David, That cutout isn't stock (although it does look pretty well done). I bet it was modified for some steering system. Boy I like the looks of that hemi! Wish I could get one too. Maybe some day. It does look like your body was in similar shape to mine. How wide is the back of the valve covers? When you do a recessed firewall, how wide does the recess area need to be to clear the backs of the valve covers? Were you able to view the Flickr picture file I sent you? Bob