Why is the oil pan so hard?

The trans support can be cut to make a matching exhaust cutout. Its EZ to do with a bandsaw, not so easy with a cutting disk, that'll get rid of the exhaust crossover piece, but youl still have to disconnect the centerlink to get the pan out as well as maybe jack the motor up with your ingenious "rod through the access hole" method, although rebar seems a little low grade. I prefer an engine hoist or even a come along over a stout support beam in the garage as you only need to lift it a tad. Even a towel wrapped 2X4 under the meat of the pan, and then something wedged under the motor mount to keep her up there. As shown in a FSM, they used a jig across the inner fenders that had some LONG carb studs going throuh it with some big wing nuts to keep a motor off the mounts while doing work under there. I made one with a 4X4 and some threaded rod but have since gone to a breakdown cherry picker. A must for the average Mopar DIY'r. Even with all the steering out of the way, you;ll have to remove the trans inspection cover so you have a place to scoot the pan back into to clear the K member and you may have to rotate the crank to get it past the 102 throw or counterweight. I did a main bearing changeout like this prior to haveing a motor stand and cherry picker, what a mess! With a picker and the right extensions on a socket, I can pull my motor in about 45 minutes. No AC, P/S and a mini starter helps.