Matt, most of that ****e was done by either bending tubing or sheet metal and was usually brazed on and mudded up to smooth it. Take a grinder and carefully lay into it about 3/4" away from the face of the panel and see where it takes you. Wear a mask, because it'll probably be ugly. If you hit the tubing or cut through the sheet metal you should be able to see what lies underneath. If it was brazed on, and you're careful with a concentrated torch, you can brush off most of the brass and using vice-grips, heat and pull it off. You might win the lottery and find the "craftsman" who installed it, pop riveted it on. Good luck