Looks like it belongs there man, nice job. The part its mounted in looks rounded also, so getting it flush without a custom trim piece would be impossible.
I knew this would happen as a result of the massacre, liberals just wait for something like this so they can push through new laws. To them the ends justify the means.
the whole port doesnt need to be inside the box to work, so if you had room outside the box you could go longer. Also make sure you leave the ports width worth of clearance for the air to get into the port.
I would go with the sears diehard platinum over the optima. Wire kits you could either just buy the cable and lugs and soldier them yourself, or find a big 3 kit and a amp kit from someone like snafu on this site.
Depends though, if you decide to run more power in the future you will have to upgrade the cables, so it may be worth considering running 1/0 the first time so you dont have to pull all the interior out a 2nd time.
Yeah man in todays job market its not wise to bite the hand that feeds you, or cause waves, because they know how tough the job market is, and dont really give a shit about the employees.