The tub of an inexpensive wheelbarrow can be trimmed to form a well-shaped firewall extension, and it saves a lot of fabrication time. The rounded contours are also more pleasing visually than some cobbled-up attempt at making something from flat sheet metal. The downside of that would be putting the shifter far enough back to make it necessary to get creative with shift linkage. An automatic trans would simplify matters considerably.
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!