Going out on a limb here and not exactly hoping it won't be cut down. It will be cut down.
These pipes get too damn hot to have them maintain their original finish and patina.
If you drive this car hard and fast, which you should, the operating temps will do their thing. My replacement pipes are black as they will eventually go there.
I've seen these pipes glow cherry red at night and things just change when those temps are reached.
I went so far as to wrap the headers with white fiberglass banding and that help in the looks department as well as protecting the turn signal lamps from too much heat!
