I debating on buying headers for my 87 iroc 305. Just have few questions. I did from the y pipe all the way back last year.

I have a magnaflow y pipe (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MPE-16450). Which headers will fit with this y pipe?

I am replacing the head gasket and valve seals so with the valve covers off how hard would the headers installation be with the valve covers off?

What gains would I have and would my exhaust sound better or more or less the same?

I may have more questions ill kee you posted
Thanks.

 

Any headers that accept the stock y should accept that one. Driver side goes in from the top, passenger side from the bottom. If your motor mounts are really good you might be able to squeeze the pass side in from the top too

 

Do you mean head gasket, or valve cover gasket? If valve cover gasket only, you won't be gaining much extra working room.

 

No doubt headers will net some performance gain. But I'm not a big fan of headers, they come with too many compromises. I do love that Magnaflow Y pipe however, it's a really nice piece.

 

Yes the head gasket.

Does anyone know of any headers that will fit my y pipe?

 

I actually have that y-pipe on my 89, along with the 3" replacement cat and cat-back. There seems to be a little more exhaust sound under the engine bay with the y-pipe than the stock one.

That y-pipe requires stock TPI manifolds to work - I'm not aware that any shorty headers available today have the outlet to the y-pipe at the exact same position as stock. Since you have stock TPI manifolds on your car, just take the old y-pipe off and bolt the new one up. Worth about 5hp over stock, but you won't need to spend 20+ hours taking off stock manifolds to swap to headers that may give you another 5 to 8hp more.

 

Do you think its worth the trouble to buy and install headers? If its not much and if it sounds more or less the same then I am going save my money. I already have a magnaflow high performance cat and flowmaster exhaust. Sounds nice.

 

If you want every last HP, go for it. But it is many times harder to do than just the y-pipe - plus the specter of broken manifold bolts and other problems that happen on older cars can really put a dent in the process.