sunbeamtiger.co.uk

Hi Sunbeamers,

I'm thinking of replacing the headers (U.S. Cat club - Shelby pattern - purchased in 1982) on my RHD Tiger.

Does anybody know of a source for these and if more than one brand available....which one is best?

I'm now using my Tiger two or three days a week after many years of it sitting around for months on end. I have now retired hence the greater use. I think the headers rusted due to long periods of inactivity.

The old pipes may in fact be rebuildable.....I would rather start off with another set and get them coated (which I should have done before).

If you are interested to see my car....I have short clips on youtube....search "Meelup Sunbeam Tiger".

This one has the Tiger 2 wheeling with both inside wheels off the deck! I had my Koni's rebuilt the week after this hillclimb!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L25fjMLSQMs

This clip I must confess is a bit lairy....the local Police were watching and I couldn't contain myself!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzZptYCV6Ew&NR=1

Cheers and thanks in advance
David Tweddle

David,

I think there may be some Victorian members with a spare set or two.

As for suppliers..

CAT still do them and the Au USD rate is good now
Sunbeam Specialties make a set and $ value as above..
There are also 2 other US suppliers i know of.. though i cant vouch for fit.

If your headers are not to bad.. have them dipped then jet coated (ceramic) inside and out.. and they will be fine.

Also really of note.. the Tri Y style shorty headers are infact more benifical down low and produce better torque.. the bunch of bannans work better at higher rpm.

Whatever headers you get, Shelby CAT or shorties, you need to have them coated both inside and out to prevent corrosion.

In the UK, Camcoat (European agents for Tech Line Coatings):
http://www.camcoat.u-net.com/

http://www.camcoat.u-net.com/Exhausts.htm

In Australia:
http://www.techlinecoatings.com/

In the US, look for Swain Tech:
http://www.swaintech.com/

A Tiger using headers with a Swain Tech coating here:
http://classicmotorsports.net/project-c ... updates/3/

Well worth having headers coated. They not only last longer, they reduce under bonnet temps as well. Something very benificial to a Tiger.

On the subject of headers, has anyone had ground clearance problems with them . How hard are they to get in there
Cheers Mal.

Talking of coating headers/exhaust manifolds, does anybody have any experience or thoughts on using exhaust heat resistant tape

The good reviews state that is does keep under bonnet temperatures lower (a must for a Tiger me thinks) any negatives outweighing the immediate obvious benefit

Tomaselli wrote:Talking of coating headers/exhaust manifolds, does anybody have any experience or thoughts on using exhaust heat resistant tape

The good reviews state that is does keep under bonnet temperatures lower (a must for a Tiger me thinks) any negatives outweighing the immediate obvious benefit

if the headers are coated you dont need header wrap.. from what i understand the original aesbestos wrap is not longer available .. and used to cause the metal in the headers to get work hardened faster and go brittle.

if the headers are coated you dont need header wrap

Also you will void the warranty on the coating. I think those header wraps will cause your headers to rust out quicker when the headers are uncoated. I would have them coated and leave them as that.

Tiger_DFT wrote:the local Police were watching and I couldn't contain myself!!

That's fab David, it's great to see Tiger being used as they were intended Think we need to see some "autotests" back in our UK meets

garyv8tiger wrote:tony u tried duck tape,your car dosnt run long enough to get hot

Thanks Gary for ruining what little "street Kudos" I had

michael-king wrote:if the headers are coated you dont need header wrap....and used to cause the metal in the headers to get work hardened faster and go brittle.

Makes sense Michael, and I also understand that you want as much cooling around the headers as possible, yet the exhaust wrap will just insulate the heat in, thus causing overheating issues - that despite running a cooler engine bay

tony know your engine bay like the back of me hand ,spent many hours looking under it ,wondering why its stopped again

I have had experience of both headers wrapped in exhaust wrap and have had a set of headers coated by camcoat in the uk.
The exhaust wrap works very well in keeping temps down you can even brush your hand or arm against the exhaust while the engine is fully up to temp . However it will rot your headers, what tends to happen is the metal goes very brittle and will split my headers lasted for 5 years on my v8 100e while wrapped
2 years ago I had a new set made and had them coated by cam coat in the uk. They were brand new and had not had an engine run on them before I had them coated. they looked absolutely fabulous. I ran the car out to its first show some 100 miles away and when I took my bonnet off at the show the coating was starting to lift . I sent them back to cam coat who was most shocked and said it was very unusal he recoated the headers and I reistalled them only for the same thing to happen again after about 250 miles this time.
Inclusion wrapping keeps temps down cam coat looks good for 100 or so miles.

Friends of mine have had headers coated in the states by Jethot and they run injected supercharged v8s and their coating looks as good as when new some 5 years later
If by headers in the states get them coated before they are sent over.

DO NOT USE CAMCOAT IN THE UK

Jay

i think i may have used camcoat to do mine. based around manchester somewhere? i had them done in the black finish (its the most efficient) inside and out and they have been perfect for the past 18 months. big difference in under bonnet temps. they were very expensive if i remember rightly though - many times more than it would cost in the US.

the two biggest problems with tape wrap are:
1) its a BIG fire hazard if oil or fuel soaks into it.
2) it wouldn't fit (in my tiger, at least). there would not be enough clearance.

personally i think it looks hideous too.

so were do i go ,one says camcoat are useless .another says good ,has anyone else used camcoat?

if in the UK

http://www.zircotec.com/

are meant to be the best.. they have recently released a lower cost coating for road/classic use.

I spoke to Zircotec and yes they have a very good rep and did garentee that thier coating would not come off but a bit expensive at 800 pounds

daylight robbery. although it was 1200 when i asked 18 months ago.
i think camcoat was about 500 with shipping but i may be remembering wrong. either way, it seems very steep to me.

the camcoat process includes a coat of satin paint on top. might it have been that that was peeling off? you are supposed to apply a silicon lubricant to them after bringing them up to operating temp for the first time. not easy unless you can run the engine out of the car but its possible to get to most of them with a cloth even with the headers installed.

someone asked about fitting. i found i had to fit one first, install the engine and then fit the second before bolting the engine in place. i find it easier to remove/install the engine from underneath. i can manage it single handed in a singe car garage that way!