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Some people leave an incandescent bulb on in their campers to help with moisture; that might help.  Or you could buy some desicant and leave it in your car. 

I remember a thread somewhere on the Victoria site last year dealing with moisture control.

Welcome back...it'll be great to see another resto started!

About the air tools...a nibbler is nice for tight curves but doesn't do well on bends and creases.  You'll still need a cutoff disc...consider getting an air tool for that as well, less bulky than the electric grinders.  Another potentially useful tool is the air shears, which are great for cutting straightlines.  But like the nibbler, they don't like doing bends.

How big of a compressor are you going for?  Remember to watch their max CFM output/PSI and the duty cycle.  Smaller compressors and tanks aren't as useful in the shop as bigger ones.  My 4.5 HP/20 gal portable compressor has a 30 minute duty cycle (use it 30 minutes out of every 60), but is nice because it runs on 110v and is portable.

On the flip side, it is marginally adequate to run a paint gun if you're planning on painting the car yourself and pretty much needs to be the only thing on the circuit when it first kicks in.  Probably pulls 14 amps on startup.

If you can get a 60 gallon 220v compressor, you'll find it's better for shop use.

The tools you get make a big difference as well.  A prime example of getting what you pay for.  Sure, you can get a $30 impact driver instead of that $110 one, but the cheap tools will normally be less efficient.  That means they need more CFM to get the job done, which translates to wear and tear on your compressor.

Nope, Calgary airport with a straight flight to the island.

If the old metal is good, i would be inclined to keep as much of it as possible, and trim back the replacement panel.

Take your time cutting and use felt lines, you should be able to keep your cut straight.

Make sure you use weldable primer for panels that will be inaccessible once fastened.

Zing!

Yeah, I've seen a lot worse than that come back from the dead...but you've still got your hands full.

I can't give much personal advice on welding, and you've probably seen some of those well documented restoration threads over on The Samba...great source for tips and inspiration.

Biggest piece of advice from personal experience is to practice, lots, before starting on the car.  Use weldable primer to protect hidden pieces, and do butt welds unless the original metal was overlapped.

Keep up the good work guys...the fact that we don't have any indication of how many you're killing here is a testament to how effectively you're staying on top of it.

Having gone through this on my big forum, I know what you're up against.