Many classic car restoration enthusiasts take pride in fabricating parts for their cars without having to go to a custom fabrication shop. One such part is the exhaust header. This article discusses some helpful tricks and tips to help you undertake this fabrication project without major hassles.

Always Cut Further than You Should

Many DIY car restorers ruin materials by thinking that they can cut them at the precise location needed during fabrication. Experience has shown that it is better to cut out less (excess) material than you should. When you see how the parts fit together, you can chip off the remaining portion for a perfect fit. This will give you satisfactory results without having to fuss over a ruined tube section.

Use Masking Tape

One of the challenges that DIY fabricators face is how to hold two pieces of tubing together so that the angle is not distorted during the welding process.

This is where you need to learn the masking tape trick. Just get masking tape and wind it around the sections of tubing. You can then use a razor to cut out a small segment of the tape so that you make the tack weld (a small weld to hold the pieces of tubing together). This small cut into the tape can be repeated on the reverse side of the tubing so that once the sections are firmly held together you can remove all the masking tape so that you weld around the tube sections.

This trick will save you a lot of time as you will not have to repeat the welding process after discovering that you got the angles wrong when you joined the tube pieces.

Use the Tiniest Filler Rod You Can Find

When welding custom exhaust header tubes, use the smallest filler rods you can find. This is because that tiny rod will generate very little heat so the hot rod will not puncture your material (such as very thin stainless steel tubing). The small filler rod will also leave minimal heat marks on the weld joint so you custom part will be esthetically appealing.

Custom exhaust fabrication takes knowledge, skill and supreme patience. If you feel that you lack any of those attributes, contact a custom fabricator like Genie Performance Exhausts WA so they can look at your designs and help you to fabricate the exact part that you need for your classic car.

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