>>> Anybody know the color of the exhaust manifolds on a 69 olds 442 when it left the factory. Not sure if they were gold like the rest of the engine. THANKS

 

'69 442 engine would be bronze when it left the factory. Manifolds would be natural with some oevrspray on them.

 

bare metal, rust

 

>>> Thanks. Any thoughts on ceramic coating in a natural metal color. w Think that would impact the value of a restoration to original. Can't stand the thought of "original rust"

 

Why not look at some high temp manifold paint? You can get it in most popular colors. Ceramic coating is expensive, paint isn't. The theory of ceramic coating is to dissipate heat faster. Face it though, that may work with thinner gage headers but not with a heavy cast iron manifold. It's going to run hot and retain heat for a long time...

 

mine is a super rocket rust color

 

I bead blasted my exhaust manifolds and used high heat "cast blast" rattle can paint to give them that brand new cast metal grey look. That was nearly 5 years ago and they still look great. I like doing my restorations in as original shape as I can but I don't want the rust so sometimes one must improvise and just end up with the original "look"!

Randy C.

 

Randy, how long were the manifolds on your car before you took them off? Reason I'm asking is mine have never been off and I'm wondering if you busted any of the e man bolts getting them off. Also any tips for removing those bolts after 120K miles. The engine will be cold of course....Just trying to anticipate how much of a headache this job is on the teardown. I was lucky on my 455 - the e mans were already off.

 

I used POR15 manifold gray and it worked well.

 

i used VHT paint, grey, still looks great, i too hate the rust look. had enough coming through the old paint job

 

>>> Thanks for the reply guys. I think its bead blasting and heat paint for me. I like the idea of ceramic but never gave any thought to the possibility of additional heat build up. Not aware of any studies to confifm the additional heat gain but it seems reasonable. Plus if you can get 4 or 5 yrs out of a can of heat paint, from a money stand point its a no brainer.

 

The exhaust manifolds on my car came off in 1981 at about 146000 miles over 13.5 years and they came off pretty easy. West coast car, kept in the dry most of the time - that might partly explain why they came off so easy.

I'd just put a socket on those bold heads and see what they do. You might be surprised if they come off easy. I wouldn't apply a big bunch of pressure on the socket handle to get them off to avoid anything breaking. I've used both heat and penetrating oil to break things like that loose, both with success.

Hope this helps.

Randy C.

 

I never use air tools removing exhaust system bolts. Air tools break exhaust bolts too easily. Using a six point socket and a hand ratchet is the best approach. Remove the bolts one at a time as they come out easy. If a bolt doesn't move, skip it and remove the next one. A lot of times as exhaust components expand and contract they will put tension on one fastener or another and be removing the other fasteners that tension is relieved and will allow the "stuck" fastener to be removed freely.

Thanks for the paint advice. I just put my manifolds on but I think I may pull them back off and paint them before I put the engine back in the car.

Chris

 

Tapping on the head of a seized bolt with a hammer will often times break the rust that is fusing it to the threads of the component if heat and penetrating oil is not available. I am not suggesting beating the crap out of it. Just a few sharp whacks will generally suffice.

If using heat, heat the area surrounding the bolt, not the bolt itself. Make sure nothing flammable is too close by either. Have a fire extinguisher handy. It would be a bummer to set your car on fire trying to remove a bolt...

Chris

 

Thx Randy, Mine only has 120K, but they're the originals and have never been off in coming on 40 years now. The car has been stored inside for most of its life so I have no way of knowing how tough those bolts will be. Although when I took off the PS pump those bolts to the block came off way easier than I thought they would and weren't very rusty either. I'm just trying to get a feel for what I'm getting into later this spring...

Good info sharing there. Wasn't aware of that. I won't be using air tools to take this off - it will be my 6point socket set and a breaker bar. My biggest worry is breaking a bolt. I know it can be drilled out and the hole re-tapped.

Yeah, I've done the tapping, PBBlaster and heat on other frozen bolts. So I know what you mean. Patience is a virtue when working on these older cars. I think a lot of people make the mistake of heating the bolt which just makes it expand tighter. Also a better chance of shearing it when turning it while hot. doh!!! I know that from experience....

 

I recently spoke to some engineers about ceramic coating exhaust manifolds for my 69 442 400 engine and the issue of heat retention. They said if you just do the outside there is definitly going to be heat issues. But if you do inside and out there is no problem at all. I recently met an engine builder who had this done on a highly modified 400 3 yrs ago. They still look brand new and no heat issues at all.

 

Did they quote you a price and guarantee on that? I find it hard to believe that anything that is cast iron is not going to have heat retention regardless of what kind of coating you put on it.

 

No idea what it cost. Will let you know once its done. Also no guarentees. just the opinions of some very experienced engeneers who also happen to be serious car guys

 

Yup, I get that. Love to see the pics when you get them back. Be even more interested to hear your comments about how well they function after you've been driving it for awhile. I honestly don't think it will make any difference in the way the car runs. But it may keep them looking nicer for a longer time - that's what you were after in the first place right?

 

Exactly. More astecitcs than anything else. There may be some improvement in performance but quite frankly I didn't bother to ask, and with the guys I've been talking to if it inhibited perpormance they would know and would have said so. I think its a push. Just pretty exhaust manifolds

 

Now if they were polishing and smoothing the inside of the manifold prior to coating it, that might have some effect. Wouldn't hurt to ask them about that. Like you said though - let's see how they turn out. You definitely got my curiosity up.