Thanks, guys!
That "1978 melded with 2007 technology" hacking sounds absolutely doable
So off to finding a (new school) steerer tube race matching both the forks and a 1" cup
and possibly also an old 1" bearing cage matching both the forks and the race
...and a headset a dp or ammaco could agree with
Ed, your link's approach seem at first glance a bit to advanced for me. I'd enter the Darwin awards.