Wrapped Headers Material

70 Charger I may be going to view has wrapped headers, see below pic, any idea what that material is made of ? It was installed about 10 years ago when the engine was rebuilt, are the headers likely to be damaged if I removed the wrap as i've read stories of the wrap trapping moisture etc, thanks

You will be lucky if they are not rusted threw. I have seen several sets destroyed by rust after wrapped

It's a heavy woven fiberglass type matting. Kinda like a real heavy ace bandage.

I ruined a new set of super comps by wrapping them. Rotted out in a couple years.

I wonder how the moisture myth began. Do headers get wet just sitting there with a hood? Or does driving in water somehow magically cool off the headers so much that splashed water can not boil/evaporate off? Wrapped headers "rot" because of extreme heat cycles causing metal fatique, and the accelerated oxidation caused simply by being exposed to O2 in the air at very high temps, think welding steel without a shielding gas, the end result looks like rust, and it actually is, but trapped water plays little role.

OP, consider the headers junk or soon to be if driven beyond a 1/4 mile.

Ok thanks

Just to expand a bit on what happened to me, They didn't fail at a tube where it was wrapped tight. The failure was inside the merge where you can't wrap too well. The car was a weekly bracket racer stored outdoors at the time. Great headers that went away quick.

Wrapping also tends to overheat the steel. That's the reason wrapping normally voids header warranty. Ceramic coating inside and out is a much better solution to control heat and keep your headers alive.

If you decide to buy the car, best to expect a new set of headers fairly soon IMO.

I think the wrapping causing rust thing started with the older style header wraps being fiberglass based and the instructions had you soaking them in water to make them plyable, with the idea that running them after would boil off the water.

I picked up a little some DEI header wrap that I'm trying on a set of headers that are already a little beat up. It's supposed to be based on some kind of woven lava rock material and you're not supposed to wet it for installation. I'll try it and see how it does. I only really bough enough to do the visible tube area of the tops of the headers because this area was looking kinda rough and multiple layers of paint peeling on mine.

But yes I agree that ceramic coating would be the best option.

Any pictures of ones that have corroded due to wrapping ?