Minor update: After having NO luck finding a drill attachment that could smoothly bore the inside of the airbox intake tube to 2.625" (i.e., 2 5/8"), I attempted to bore it out manually with my dremmel...
Ehhhh... the short version is that it's too sloppy and needs more honing and, even worse, I cracked the outside of the tube trying to wedge my v-stacks in. D'OH!
So I am now considering a different route. If I just cut out the outer intake tube and cram the v-stack inside the hole, I can then simply use coupler to connect the intake tube to the v-stack, with the end of the v-stack poking through the hole in the airbox.
So long as I cut it right, it should be airtight (or easily fixed to make it so), connect perfectly to the OEM intake tube, take advantage of the OEM heat shielding as planned, and work almost identically to how I had originally envisioned the final version.
Moreover, it will allow me to recess the bellmouth further back, which may allow me to use OEM panel filter frame or at least minimize the likelihood of inadvertently losing part of the effective volume of the box because the v-stack protrudes too far.
More on this soon -- I may need a fresh set of airboxes... anyone willing to sell them to me on the cheap in the name of experimentation and adventure?