One race and i'm done for the season.

That is a good idea but i have to replace the gasket which was the original problem so it need to come off anyway.
They both need to come off and get fresh gaskets anyways.

drivers side suck even more to take off. but there will be no Sawzall in my near future. $800.00 for a painted set and $1042.00 for a coated one. No i will leave my Sawzall on the shelf were it belongs.

I like the idea of a patch panel.
Yeah last set of ttis I bought was 780 bucks ..and raw. I sprayed them with brake clean and painted them a couple coats ran a torch over it I don't think any of the paint really stayed on LOL so I just hit it up here and there to keep the surface rust at bay. They'll last long enough is how I see it. I've had those shitty ground dragging headers 'which work better than manifolds I'm not bashing them power wise' but I've had them last well over a decade I've seen them last 20-30 years on other cars.