I had thought about cutting the nipple off and welding on a -6 or 8 adapter, but I was afraid of having to do this every time the valves needed to be replaced. With the separate flare piece allowing for disassembly, it can be cleaned and theoretically never need to be replaced.
Any interest in fabbing up another set? I could probably have it done up here, but surely nowhere near as cleanly as yours was done.
P.S. - The lower mani is still on the car, I haven't forgotten!