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Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 3:16 pm
by bhm1712
I've been told conflicting info about applying wrap. Some say soak it overnight so it can be pulled tighter and when it's dry it is even tighter, others say do it straight out the packaging!

Which way is best?

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 5:40 pm
by SUPERCHARGEDGTA
did mine dry, tried wet and it was a bit messy
though wet would stop the dust from getting everywhere

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 8:57 pm
by bhm1712
Ok thanks guys I will have a look!

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 7:36 am
by thirdgen
never wrapped the ones i had years ago was ok but do get hot !

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 7:43 am
by bhm1712
i know - my headers at the minute are unwrapped and the engine bay gets very hot as well as the floor pan beneath my feet!

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 7:51 am
by thirdgen
like having a heater then maybe dave should get some headers in black beauty. could heat shield the floor instead ? like 3rd gens have under the passengers side

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 8:01 am
by bhm1712
its alright in winter, but in summer its unbearable inside the car. I could heatshiled the floor, but im wrapping mainly to keep the engine itself cooler and to protect the wiring harness! The next job after sorting out the headers and exhausts is to replace the engine loom. Its been repaired too many times now.

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 9:06 am
by Davy J
thirdgen wrote:like having a heater then maybe dave should get some headers in black beauty. could heat shield the floor instead ? like 3rd gens have under the passengers side
Good idea. :thumb: May have to take the T Tops off. :D

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 2:14 pm
by SUPERCHARGEDGTA
::)

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 2:46 pm
by Caz
Davy J wrote:
thirdgen wrote:like having a heater then maybe dave should get some headers in black beauty. could heat shield the floor instead ? like 3rd gens have under the passengers side
Good idea. :thumb: May have to take the T Tops off. :D
Can't wait Dave to see you top less lol xx

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 4:21 pm
by Caz
Oh no Kev. I'm up for top less anytime lol

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 7:42 pm
by thirdgen
i do remember my gta did get a warm floor and the under bonnet was hot but i ran the fan all the time so it blew the heat under the car. you could feel the heat from the sides.

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 8:25 pm
by Caz
Heat in the car? What's that :-/

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 10:06 pm
by bhm1712
Im proud to say my second gen heater works great! Better than my modern Vauxhalls

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 10:30 pm
by SUPERCHARGEDGTA
my 2nd gen heater worked fine, and the 3rd gen one works well too :shrug:

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:03 pm
by thirdgen
every one of my cars have had heaters and the new one works :thumb:

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 5:51 pm
by bhm1712
Mine was knackered when I got the car. Matrix rotten and bypassed.

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 5:54 pm
by jonbullnose
i have done it by wetting it and doing it dry like johns says keeps the dust down loads as it gets every where if doing dry you must ware a good mask as its pretty nasty,i would either use cloths you do not want to use again or get a disposable overals

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 6:32 am
by bhm1712
Thanks for the advice. Going to try and get one done tonight!

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 10:18 pm
by bhm1712
Well what a pain that is......

Got one wrapped and even with gloves the fibres get all over.

Not bad for my first attempt although I've used jubilee clips temporarily as I couldn't get the metal ties tight enough!

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 10:27 pm
by bhm1712
kev 190164 wrote:pic :thumb:

once ive worked out how to do the metal cable ties properly ill do some pics!

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 11:34 pm
by bhm1712
got any tips for tightening the metal zip ties? i can get them fairly tight by hand, but they still spin round if i force them. I saw a clip on youtube were a guy used a screwdriver and long nose pliers to do it but when i tried it didnt work.....

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 11:46 pm
by SUPERCHARGEDGTA
you can get a tool fairly cheaply to do them or use pliers and a screwdriver to grip and lever them tight

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:14 am
by bhm1712
Where do you place the screw driver end? I was holding it against the front edge of the connector piece closest to the tail I was holding with the pliers - pulling hard away with the pliers and pushing the connector away in the opposite direction. Didn't seem to tighten them at all.

Re: Header wrap - wet or dry?

Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 4:04 pm
by SUPERCHARGEDGTA
sounds right, hold the tail/waist end and put the screwdriver between pliers and locking block, then twist the screwdriver to tighten
other way is to twist it up with longnose pliers