In case someone ever comes across this needing a solution, it’s finally fixed after trying a few times. The only real repair was to replace the assembly, and the shot here really drives it home with the extraction completed. The triangular brackets that support the hinge are what bent when I came down hard in that panic stop (in pic below left is bad, right is replacement). Since I’m a tall bastard, my right foot hit the pedal pad at an angle biasing force to the left as well as down. You can easily see the deformation of the thin supports when held next to the replacement.
The top bolt is what makes the job difficult, and I was lucky the technician helping me was willing to stick with it. He ended up having to loosen the dashboard itself to allow access to that one fastener (near the rusty spot on the assembly at right). Such a ridiculous problem to deal with, but I do really like the car.