With you being a stainless welder and fabricator by trade, it shouldn't be too hard for you to learn how to cut and replace body panels yourself....Just use the rusty old doors as practice.
Yes suspension parts, running gear and brakes can get expensive to replace, but what parts do actually need replacing? Honestly before making a decision, decide how far you want to go and price up the components that you want to replace and make a decision based on that.....
I did a rebuild on my VC.....Got it with no running gear and cruddy interior......Admittably, I already had the running gear, so that reduced the cost.....I had the rack recoed ($395), fitted VT front brakes (about $600 or so)....rust in the rear quarter and 1 door...About 4" square in the rear quarters and the size of a 50c piece in the door.....Painted it myself with help from mates....Cost $400 or $500 due to me buying mismatch paint ($90 for 4 litres of Britticania blue)...Paid $50 for VS front seats.....Paid $90 or so for SLE door trims and another $50 for SLE front arm rests.....Already had a SLE rear seat, but no headrests....
Currently I've got another 6 cyl blue motor nearly ready to go in...Paid $300 for it....Just had to put new bearings in it and just paid $600 for another head for it....Largest valves that can go in, yella terra roller rockers, push rod guide plates and hardened pushrods....So all up, the motor owes me about $1,000.....
So help that helps you with costing