I'm a big 2d fighter fan myself, I've ordered a couple custom sticks with sanwa parts(arcade parts they use in japanese arcades). Check out the forum of www.shoryuken.com, a couple of really talented custom stick makers. But be warned they are pretty expensive running anywhere from $100-$300.
These Hori sticks, don't they all have a square gate restrictor? at 4:40 [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhftXSfK_Qo[/ame] As for the console pad to stick conversion, I think the easy and clean way would be PS1: http://www.arcadefever.net/MYPROJECT/PSX/PSX.html So the only tricky part would be to find a good wooden box…