Shouldn't be too hard to fab a little box like that out of aluminum, should it? Trim it up right, paint it to match, and ta-daaa! You're set. Then just get the rest of it all lined out - shifter and parking brake boots/bezels, decent carpet underneath - and you're pretty much good to go.
Y'know, I just might get a wild hair in my nose and actually try to tackle something like this in the summer. I dunno if I'd hang onto the HVAC stuff or not, being that I don't have heat OR air, but I'd at least have the radio, either way. I figure I can score a universal bolt-in armrest from JC Whitney that'll look decent and suffice for my arm, and ta-daaaa! Unbolt that heavy ol' hunk of crap center console with its fussy ashtray door and give it a toss.
But, ummm ... what about the mirror adjustment button? Relocate it somewhere else? Or just convert the mirrors to manual control? The lighter outlet would have to get relocated elsewhere, of course.