Header Question

[Ronnie1858]

I am a newbie to the Stock game, so forgive me if this seems like a goofy question. I have a 1971 Chevelle SS with a 454, and Hooker 2265 2 1/8" headers. They broke at the flange on a recent run, and no one has new ones. Am told by various distributors that the soonest they can get new ones is November. I have found a source for Doug's D331 headers that have them in stock now, and they appear to be very similar to the Hookers. My question for the folks out there is if anyone has any experiences with Doug's headers that they can share with me, to let me know if going ahead and buying these is a wise decision, or should I just wait until November?

My thanks in advance to anyone who answers this.

Ron

[Ralph A Powell]

Can you weld the old ones? Or cut the flange between each cylinder. They might even seal better on the head.

[Ronnie1858]

It is the tubing that broke, and it is ceramic coated, local welding shop won't touch it.

[Jim Caughlin]

Originally Posted by Ronnie1858

It is the tubing that broke, and it is ceramic coated, local welding shop won't touch it.

I have begrudgingly repaired coated mild steel headed tubes over the years for customers but it is a miserable and ugly method of doing a repair. Trying to get the coating off in order to do a decent weld is next to impossible. You can probably get this done as a temporary repair but not a good long term fix.

Jim Caughlin
SS6019

[Mike Pearson]

I cant imagine it being too hard to weld up the repair. I welded the evac tubes into my collectors with no issues and they are ceramic coated. As long as the tubes are not badly rusted just grind what you can of the ceramic coating with a flapper wheel then bead blast the area and weld as usual.

[SSDiv6]

Lemons Headers

http://www.lemonsheaders.com/products.htm

[Jim Caughlin]

Originally Posted by Mike Pearson

I cant imagine it being too hard to weld up the repair. I welded the evac tubes into my collectors with no issues and they are ceramic coated. As long as the tubes are not badly rusted just grind what you can of the ceramic coating with a flapper wheel then bead blast the area and weld as usual.

Done this a bunch of times over the years for customers and all of my experiments with getting the coating off is less than ideal: flapper wheels just gum up and don't thoroughly remove the coating, wire wheels don't remove the coating, any sort of grinder wheel removes the already too thin used header material. The only saving grace is that the coating on a used header has already deteriorated to some extent so sometimes comes off, a brand new header tube with new coating is virtually impossible to remove. Also bear in mind that if a header tube is cracked (which is why it is being repaired in the first place), the tubing is majorly fatigued and thin so the worst of everything for welding.

[Mike Pearson]

Originally Posted by Jim Caughlin

Done this a bunch of times over the years for customers and all of my experiments with getting the coating off is less than ideal: flapper wheels just gum up and don't thoroughly remove the coating, wire wheels don't remove the coating, any sort of grinder wheel removes the already too thin used header material. The only saving grace is that the coating on a used header has already deteriorated to some extent so sometimes comes off, a brand new header tube with new coating is virtually impossible to remove. Also bear in mind that if a header tube is cracked (which is why it is being repaired in the first place), the tubing is majorly fatigued and thin so the worst of everything for welding.

When I welded on my headers I use the flapper wheel not a hard grinding wheel so i didn't remove too much metal. I did not have the issues with the wheel clogging up. Not sure what brand of coating was on them. It was factory applied from Hooker and has held up really well over the past ten years that I have had the headers. If the headers are rusted out from the inside there is not much you can do with them.
One of my buddies had a set of coated headers that were badly rusted from the inside. We had to cut some of the tube away and replace it with a new piece. I used the same technique. His was an oddball combo so new headers had to be custom made.The repair lasted several years after that. Like you say its not always easy but it is doable

[MAURICE BLENDHEIM]

Ronnie... I have Dougs Coated Headers on my 67 L88 Chevelle, 69 ZL1 Camaro and recently purchased them for my 70 LS6 Chevelle. The Fit, Finish and Quality have me convinced they are one of the best affordable headers on the market. I originally bought a set of Coated Patriot Headers for my 56 SB BelAir 2 dr. sdn. They were unquestionably the best fitting, best Quality headers I have bought. Doug's and Patriot are both owned by Pertronix Performance Brands. The Doug's are heavier than most but are coated inside and out and have 3/8th's flanges and are 16 gauge tubing, they should last.
Hope this helps...Maurice.

[Ronnie1858]

Maurice - thank you for the feedback, I appreciate it. I bought the Doug's headers.

All others - my thanks to all of you as well, I will keep trying to find a welding shop that will fix them for me. Then I will have a back up set also.

Ron