I can't really advise you on what you should do as everyone is different. Bart makes a great point. It took 10 years of my life, including interruptions, to do mine. So, even age is a factor. One thing I've learned is that time is worth a lot more than money.
With that said...
I had never done any bodywork or welding when I tackled mine but I learned. Replaced a lot of the roof and quarters, trunk pan and many more small patches. I made plenty of mistakes that I won't make on the next one but I was able to work my way through them.
My thinking was, "The worst that can happen is that I'll eff it up and guess what?... It's already effed up!"... and when I finish, I'll have a welder.
Nine years later and no shabby bodywork or rust is popping through and it still looks good. The only person that's ever touched this car in 19 years of ownership other than myself is the guy that sprayed the color and glued the vinyl top on...and I was actually there with him doing that!
But I'm a bit of a control freak when it comes to this kind of stuff. I like knowing exactly what's been done and how.
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