oil pan gasket

ive tried to get sockets on the bolts, but there are to many hard lined hoses to get to them.. i probley could do get to them if i had a third hand to pry the hoses away from the pan so i could almost get to the nuts, and i wish i new more about the car.. is this pain in the butt shroud was factory or if one of the owners put it on.. i would have to say a fabrication job.. but then again it looks like it could be a factory thing... i will go look into the wobble socket item you were talking of and see if that will help, thanks for the advice.