I have a 1987 Trans Am with a stock 305.
1- shorties or longtubes. What benefit does one have over the other?
2- tube & collector diameter. What combo is optimum?
3- best brand. Are more expensive ones neccessarily better?
Thanks for any & all help.

 

Hey buddy how's it going?

Shorties are fine, unless you're building an all out drag car.

The diameter of the tubes depends on what you're building (displacement and power wise) I'm going with 1 3/4" tubes and going with Dyno Don's headers. Everyone loves them on here. I'm going with these because I want my 383 to have some room to breathe and don't want to mess with long tubes and making them work with the T56 tranny, and I'll be pushing near 500 hp. Smaller diameter is fine on a stock 305 or 350 or even a well-modded 350. Collectors are usually 2.5", which is fine with a stock y-pipe (which is also 2.5")...really no need to go bigger than that.

Remember--You get what you pay for. Hedman headers are good and priced nicely.

 

remember one thing. if you are going to spend money then build for the future.

 

Look for gasket flanges at least 3/8" thick. The best headers will have 3 separate flanges rather than one single flange. Separating the flanges helps prevent gasket failure. The best headers will also be stainless steel, which handles heat cycling better over time. Don't be surprised if a good set of headers costs $500.

Cheap headers will lead to lots of headaches and about the time you're really tired of replacing gaskets, the headers will start coming apart.

 

And What they said.