Roadster First Start: The Good, and the Ugly. Is it Bad?

[Claybuster]

Hello All,
I don't get a chance to post much because I find that the answers to my questions can usually be found in this great forum already. And for that, all of us "newbies" thank the experienced veterans for their advice and support. So here goes for a potential issue I found yesterday:
I am at the "go cart" stage for my MkIV build. I have a BPE 302 with Sniper EFI, and the install could not have gone better. I mean, everything went so smoothly! I have been taking my time to try to pay attention to every detail that could be a snag. When I connected the battery, nothing went poof. When I primed the oil system, a mechanical oil pressure gauge showed 50psi! When I put the fuse back in for Sniper power and plugged in the fuel pump, I had 58psi and no leaks! Wow!
So for my son's 16th birthday yesterday, I let him turn the key for first start. She turned over a few revolutions and fired right up! No sputter, no hesitation, just straight to idle. I wish I had watched his face, but I was too busy looking for spewing fluids. And there were none! Too good to be true!! And it sounded so good...
Which brings me (finally) to what I'm hoping is normal, but has me a bit worried. We let her warm up to around 160, all the while I'm walking around looking for leaks, watching gauges, and making sure nobody gets too close to the sidepipes. When the electric fan kicked on, I figured we had enough wins for the day and shut her down. Still no leaks. Awesome.
That's when I noticed the headers. They were no longer the pretty chrome headers that FFR sent me. Now they are a blend of blue to bronze color, and even the sidepipes are a little gold toned after cooling back down. Is this discoloration normal? I know that some is normal, but is my level of discoloration to be expected? I'm hoping that someone (or many) will tell me that I haven't done anything wrong and no permanent damage has been done to the engine, and that maybe my A/F mixture or ignition timing just needs to be fine tuned.

I'd love to hear thoughts and input!
Jason
headers1.jpgheaders2.jpg

[Mike.Bray]

Some discoloration is normal, it's why I ceramic coated my headers.

Check the timing, if it's retarded some you will see excessive discoloration.

[rvanstory]

My headers looked EXACTLY like yours after 1st start and run up till electric fan kicked in. I assumed it's normal. Have had several starts and a few trips around the block. All seems to be doing very well. Congrats on your 1st start!

[weendoggy]

Get used to it. Unless you coat them, they'll patina just nicely.

[michael everson]

Ditto, perfectly normal.
Mike

[Blitzboy54]

Congrats on first start. That’s always an exciting milestone.

[Rebostar]

Great job on the first start. Looks like you've done it right. Congradulations. I helped/watched F500 guy on his first start, same lash up as yours. After about 1/2 hour of running I coud see the headers were starting to turn a "straw" color. That confirmed my decision to have my headers and side pipes ceramic coated. Several runs and go-carting has me with a nice shinny exhaust sytem. I've had really good luck with ceramic coating of all my headers, 7 builds (not FFR) so far and counting. I've been a Harley rider since the 70's learned a long time ago if I did not want blue/brown pipes I had to add "heat shields" to cover them up.
I would agree with Mike above and check your timing just to make sure its where it needs to be.
Great job !
Allyn

[Claybuster]

Hey, thanks for the replies! I feel much better, although bummed about the header discoloration. It could be much worse, I suppose! I'll check the timing this weekend when I can get back at it. Does anybody have first hand experience with Jet-Hot coatings? I reached out to them and they promise to strip the finish on these headers and ceramic coat them to their original luster with a lifetime warranty. Not a bad price, either, IMO.
Regards!
Jason

[Mike.Bray]

I used this guy for my headers, partly because he was local but also because I had seen his work and it was first class for a very fair price. I have to say my headers turned out spectacular, run cooler, and haven't changed one bit.

https://www.facebook.com/SPCoating/

[gbranham]

Hey, thanks for the replies! I feel much better, although bummed about the header discoloration. It could be much worse, I suppose! I'll check the timing this weekend when I can get back at it. Does anybody have first hand experience with Jet-Hot coatings? I reached out to them and they promise to strip the finish on these headers and ceramic coat them to their original luster with a lifetime warranty. Not a bad price, either, IMO.
Regards!
Jason

Jet-Hot is a well-knwn plating company, and for years was considered to be good quality. I haven't used them in ages, so I don't know if they're still doing quality work. I have no reason to assume their work isn't still top notch.

[JMD]

As others have said, that's completely normal for uncoated stainless headers. Mine have done the same thing, but I really don't mind. I actually prefer it to the milky silver color that most coated headers become over time. Unless you're fighting excessive heat because of the headers or absolutely hate the look, I'd say leave them be and enjoy your car!

[Jim Wehr]

My recolection is that motorcycle guys use a product to remove the blueing from their pipes.
Mine are silver barbeque paint, so I have no experience with this.

[Claybuster]

Hey, thanks all! I really liked the "blingy" look with the chrome headers that I had until the first start. I'm going to make sure the timing is correct this weekend first, then pull the headers and ball collectors off to send to Jet-Hot. They promised a 2 week turnaround, so I'm willing to give them a shot. I'll post a few pics when they come back and give some feedback to the group for the benefit of others that may be "in my boat"
Jason

[PMD24]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to check out coatings as well. I'm a ways from that point in the process... just one more thing to research

[CraigS]

A may be weird but I kind of like the gold colored headers. To me it is natural thing. Lots of motorcycles have, or used to have, that look. But I wouldn't like it much on the side pipes so I'd get them coated.

[Railroad]

It seems like Jet Hot used to caution against putting newly coated headers on first start engines AND to cure the new pipes with short idle times.
The issue with not complying, was the coating would frost and become permanently dull, starting next to the heads and out about 4 to 6 inches.
I have watched it happen.
Not related to chrome or stainless burning blue.

[PMD24]

Wow! If I end up looking hard at Jet Hot I will definitely as about this. Thanks for sharing.

[Dave108]

I got my headers and side pipes coated with Jet Hot last winter. My first start and go cart was a month ago. Coyote gen3. Not a lot of run time so far but I have had it up to temp. Fan kicks in about 195. Probably about an hour or so total run time. There is no dicoloration so far. I also have a T-bucket with Jet Hot coated pipes with at least 10 years on them - again no discoloration.

[Claybuster]

Hello all, again!
For those that may have been interested in followup, I received my headers and collectors back from Jet-Hot last week. They came well-packed in a reinforced cardboard box, and each part was individually wrapped for extra protection. It took a few minutes to get it all open and unwrapped, and I must say, I am happy with the results. I went with their "Classic Polish Extreme 1300" finish. They said unless I was running some kind of boost or nitrous setup, the Classic Polish would be adequate. The total price was around $500 with shipping in both directions, which they provide. It was really easy.
The final finish does reveal any minor imperfections in the metal surface, but overall not really a big deal. You have to get close to see them. It isn't quite the original chromed look, but it's pretty close. The disclaimer here is that I haven't started the engine since I put the headers back on, because I haven't taken the time to find a better timing light than the one I have. The cheap Chinese light that I have doesn't flash bright enough for me to see my timing marks. (but that's another story).
My apologies for the terrible background in the pic, but you get the idea. I'll post more pics after the next startup.
Jason
20241104_091119.jpg

[FLPBFoot]

Hello all, again!
For those that may have been interested in followup, I received my headers and collectors back from Jet-Hot last week. They came well-packed in a reinforced cardboard box, and each part was individually wrapped for extra protection. It took a few minutes to get it all open and unwrapped, and I must say, I am happy with the results. I went with their "Classic Polish Extreme 1300" finish. They said unless I was running some kind of boost or nitrous setup, the Classic Polish would be adequate. The total price was around $500 with shipping in both directions, which they provide. It was really easy.
The final finish does reveal any minor imperfections in the metal surface, but overall not really a big deal. You have to get close to see them. It isn't quite the original chromed look, but it's pretty close. The disclaimer here is that I haven't started the engine since I put the headers back on, because I haven't taken the time to find a better timing light than the one I have. The cheap Chinese light that I have doesn't flash bright enough for me to see my timing marks. (but that's another story).
My apologies for the terrible background in the pic, but you get the idea. I'll post more pics after the next startup.
Jason
20241104_091119.jpg

Hello from SWFL. Not sure if something changed from 2018 but my headers from FFR came ceramic coated so no issue with discoloration and they still look great. I fought the discoloration on the side pipes for my go-cart stage, about 1,800 miles. I prefer the shinny look. So I sent my side pipes off to Jet-Hot and they did basically the same ceramic coat as you have. I now have close to 7,000 miles and 5 years on them and they look like they day I unwrapped them from Jet-Hot.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Hello from SWFL. Not sure if something changed from 2018 but my headers from FFR came ceramic coated so no issue with discoloration and they still look great. I fought the discoloration on the side pipes for my go-cart stage, about 1,800 miles. I prefer the shinny look. So I sent my side pipes off to Jet-Hot and they did basically the same ceramic coat as you have. I now have close to 7,000 miles and 5 years on them and they look like they day I unwrapped them from Jet-Hot.

In 2018 the BBK headers came as mild steel which was ceramic coated. The current ones are raw stainless steel (not chrome). Stainless changes color with heat. It can be brought back to the original look by polishing or using a chemical treatment likeCompound 302 but unless the car is never run it will be ongoing and have to be done periodically.

Jeff