Looking for exhaust suggestions ('72 shortbed, LS1 swap)

[brossow]

For the most part I've accomplished VERY little on my project this year. Terribly, terribly disappointing, to say the least. Before I pack it up for the winter, I'm hoping I've still got a few days of sunshine here and there and with the body in the paint shop I think it would be an excellent opportunity to finish up the exhaust.

I've got an LS1 with Thorley headers. I've got a custom aluminum fuel cell under the bed out back and I'm not sure at all about the feasibility of routing the exhaust out the back. Here's what it looks like from the rear:



Instead I'm thinking about an angled dump in front of the rear tires. Here's an older shot from above:



And one from when I had the new bed on and the fender mocked up just for a general look-and-feel:



I was thinking about dumping somewhere under or immediately behind the steps. Going this route means I wouldn't have to negotiate bends over the axle, around the fuel cell, etc. Here's a shot from a low angle of the general area where I imagine the exhaust dumping:



Here are the headers hung loosely in place:




So now that everyone has seen what I'm working with, my questions are these:

1. Any problems with a relatively short, side-exiting exhaust?
   
2. I'm assuming a 3" exhaust would be appropriate. Right?
   
3. This will be a street truck only -- no serious racing of any sort. Just forget about an X-pipe?
   
4. There aren't any shops within 60 miles or more that do custom mandrel-bent exhausts, only the crappy crimped bends. I definitely don't want that, not after all the work I've put in on this project to do things right. Is there a good package available somewhere that could be adapted to meet my needs? That is, would the exhaust kits designed for '67-72 trucks with headers be more or less a bolt-on regardless of the LS1 swap? Or should I just start measuring and ordering pieces to weld together?
   
   I want to go with stainless if at all possible because in my climate stuff starts to rust just sitting inside, let alone driving. This won't be a winter truck by any means, but I don't want to see surface rust starting during the 4-6 months it's off the road each winter.
   
5. Where would you recommend I locate the mufflers? I assume as far back as possible, but obviously I'm no expert.
   
6. Anything else I'm missing?

Hope these aren't all stupid questions. I've made a lot of calls locally to try to find someone who can handle the task, but there's no one interested and capable. If I'm going to get this done this year, I need to get going ASAP.

Thanks in advance. ANY advice is greatly appreciated!

Brent