Pontiac Repair: Firebird 3.4L 1994- Head gasket-202,000 miles, head gasket, exhaust pipe

Question
Hi Todd,
You have answered some of my questions before and this is a follow up question.Thanks for the recent help. I am down to the finish line for removing head from the engine to replace gasket. Only items remaining to deal with are Exhaust pipe and Exaust manifold from right side of the engine. Separating exhaust pipe from manifold looks intimidating. I can see only one bolt, the other I can't even see which is next to it. On top of it they are corroded, and seem like a tough ones to take out. So here is my thinking;
Option 1
1. Leave exhaust pipe connected to manifold.
2. Separate manifold from the head.
3. unbolt head and lift up leaving manifold and pipe behind.
Now the question is will it work?
Option 2
1. Unbolt exhaust pipe and leave manifold attached to head.
2. unbolt head and remove head and manifold as one piece.
Will it work?
Option 3
1. remove exhaust pipe
2. remove manifold
3. remove head

Please shed some light on these approaches and what do you think is the right way to do this job. Thanks a million.
Rgds,
Rick

Answer
Option 1 or 2 will work. Idealy removing the pipe from the manifold and the take the had an manifold off together is the right way to do it. If you think the bolts will break off the pipe that hold it to the manifold then take the manifold off the head and leave it in the car. It will be VERY hard to get the manifold lined back up to the head especially if your doing the job by yourself putting it back together. good luck :)