There are daily arguments on the interwebz about whether shorties are worth anything at all. My opinion is that they HAVE to be better than cast manifolds, but that they physically cannot make the same power as long tubes headers, by design. Long tube headers have primary pipes that are waaaaaay longer than shorties. I believe that tq is built or lost in the primaries, and that the right primary length (and collector length) vary based on specific engine specs and flow demands. A 383 needs 1-3/4" dia primaries. A 283 needs 1-1/2" primaries. It is about flow speed and temperature, and overall system volume.
In a cruiser type car that isn't a max effort built for every 10th of a second, there probably won't be a noticeable difference between the two.
I have a set of shorties. They are as Derek said, easy to take off and put on. I just need to jack up the driver side to get that one out from the bottom, but the pass side lifts right from the top side. I have issues with clearance for the steering rod, and spark plug clearance on the driver side though.
I am pretty sure the only system you can buy that will directly bolt in would be full length headers and an exhaust system by the same manufacturer as the headers. Summit's headers and pipes come to mind.
Shorties aren't the same size as manifolds, so one of those manifold-back systems likely wouldn't fit.
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