[72 Long]

Thanks to Racinaround for giving me the courage to strong-arm the tank. His socketwrench technique worked great. I actually picked up 1/4" clearance in the process. Here are the pics. I ditched the stupid hangar bolts that came with the tank and instead bought some 3" 3/8" bolts. Had to use washers anywhere the nuts were in danger of pushing through either the holes in the tank flange or the every-so-friendly hanger straps. I double-nutted the tank flange as it served well for adjusting proper hangar strap tension. Next, onto the taillight/fillerneck install. Maybe I need to start a build thread....
Thank you to everyone who commented and helped me think this through!