My car came with crappy steel discolored headers.  I took them and had them ceramic coated.  That was 12 years ago and they look  the same today.  Does powder coating hold up that well given the heat on the headers.

Don't know for sure Tim. I built a 250R 4 wheeler for a kid and had most of the frame and the exhaust powdercoated. The exhaust has held up strengthwise but doesn't look as good. It takes quite a beating and spends much time in mud so the conditions aren' as comparible.

Likewise I can't see Tux... spending the rest of its days in my garage. I can easily see an Stingray vert sitting in his spot. Who knows maybe Tux II...

 i have installed heddman headers and chambered exhaust on my 69,, sounds great,, dont know why everyone hates heddman. the last ones i had were hooker and they blew a hole the size of my finger in the #1 tube after 2 years,, rd

no problem, the hookers on my car won't slide right out on jack stands alone.  I would have put Flowtech knowing that.

Tux -

Hooker recomends at least 36" clearance underneath to fit their headers. Also: as per Hooker web site        " Installation Notes
Breaking in an engine with ceramic coated headers WILL result in damage to the coating and will VOID all warranties. Ceramic coated headers require several heat cycles to fully cure before they will withstand extreme heat. Hooker recommends using cast iron exhaust manifolds or old headers to break in new engines to avoid coating damage. Please call Hooker tech service at 270–781–9741 for additional information regarding ceramic coated exhaust products". Breaking in an engine calls for running about 20 minutes at roughly 2000-2500 rpm. To check out Hookers web site go to Holly first then jump directly to them. It has a lot of valuable info and even a install procedure.

I don't believe Tux is changing engines or breaking in a new cam - just swapping headers. Break in exhaust temps shouldn't be a problem.