Sway Bar Confusion, Anyone seen this before? Options

[MAD914]

This is my 74' 2.0. I took the gas tank out in preparation for installing an anti-sway bar (among other things), and this is what I found:




The passenger side is fine, all ready for a mounting plate. But then:




On the driver's side, there is a stock plate spot-welded in, but neither the bolt holes or the hole for the bar are punched through. What the hell? Now I guess I have to drill out the spot welds, take the "stock" plate off, and install a proper reinforcement on both sides?

I also thought of trying to thread a bolt into the existing nuts and maybe snap them off by hitting it with a hammer. Then I could leave the existing plate in place, and just drill through it to mount my new plate on the inner (gas tank) side of the sheet metal - but what about the nut that's down below the existing crosspiece?

Oddly enough, the A-arms also have the stock U-tabs on them, even though the car didn't come with a front bar.

I'm thinking maybe the schnitzel truck pulled into the Karmann factory early, and Gunter and Helmut didn't want to be last in line, so they just left the assembly line with the car halfway prepared for a sway bar.

Anyone seen anything like this, or have any advice on the best way to proceed?

Thanks,