C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

[Gary S.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

I've also heard of bead blasting the manifolds and "soaking" them in WD40.

A few years ago, Patrick Hulst got me interested in a product that is similar to WD-40 for rust limitation. It is PreLube 6, a product from Quanta Products. PreLube 6 is an industrial rust preventing product that works well when sprayed on bare metal.

I had cleaned up my manifolds with a brass-bristle brush and then liberally coated them in PreLube 6. Then, I fired up the engine and let it burn off. Do not do this IN your garage due to the copious amounts of smoke. What is left has done a nice job of reducing the rust on my manifold.

I have discussed this here before and others chimed in that everything burns off. Well, I am educated, don't believe most snake oil products, am leary of old wives tales, but what I do know is that I can go for a year or so and the rust stays off of my manifolds. I slight touch up in the spring is usually all it takes.

I find that the painted manifolds look painted.

Gary

[Chuck S.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

Jeremy-----


Send who your pipes? If you're talking about Jerry MacNeish I don't know that he does exhaust pipes. They may do them if you ask, but they're not going to come out looking like original, at all. The process that Jerry uses is more designed for cast iron, not carbon steel.

Plus, these pipes are going to look awful even if they did agree to do them. First, they'll have to be completely cleaned. The rust will go, but the PITS will remain. After spray welding, the PITS are still going to be there.

Joe, Jeremy was responding to the first part of the original post, and if I read between the lines, is hoping to get a freshly minted LT1 exhaust set. There hasn't been much discussion of this part of the original post because it's an area where most of us have no direct involvement...rust-free manifolds are something all of us have sought to have:

...
1. I reviewed the archive posting re: exhaust systems from Corvette Central and Allen's as well as Gardner's. I spoke with Eric Gardner today and they stated they have reproduced a few sets of pipes for LT-1's but they are not perfected yet. They are not releasing these until they get a set of original's to compare. I guess they were a bit off, so they don't want to continue a mistake. Who ever supplies a set of originals will get a set of free pipes!!!...

[Mike E.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

Back to the PIPES, and the mufflers, not the manifolds--the originals have a distinct sound. My understanding is that they are double-wall pipes, and because of that, there is a unique throatiness to them. I have a '71 30,000 mile LT-1 convertible that had the original exhaust removed the first 1000 miles (and saved) . I removed the headers and resinstalled the original pipes and can't believe how perfectly they fit. They now have an additional 200 miles on them--but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't trust anyone to get them to Gardner and back.

[Jeremy D.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

Shame that car doesn't get out more often, P. Mike....
Didn't mean to tick anyone off, I just wanted to have some caffeine-influenced fun. Enough said. NOW...
My car had one of each pipe on it. The pipe in the pic a few mouse-clicks back is an original, as, among other things, it easily weighs TWICE what the opposite side repro/service replacement pipe weighed, and it's not from rust or rodents living inside of it. The originals are double-walled, and maybe the early service-replacements were...but I had one of each.
I am indeed waiting for Gardner to get a set of pipes out-look at the pics, mine are trashed, only one pipe was original and the tips were service replacements. However, I DID let them know that if they think they're expecting us to just GIVE them our rusty originals for brand new repro's, my feeling was that they aren't going to get too many examples. So, taking that into consideration, I don't see them getting us ACCURATE exhaust systems anytime soon (I guess the Camaro and Chevelle guys are a bit more giving....), which is a bummer....They need to give us our stuff BACK, not keep it in THEIR inventory like they want. Like I said before...no matter how accurate they may be, repros are repros and originals are originals....but originals happen only once. I'd rather have the rusty junk original on my car than in somebody else's inventory.

Thank you, Mr. Sangerhausen, for saying what I was trying to say but was having a hard time doing, for some reason.....and Mr. Lucia, I hope I didn't light any fires...I was just trying to have some fun at the expense of my rust!!!

And, P. Mike....I NEED PICS of those door jambs!!!