a different idea

Since you are not afraid of cutting and welding, why not modify the headers? From your picture, it looks like you could cut the pipes about a half inch off the header flange. Remove the stub from the flanges, and reweld the pipes to the flanges. Looks like you would only have to do this to the front two pipes, and tweak the other pipes to allow a slight bend on the cut pipes.

I have just done a front suspension on a 62 bird. I would not want to mess with the towers.