I remember reading somewhere that slp headers are made of the 409 stainless which may show surface rust after a while. Does anyone have these headers (coated or uncoated)? Could you tell me if its worth coating them? How bad does the surface rust look if you get it? Thanks, I'll be getting these headers soon, Just need to know if I should coat them.
John

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84 Firebird w/ T/A gfx, 350 4bbl (LM1), Non-leaking T-Tops (new rubber all around), Auto, Working headlights (new parts), K&N, 180* thermostat, ram-air hood scoop, flowmaster muffler (yuk), Accel cap & rotor, MSD Super Conductor Wires. Soon: new gray interior, SFCs, poly bushings, WS6 sway bars & springs. http://www.homepagez.com/350thirdgen/

 

Ive had them for about 6 months. The surface rust is not that big of a deal IMO. Yes, they are not shiny. Do they look bad? No. I would describe it as a brownish-grey color. They are still pretty smooth, the color just changed from dark grey to brownish grey. If you are going for a very clean look, go for the coated, otherwise save your money. Doug

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Central Indiana Camaro Club member since Oct. 2000
1991 Z28 - 51,000 miles.
All power options leather. 350 TPI:
K&N; Airfoil; Custom 'Ram-Air'; Slp Runners;Poweraid TB spacer;
Fastchip;
SLP Headers; Borla Catback 50% open; Dual factory Cats;
March underdrive pulleys;
Accel Extreme 9000 wires, Accel coil; Hypertech rotor & cap; NGK platinum plugs;
Manual fan switch;
TB coolant bypass; smog pump delete
Spohn subframe connectors (black powder coat);
Pirelli P7000 Z245/50/R16 all season tires;
Energy suspention motor mounts
S Cobra Radar Detector; Z28 SS Floormats;
Technalon IV car cover (now on my dad'a 2000 Berger SS).

 

Just FYI, you can get them in a group purchase held by Jon Zweiger of Z-Racing. You'll have to look in the archives since the group purchase board isn't there anymore, but this way you can knock off a hundred bucks from SLPs price on the headers, about 15 bucks off the price of the install kit, and 10 bucks off the cat adapter.

My total for the headers, y-pipe, adapter, install kit, Jet-Hot coating, and shipping came to a little over $700, but I haven't actually ordered yet 'cause I had a little fenderbender Monday which I'm taking care of first. That's a hell of a deal compared to Summit or JEGS.

 

I got mine thruogh the GP for $645 (coated,1 5/8,dual cats,no A.I.R.)shipped.Mine had a HUGE weld in one exhaust port,becareful of the JetHot coating I was impressed with overall appearance but on closer inspection it looked as though they were in a hurry.They missed a couple spots in between the pipes.But I'm a picky bastard.Heres two pics I took to show the bad weld http://24.22.209.39/badass4/header.html

SLP told me to just grind it down.I still cant figure out why that weld has to be interior in the first place.

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89 formula 350, 73000k, 9-bolt 3.27, gutted MAF,dynomax muffler,gutted air box,kn,accel 8.8 coil wires,dunlop 60/235
g-tech best(9 runs)14.48@101.1(G-tech records actual speed at 1/4 mile not a true "trap speed" 0-60=5.91
track best(3 runs muncie,in 88 degrees)14.51@96.0 60' 2.089
in the garage waiting to go in are alum. L98 heads(bowl job by scoggins-dickey),ported high-flo edelbrock base,SLP runners, Jethot coated SLP 1 5/8 headers,zz3 cam 208/221 .474/510,1LE alum. driveshaft,TCI 2200 stall,LPE feul reg.,TPIS air foil,Flowmaster ForceII cat back,Gold crane 1.5 rollers,Eagle forged 5.7 rods,TRW Speed-Pro forged -21cc dish pistons,MSD 6A,8.5 wires,BlasterII coil,lots of ARP bolts,

 

thanks guys... Wow! I just emailed the guy who does that GP and I think I'll be saving about 90 bucks (by looking at the website) which I'll just reinvest in a coating. I can't wait to order and install these bad boys!
John

------------------[list][*]84 Firebird w/ T/A gfx[*]350 4bbl (LM1)[*]Automatic [*]Non-leaking T-Tops (new rubber all around)[*]Working headlights (new parts)[list]

Mods: K&N, 180* stat, ram-air hood, flowmaster muffler (ugh), Accel cap & rotor, MSD Super Conductor Wires, 24mm solid rear & 36mm hollow front sway bar w/ PST polygraphite bushings and endlinks.

Mods Coming Soon: new gray interior, Spohn SFCs, more PST bushings, front WS6 springs and an entire exhaust.

http://www.homepagez.com/350thirdgen/

 

Here's a pic of the light surface rust about a month after installing my SLP 1 5/8" headers in Sept 99.
http://24.1.139.249/headers/

Now I have SLP 1 3/4" and I used some 1500º high-temp paint. It flaked off in some parts. I'm getting them coated next time I have the engine down for upgrades. And they're still the best headers for thirdgens.


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1991 Camaro Z28
5.7L 5-Speed (originally 305)
13.23 @ 107.62 MPH
Southern California
Member: SoCal 3rd Gen F-Bodies
Webmaster: SoCal F-Bodies
-=ICON Motorsports=-

 

Kevin: That surface rust doesn't look too bad. I thought it'd be worse. I'm still getting mine coated. I've seen a set of four-year-old V6 manifolds that were Jet-Hot coated and they still looked new.
Did you have the 1 5/8" headers on your 305, then switched to the 1 3/4" when you put in the 350? I'm ordering the 1 3/4" headers and will run them on my 305 while I'm building the 350 on the side but still wonder how the car will perform with that size headers on just the little 5.0L...

 

The surface rust will never get so bad as to destroy the headers but with time, heat and moisture it will get considerably darker in color. Here's a shot of mine with 20k miles on them.
http://www.fbody.com/members/LoungeL...DrvsideEng.jpg

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Mike

'90 IROC-Z , 5-speed, ZZ4, G1 Trick Flows
Moderator SEThirdgen

 

No, I put in a 350 in May 99, after I realized the 305 was hurting. Then I got the SLP 1 5/8" headers from the guy who was selling them from SLP's fire sale. When I put in my current engine I switched to the 1 3/4" headers because with the larger cam and the better flowing heads and intake the engine needs the larger headers.

If you're going to put in a 350, why go to all the hassle of putting in the headers on your 305? Save them and do both at the same time, it will be much easier.

 

Because it's gonna be a loooong time 'til I get the motor in, but I can do headers in an afternoon and it's sort of immediate gratification, plus it'll carry over to the 350. Also my other Camaro gets the hand-me-downs.