Here's a more involved but long term fix. And I know you've been through a lot lately...
Procure a junk FE head and clamp it to your workbench. Mount the head pipes and begin a process of fitting the collector pipes. Put a saw horse length-wise under the sidepipe for support.
The key a muffler expansion tool, commonly available at parts stores. Get one that has a 1-3" range.
Expand pipes as necessary to get a not-overly snug fit. Each pipe will be different. Sand areas where coating is too thick. Get them so that with the head pipes loose on their flanges the collector will slip on with a bit of effort-but no hammering stuff. And I didn't use any sealer between the pipes as it just shrinks away with heat. They won't leak if you work carefully.
Then, maintenance on the car becomes much easier.
