[dsraven]

here was my solution to the problem on my task force truck. you could make something like this with a flange to overlap the existing area that you would cut away, then use panel adhesive on the flange to glue it on. no distortion that way and something you can do without welding skills. it also covers up a bunch of those firewall holes. a zip disc cuts the metal easily. a welder could fab you iup something from 16ga pretty quick if you couldn't do it yourself.