What all do i need to do to install some 1 5/8 equal shortys? I heard that im gona have to raise the engine some to get them to wiggly in there is there any way around this? Also what is a good head gasket brand?
I have BBK equal lengths on my '92 convertible. They were a little bit of a pain to squeeze in, but it wasn't too bad. The instructions mentioned that I may have to lift the passenger side of the motor, but I got away without doing so. It may vary from car to car. Most aftermarket headers come with new gaskets, but the best thing to use are copper header gaskets from what I've heard.
For a little extra needed clearance on the passenger side pop the valve cover off and push it back enough to slide the header in.....ditto on the gaskets, the ones that came with my mac headers leaked in about 4 places. I replaced them with a $20 set of felpros and no more leaks.
I agree, don't waste your time on stock gaskets that come with the headers, I don't care which brand. Get some coppers. Advantages of copper gaskets are: they can't tear, they can be reused (unless damaged by overtorquing), they are stronger, and you don't have to scrape gasket material when you remove them, which is a major PITA.
My buddy and I just got finished replacing the header gaskets on another friends '97 Z28, LT1 with longtubes, it took us two evenings and a couple ounces of blood. The guys that installed the headers in the first place used the one's that came with the Hooker Headers, which blew out like clockwork in 2 weeks. We put Mr. Gasket Coppers in there. I used SCE in mine. Everything is easy on a mustang compared to a LT1.