Well it’s done. Pain to get to for sure but seems to work well enough. Thanks to all who posted the idea here.
I ended up using a sharp little pocket knife, cut the top off first, then the firewall side was easier to get to. Once that side was done you can pull the lower hose/old “T” off to the side to cut the lower off. Then I put it back together in the reverse order. Bled down the system (didn’t take a ton of coolant, less than half a gallon) and took it for a spin. Seems to be holding well and heat is working.
also - there is a small negative wire going through The area that seems to go to the ecu. I zip tied that and the big wiring harness up to the ac lines above this temporarily to keep them out of the way. Gives just a tiny bit of extra room.
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