I have a quite usefull MIG welder that i bought after i sold my first mustang... That ona was a nightmare to restore having NO PROPPER TOOLS to work... I was a designer student back there with neither knowledge nor experience in any kind of car work what so ever...
The first car i restored was then a horrible body patched 1970 coupé with a nice "bondo sculpture" of how the mustang should look like... Back then i´ve never tried to bondo anything either but as a handy artistic kid, i learned quickly and the car ended up looking relatively ok...
After finishing this car.. this bondo sculpture that shinned nice but was a bunch of cr**p... i promissed myself that i would never ever again, was going to work that stupidly... I spent 4 years working in that car and could never use it because it was sooooo bad that problems were overwelming...
I sold it (i know.. poor guy... but i told him everything and sold the car cheap)...
That car ws my school of what shouldn´t do... I used the money i got to buy propper tools.... for example, my 50 - 250 A MIG welder that´s not the best brand in the world but this machine do EVERY welding job i need... I also bought the best helmett with automatic darkener visor i could get...
The MIG costs me like 600 and the helmet like 150... BEST MONEY INVESTED EVER... Even all my friends come to ask me to weld something... i could mount a welding business just with this machine!!!....
Bottom line... I understand Scott when advises... the extra money you invest now in a mig, definitely is going to be saved later...
You´ll probably end up buying a MIG later and redoing all the work you´re now planning to do with the wrong techniques...
I always say that a job well done is the only one you can count on... You do it once and forever...