I bought a set of painted headers about two years ago, and they are showing surface scale in various spots. A buddy o' mine has the ceramic ones. He's had his for about 8 years, and except for where they have been hit by something, the finish looks good; would look better if he polished them once in awhile.

As for the rest of the system, I wanted a good set of duals out the back. One insane nutcase quoted me $1500. Must have been the musclecar "special". Well, JC Whitney sells exhaust kits for the early Camaro. The kit I ordered was a true duals kit, I think 2.25" or 2.5" diameter, and MANDREL bent, as I later learned. I installed it myself, along with some good mufflers, and had a shop weld the joints. Flows like gangbusters, and is pretty quiet. Bonus was it was cheap... 99 bucks at the time.

Ken

Note, also, the Ceramic Headers help contain heat from the engine compartment. Which helps keep the starter from heat soaking and degraded performance of ignition components from heat induced resistance.

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On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 14:25:05 -0400, "98 Camaro" puked:

One of the magazines this month had an article about relocating a Ford-style solenoid to the fenderwell to prevent that very problem. Something I am considering.

Not to mention, it makes it a lot easier to hot wire if I ever find the need. >:-)

-- lab~rat >:-) Do you want polite or do you want sincere?

....or if someone else has the need!

On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 16:02:04 GMT, J Forbes puked:

Heh, more than once my Mustang got me home from the beach or a party after losing my keys.

-- lab~rat >:-) Do you want polite or do you want sincere?

Yes, very common solution when heat shields or starter blankets do not work.

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I want someone to explain the Ford solenoid thing. If you use the Ford solenoid you still use the stock one. How does that help? Makes no sense to me. I could understand it if you removed the stock solenoid but it stays right where it is, and does exactly what it always did. Or, I missed something?? On my 460 powered 70 Maverick I took the firewall mounted solenoid off and it started much better. One less set of contacts and about

I have fender well exit ceramic coated headers on my 62 Chevy II. If they lower the heat I'd hate to experience regular headers. It so hot in that car you would never need a heater.

Al

A FORD soleniod is simply a remote soleniod. It is used in place of the OEM soleniod. You would usually mount it to the firewall. This gets it away from the header heat. It does not remove the heat, just gets the soleniod out of the oven. Headers typically have a large amount of heat release. And GM typically mounts the started near the location headers run. So when you go to pick up a 12 pack, the heat is exerted onto the starter soleniod, causing heat soak. So when you get back with the 12, no start.

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Terminology confusion:

A solenoid is an electromagenet, in starters it pulls the drive gear into position.

A relay is an electrical switch, usually it lets a small current switch a large current.

The stock GM setup has a solenoid and relay combined into one unit on the starter itself. The Ford setup uses a separate relay, and the starter motor windings themselves act as the solenoid.

The ford starter relay replaces the relay portion of the starer solenoid on the GM starer. This makes it so that the relay always works...because it's not being cooked by the heat from the headers. The GM solenoid still does it's regular solenoid job. In fact, to make the starter solenoid work, you need to connect the small S terminal on the GM solenoid to the big fat cable that's powered by the Ford relay.

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 00:26:23 -0700, "Big Al" puked:

You bypass the wiring on the GM solenoid so the wire is going directly to the starter. You're basically using the same amount of wire depending on where you mount the solenoid.

-- lab~rat >:-) Do you want polite or do you want sincere?

Terminology, no. Someone asking about heat soak and soleniods, most likely, does not know the details of the starting system. So, terminology problem, I think not, just plain English for someone who may not know the details.

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Plain English and correct automotive terminology are not really the same thing....

Up yours, man. You know the difference. Trust me, I am fully aware. Just trying to give a simple explanation, but I guess you cannot understand that. Take your attitude elsewhere.

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By the way, if you think that I don't know that the soleniod actually engages the starter to the flywheel, you have not been around long. I have explained this topic to people a couple dozen times here over the past 5 years. No offense to the original poster (just an analogy), but a child asks you how an engine works, do you tell then about stroke, iginition, emissions, etc. systems? No, you tell them gas explodes, turns the engine parts, which turns the wheels.

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And here I though only vette owners were *ssh*l*s. I guess it even aflicts F body guys occasionally.

Excuse me!

You started it, not me. Just remember that before you stereotype a group people as *ssh*l*s. Also realize, people here are trying to help others out, and guage the detail of there response by the question.

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OK you knuckleheads, CALM DOWN! Or I'll brain both of you with a hammer, ala Shemp: Heebibibibib! I loved Shemp, he was way better than Curly (here comes the wave of guff.)