All MetalShaping - New member from MA saying hello

Hello everyone. my name is Doug, and I'm just starting to get into metal shaping. im very interested in building my own hot rod body, t bucket / lakes modified inspired. ive turned to research in the metal shaping because of all of the for lack of a better term "junk" people are selling for hot rods. fiberglass bodies for thousands of dollars, rusted out rotted junk labeled "rat rod" so it must be worth 10 grand right. or big name companies selling metal deuces for ten to twenty grand. there has got to be a better way. lol. so ive had about twenty years in the auto industry, the last ten in a restoration/body shop . ive worked on everything from 356A Porsche bodies to 440 six pack super bees to modern bently coupes. i have fabricated a lot of stuff, built my own tube chassis vw manx fully caged, and have dabbled in everything from upholstery to electronics. I have however never really learned much about moving, and forming metal. so i figured ive always wanted to build a hot rod, i cant find a good one for a reasonable price, and ive always wanted to learn , so lets start small and see where we end up. thanks if you actually took the time to read this, and thanks if you help me with any of my questions in the future. Im sure there will be quite a few. Doug