Well, I didn't have to go quite that far. Just had to:
1. Cut the crumbling plastic mounting bosses off the handle and make aluminum replacements (I counterbored the handle for the new screws, too - unseen in this photo):
View attachment 508353
2. Make three new steel brackets with mounting holes (because, if you look closely, you can see the plastic around the original mounting hole crumbled) and epoxy them to the plastic trim piece. Here's one of them:
View attachment 508354
If all goes well, tomorrow I'll get it all back together, and it will be hard to tell it's not stock anymore!
Makes you wonder who spec'd the original plastic. likely another bean counter override.