You are going to have to jack the engine up for the shorties also. Either way you are going to have to jack the motor up or drop the K member. For the pain in the ass that it is go with the long tubes and worry about the clutch when it comes up......or
by hooker or flowtech headers. Flowtech headers are about $280 out of summit for the long tubes....will need ceramic coating or a few coats of high temp paint but after that they are good. The passenger side is a two piece design so you can take out your tranny without having to remove a header. food for thought.