Russ,
I really appreciate you coming in with your knowledge. You do not speak
often enough on the list about your experiences and knowledge in said
areas and wish you would contribute more.
Thanks for the info.
Jonathan Amo
Finishline Coatings wrote:
>Hi List...
>I've been reading your e-mails the last couple of days about header
>gaskets. So, I thought I'd share with you some things we've learned in
>the last ten years about headers and exhaust manifolds.
>We probably see between 100 -200 systems a month-all types, some home
>made, some production made, some custom made - from junk to major works
>of art. They are from hot rods, custom cars, nascar, drag racers, off
>road, road race, formula cars, sprints, atv, snowmobile, airplanes &
>lawnmowers. Anything that has a motor I think we've done.
>Any type of header gasket is only as good as the two surfaces it seats
>against. If the head and port surface does not match the header flange
>and pipe opening, no gasket will seal. Thick header flanges are much
>better than thin. We feel 3/8" are minimum and 1/2" are better. If
>when you bolt the header to the head and they need to be pulled into
>place, there is an excess of stress in them and a good chance that you
>will have cracking problems down the road somewhere.
>If you have them stress relieved, be sure to bolt them to a head while
>this is being done. Otherwise, you might not get them back on the
>heads.
>High heat silicone works great on all headers.
>"Anyone's" thermal barrier header coating is better than nothing!! But
>remember all coatings are not created equal and all coating companies
>are not created equal. Header coating will - in most cases- keep
>headers from cracking. Header wrap is the worst thing you can do to
>headers. We have seen tour cars and nascar car teams go through 2-3 sets
>of headers on one car in a season when wrapping them with header wrap.
>Talk to Dave Haller about header wrap..he knows first hand all about it.
>If the thermal properties of the coating is good enough, it will also
>keep oil from burning if you have an engine "oil down". Again talk to
>Dave Haller about this.
>There is one coating company that has a thermal barrier that is so good
>you can put fiberglass or carbon fiber body parts right against the
>headers and they will not burn. Talk to Skip Hedrich about this. There
>is much more that I could share with any of you off the list. (remember,
>this is not an advertisement--just some things I've learned).
>
>Russ Meeks
>
>PS. Also, about the book that Bob mentioned - "Hot Rods an American
>Tradition" - by Peter Vincent..It's absolutely fantastic!! He spent a
>lot of time on it and is having a book signing in Moscow, Idaho on
>December 8th. We hope to attend. It would make a super Christmas
>present for any gear head.
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