I was trying to order a set of SS hooker headers from summit for my 69 427, but they only had chrome and ceramic. I also reached out to jethot about purchasing them directly through them but they don't sell hooker as well.(thought i read an old post that said that members purchased directly from them) So now i am trying to figure out which route to take. Do i try and stay with hooker brand and settle for chrome or go to obx that i have found in ss? I want the shiny chrome/stainless look. I know chrome tends to rust faster than i would like from what i read in other forums. What are some good alternatives?

 

Personally i would stay away from Chrome due to rust. Yes you can polish them, but you can't get into every spot. Stainless looks the closest to Chrome but it still requires some polishing which i don't mind. The Ceramic coating to me is what i will go with if i were to ever replace mine. it looks close to polished stainless or chrome, but does not require the polishing.

 

I have a set of hooker chrome headers. They are rusting in between the tubes where you cant polish them. I also had a set of Hooker ceramic coated mufflers. The mufflers came spotted and started to rust within the first month. The headers have been on the car now for about a year.

 

I now have stainless mufflers from hooker and will be changing out the headers probably over the winter

 

Doug's Headers and side pipes

 

I purchased mine directly from Jethot in 2010. I guess they don't offer it anymore. Their coating lasted about 6 years before I started to see rust between the primaries at the collector. Not bad but it's warrantied against it so I had them re-coated under warranty. They did it but not too willingly and had to haggle to get it shipped back to me free of charge. The new coating was not as well done as the original so I expect it will fail as well. I think things have changed over there a bit.

This company offers ceramic coating as well. Looks spendy though.
http://swaintech.com/race-coatings/a...s-price-sheet/

In any case I'm glad to have the coating, it cuts down on under hood heat and is pretty resistant to chipping from gravel off the front tires. Looks good with little to no maintenance.

 

REELAV8R, since you mentioned Swaintech and JetHot was mentioned already I have experience with both companies products on the same vehicle. Swaintech is superior! I had Jethot coat an exh manifold and Swaintech coat a turbo exh housing. The jethot has rusted thru the coating and the swaintech has yet to change colors after 12 years. Both parts were brand new not used.

 

I am going to contact Swaintech today to see about pricing and possible just having what ever i buy ship right to them. But which brand and style exhaust would you recommend to send to them. I don't mind spending a little extra as long as it a better quality and last longer. And also a good recommendation for the mufflers as well. I am not looking to have the loudest but definitely want it to be heard.
Thank you

 

I have Dougs ceramic coated sidepipes and they are beginning to rust just the same as chrome. I have to knock the tiny rust specks that form with a good polishing a couple times a summer and definitely after winter storage.

 

The one problem with either the chromed or coated, mild steel headers, is that the debris kicked up by the tires will eventually degrade the coating, and the pipes will begin to rust. Also, if you (gasp!!) drive the car in the rain, the front tires will act like a "pressure washer", constantly hitting the pipes, ESPECIALLY in the collector area, with water.

I had a set of the Hookers (black painted) on a '77 Pontiac T/A, that I owned back in the day. The headers lasted only 2 summers of driving, before they rusted out at the collectors. A waste of $700............

 

Pretty much settles it for me. Next time I pay for coating it'll be Swaintech.

I agree I don't mind paying a bit more either if it's for quality and not just a name.
I have the Hooker headers and have had no problems with them as far as fitment or quality so far (7 years).
The actual tubes I don't remember the brand, might be hooker also. They are chrome and so far are holding up good as well. They are out of the line of fire from the front tire and don't see the heat that a header would.
For muffler inserts I put in the STS baffles. I like the sound and they are tunable for the sound you want. The center 1" pipe is plugged when they arrive and you can drill out or completely remove the cap it you want to get the sound you like.
There are other mufflers that sound pretty good as well. Remember that the quieter they are typically the more restrictive they are and visa versa.
Youtube is a good place to go to compare sounds of different muffler inserts. Most computer audio won't do the sound justice but it's good for comparison from one to another.
You can do a search here and get lots of opinions on different inserts as well.

 

I've researched this as well and Dougs stainless is now available for 427s. Pricey but I'm not going to deal with rust and coating issues when I pull the plug. My vintage chrome hookers only have about 4 holes around the collectors.
Good luck