Console question on 20 footer

[Bmoney1209]

Hey guys, been working to get my 1970 20 footer up and running for a few months now (lack of $$ of course). well I finally splashed her for a sea trial last week. Boat ran outstanding except for one thing. Fuel in bilge. Not much, but still not safe. Ended up cutting the floor and pulling the tank. Leak on the corner, and the tank was made in 96'. Long story short I'm getting a new tank. Question is I want to put a new or newer console in the boat with a higher back for electronics. The original was 39" wide and 36"H. I would like to go to about 36"W and 42-45"H, not much more narrow but enough. The console did not have an outer flange, but had the raised lip to bolt to on the deck. So I need to somehow flatten or cut the lip out for a new console to work. Any ideas on how to approach this situation? Thanks