been trying to find a better way for the last four hours. the main problem with the above picture other than the hacked up fasteners which is an easy fix is that those handles protrude 8 inches from the wall and the shower head is situated mid tub so its nearly impossible now to turn around without bumping into them. does not lend itself to a relaxing shower.

ideally he would put the original valve/knob structure back in place. the one thing he didnt try was affixing a new copper pipe to the old valve. he wasted time trying to rebuild the old pipe but then never just went with a new pipe instead of changing out the entire works. he didnt want to waste another hour on a potentially failed endeavor but he had to see how poor a fit his system was. at that point he just wanted to finish. 

another option is to move the new valve to the far wall and reorient the shower 90 degrees. this is really the most logical option at this point especially if the first option is untenable. it would require some extra work on his part but not a tremendous amount.

option three was to find some compatible but shorter parts but i have as yet been unable to crack that nut. maybe a thoughtful plumbing supply store clerk could help but... my head hurts.