A few weeks back I finally decided to try my hand at building a set of headers for my coupe. I've never fabricated any headers so I was excited and nervous about how they'd turn out. With a lot of help from my friends Michael and Jason they came out nice - I mean really nice. Didn't use a kit, Michael made the flanges and I got a pair of megs and U bends. I was so proud of how they turned out I decided to spend the bucks and get them ceramic coated. I finally get them back Friday and when I opened the box to show them off I was shocked. Underneath the beautiful, gleaming finish they were all beat up. The big dent is about the size of a quarter and 1/4 inch deep, and right on top. The other side has a smaller crease in it about 1 1/2 inches long, and there are several small dings (which I actually could have live with) It felt like somebody kicked me in the gut. I'll wait before I name the shop, because I don't want people jumping to conclusions either way. The owner of the shop has told me he'll do whatever it takes to make it right, and seems genuinely concerned. His 'metal guy' is gonna look at them Monday and let me know something. I know people have worse problems and the guy says he'll take care of it, but I still just needed to vent. I'm really proud of the work and time I put into these, and now I don't even want to think about them. I took a lot of pictures of the build and had even planned on a 'tech' thread on them here. I'll just have to see how it turns out.
damn dude that ****s. the headers look really nice though. i hope they do the right thing and make it straight with you some how. good luck
You did a hell of a job. You've got a lot to be proud of. I hope he sorts it out for you. Can't wait to see the Tech Post for it.
Hey Mate, Sorry to hear that, looks to me though like a crush problem in the post. I think the fact that the guy is "willing to do whatever it takes" to fix the problem speaks volumes about the shop: probably the kind of shop that wouldnt just dent your pipes and not let you know about it. By the way, killer workmanship! The finish looks great to? 90% of chrome as far as shine goes? Danny
Wow- looks like you did a damn good job on the headers. They look great from the pictures, except for the dents. Who knows what happened to em. I be upset too. We ship a lot of stuff in and out of work and some of this stuff looks like it was run over by a truck. I hope the guy can fix em right for you.
Thanks you guys. No, they weren't shipped, we dropped them at his shop and they transported them to and from the coating plant. The finish isn't scratched at all so I think the damage occured before they were coated. I think somebody there just tossed them around a little to much. The polishing guy had to have seen it though. I'm really hoping his guy can work the dents out and recoat them. He said he'd have another set built if that's what it took, but I'm really hoping these are repairable. Another set wouldn't be 'mine' even if they turned out nicer. Danny, as for the finish they told me that you can use Mother's or similar polish on them. I think maybe it's some type of aluminum suspended in ceramic or something. Thanks again for the support.
I got a note with mine to use mineral spirits after the first engine run. Probably want to keep them free of wax, as it will cook on them.
Sorry about your pipes man. I'd be pissed too. DOn't want to hijack, but I just packed and sent a painting I did to a fellow HAMBer on Friday. I packed it real good, and thought I had nothing to worry about, but seeing what happened to friggin STEEL makes me sick to my stomach. Lord knows how my CANVAS is going to hold up. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.
holy **** man, those ARE kick ***. . . wish we coulda seen em when me an louver dude were down there last weekend, but time was short. next time we road trip, its down to party like a POOR BOY!
Yep ..sure looks like a shipping accident. You can also blame the shop for not packaging them well enough. One thing we used to say in quality at Volvo in the final inspection area..... (no ****) No one will ever see it going down the highway at 55 mph. We spend so much time trying to make things perfect we become too critical of ourselves and others. I fall in the same trap.
Ok, when I do the rework on the Cosmo to make it dual exhaust, I'll be comming to TN with some cases of ice cold PBR and a fair bit of funds. I really hope those can be fixed pretty quick. Very clean work.
Dude thats ****s. This is the **** that pisses me off. Some people these days just don't care or take pride in what they do. They are their for the paycheck alone and just watch the hours click off the clock until quiting time. Looks like the coater has one of those in his employ and that guy banged it up. I'm honestly not surprised at everone jumping on the shipper bandwagon even though you hand delivered them. USPS< UPS< FEDEX they all **** equally. BTW if you have to make new ones how much you going to want for the old ones??? Or is it too soon to be asking such a hurtful question, LOL? Sorry about your misfortune.
I had a shoebox radio shipped ups to me, it was literally smashed..like ran over by a forklift smashed...I sometimes think that UPS is really like the beginning scene of Jim Carey as a UPS driver in the movie "cable guy"...
For a better understanding off what I mean, watch this.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tN94ePhsd4
Killer job on the headers, sounds like you have a good at***ude about it and i hope all works out for you
Well I can see why you would be un-happy. I will tell you this from a metal finnishers point of View. No Big Deal! I could make that dent and scratch totally dissapear and not hurt wall thickness at all. Give his metal guy a chance and if he's any good at all, you will never know it happened when he's done. The Wizzard
The way they fix dents like that in the horn of a muscial instrument, like a trombone or a trumpet, is to ram a rod with the right sized ball down into the bell. I think they have progressively larger and larger balls. I've seen some bad dents come out looking pretty decent. If you're lucky, it might just pop out. I had some tailpipes with a baloney sliced angled cut on the back end ceramic coated, they were strapped to a wooden board on the way back, but the UPS guy must have thrown it and one of the sharp tips was bashed over. I wrapped a few layers of duct tape over a dolly and wrapped tape over the ball face of a large ball peen hammer, and carefully bumped it out to the right shape again, and luckily the ceramic coating didn't crack up and it looked fine. Good luck. Those headers came out really nice. Hope you're able to make them look perfect again.
Oh man, they are beautiful. You have a lot to be proud of. How did they get out of the plater like that?? Didn't they think you would notice or be pissed ? Sure hope the guy does right by you. Post some pics when this ordeal is over so we can see them installed. Hang in there ,bro....Ole Pork
Yeah, I get that sometimes when the wife's pissed off. The shop owner called today and told his metal guy said he could fix them better then new, no problem. I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed. I'll let you guys know, thanks for all the feedabck and support.
All I want to know, is did you do the welding or did you let that little smart aleck Jason do it (you know I just kidding, and real envyous of his welding, right?)
It's annoying but it's just a dint. You could get the same just by driving the car. Don't worry - get it on the road. Drive it & enjoy it.
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