Thanks for the info, Dave. I had short scale in mind, as I really do want to preserve the balance. I also find that I'm increasingly fond of short scale basses. I definitely wouldn't want to rout the orange maple body any wider - it has minimal material on the G-side already. String spacing isn't an impediment - I'm OK with that.
I'm in no rush with this, so it may be a while. I also have limited routing skills and no templates, nor have I made any routing templates. I foresee some experimentation with 2x12 material to learn how to tour for necks and pickups.
I'm quite undecided as to a pickup if I use the redwood body. I have in stock a couple of Gretsch Filtertrons, a '51 Fender single coil, and a spare Gretsch 2202 pickup. If I use the orange maple body, I'll probably end up with a pair of '51 style pickups.
With the fantastic wood in both of these, I'm not planning to add a pickguard.