well heres what i did today with some 18 gauge cold rolled steel and a flux wire feed welder. dont laugh at the welds, its a 100 amp welder and doesnt go any lower, it burns through the thin stuff easily. i had to tack it and let it cool and tack it and let it cool, it took a while but it only cost 10 bux for the metal.
ive still gotta do around the body mount and im going to clearance the inner fender/firewall for larger tires next.
heres what it used to look like
