The good news

— We don’t need to punch holes in the walls… we can do this without major disturbance to the drywall.
— We’re pretty certain we can use the existing hardware, a substantial savings of money (around $400) and work (fitting it would be difficult… modern hardware hangs lower.)
— With Randy’s suggestion, we found a good stripper. The bummer is, we’ll have to spend about $300.

Yes, $300 for a stripper.