...Doug and I have toyed with the Idea of 'cutting Down' the pump neck on an existing water pump, see pics.
The RED mark Indicates the Level of the Neck and Top of the Bearing, 1.5" Cut Down. The Blue Mark Indicates the Level of the Hub Height.
The Bad thing here is, to Press the top bearing down the 1.5", even if there were room to move to, the Two 'Sets' of bearings will be Together, increasing the 'Belt Tension' Force/Leverage on the Forward Bearing. Doug knows there is a Short and 'Whole' Bearing Set Available for the Shorty Pump. That is Designed to take the Loads. See Pics.