Hooker Side Pipes - Coated or Chrome?
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 182,997
Likes: 88
From: Lakeland, FL
Cruise-In IV-V-VI-VII-VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03, '06, '17
Re: Hooker Side Pipes - Coated or Chrome? (Red73)
You guys that have Hooker Side Pipes, What do you have, coated and chrome? Which is better and why? Thanks, Rod :cool:
:cheers:
Olivier
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 5,202
Likes: 10
From: cincinnati ohio
St. Jude Donor '09
Re: Hooker Side Pipes - Coated or Chrome? (Red73)
My chrome Hookers looked good for a couple of years, and very few miles before they disscolored badly near the heads and took on a goldish hue up to the side tubes where the difference in finish color was very noticable. The tubes don't accept the plating where they are close together and those areas start to rust from go.
Jet-Hot sterling finish gets my vote...unless you like to watch your $1000. pipes do things to make you :cry You can even wet sand and buff the stuff for even more luster :cool:
Jet-Hot sterling finish gets my vote...unless you like to watch your $1000. pipes do things to make you :cry You can even wet sand and buff the stuff for even more luster :cool:
Race Director
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 16,978
Likes: 7
From: In Dreams There Is Truth Ohio
Re: Hooker Side Pipes - Coated or Chrome? (Corey 68)
I went with chrome :cheers:
chrome is more expensive, you have to really maintain them to keep the rust away, but when clean, nothing like em
[Modified by GDaina, 11:16 PM 11/17/2002]
Racer
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 268
Likes: 1
From: CT
Re: Hooker Side Pipes - Coated or Chrome? (Red73)
Ive got the ceramic coating on my headers and pipes. Ceramic coating is better for performance if coated on the inside especially. If your gona drive it alot I think the ceramic coating will hold up better than chrome. The chrome pipes that are in good shape do look really nice though.
Kevin
Kevin
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 4,844
Likes: 0
From: Pearland TX
St. Jude Contributor
Re: Hooker Side Pipes - Coated or Chrome? (71vettman)
Has anyone dealt with salt bath nitriding? I took a set of headers and shipped them to Houston Unlimited in Chappel Hill, Tx and had them nitrided. Our company had a shipment of other parts heading that way, so I added them in and paid the weight charges for the additional material. Thinking it cost me $75.00. They came back almost black in color and I could wipe oil on them when they got dirty and crank up the motor and burn them right back to what they looked like the first day. Lots of smoke of course doing it, but nitriding hardens the surface to where you cannot get to the original metal.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 3,281
Likes: 6
From: NC USA
Re: Hooker Side Pipes - Coated or Chrome? (bgrice)
Since I have a chrome bumper vette, I decided to go with the header portion coated by Airborn (cheaper then Jethot and 3 yr warranty on used parts versus Jethot's 1 yr) and left the side tubes chrome. Sorry, don't have pics yet since I just installed them today. 69MyWay has his the same way and has pics on his website. With the combined silver/chrome look, they look great with the louver trim and ralleys on my 69! Sooo, I vote for all coated or at a minimum, coat the header portion.
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