Here is a pic of what someone did to get the Speedpassion ESC on the chassis:
I think this may be the way I would go if I had the tools and know how to countersink the servo post screws.
As for the RC8B, I would sure like to see if RC Monster Mike could work his design magic and come up with a Version 2 of his conversion that changes the RC8 into something similar as the Hyper 9 as far as placement of battery and electronics go.