fix it or fudge it?

[I Ride Sand]

So, i decided to paint up my 69 baja, thinking it would not be as much of a project as it turned in to. my main goal was to fix the obvious problems and slap a coat of paint on it to make it a tolerable car to look at. not a show car, but a driver. it is a baja, and i plan on keeping it as one. after sanding off the incredible amounts of bondo on it, i can say its definatly been crashed at least twice. once in the front, once in the left quarter. the left quarter replacement is kinda hacked into place and the heater channel is mangled AND hacked. the right quarter was rusted because of a mouse nest.

honestly, the car needs a TON of new steel to be a solid nice car, but at the end of the day, its going to get used offroad, primarily in the summer, and it is not a show car. it's a driver that will see plenty of dirt.

so, i was thinking of replacing everything besides the heater channels. that way if someone does decide to do them, its that much less of a mess. just do it all correct up to them, but skip the channels. the left heater channel may get one of these panels to "fix" it https://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=111801045DXX

but i dont know if i want to mess with the lower hinge pillar that has some rust. if i do, then the heater channel might as well be replaced, because i dont know if the original is going to be solid enough to weld it in. how bad are the lower hinge pillars to replace, and how bad is it to just leave it?

how many hours does it take to replace the heater channels? can you do one in say 8 hours? what about two?

i'm just wondering how far to take this whole thing. where to put effort, and where to fudge it to meet the end goal quicker. i am a guy who says if it's worth doing, its worth doing right, but i dont have the shop i'm in for no more than about a month more. cash is limited, and so are tools. so, sadly corners must be cut, but where to cut them?

the main issues i'm working on at the moment...

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Just a dirty coyote playing in the desert.
now where'd that dirty badger run off to?

[sovereignsamba]

Body swap time!

[sovereignsamba]

I see you're in Utah, I have a 66 parts body for free here in CA.

[I Ride Sand]

so just to follow up, what i've decided to do with it is fix everything correctly... eventually. for now, it looks like the heater channel end caps, heater channels and a few misc spots are in need of replacement, so i will replace them before the roll cage goes in.

in the mean time the front wheel wells, hinge pillar, and rear quarters will be repaired.

i want to do the car two tone, but for now it will be one color. that way in the future when it needs paint after other repairs, its only half of the car that will need paint.
_________________
Just a dirty coyote playing in the desert.
now where'd that dirty badger run off to?