Hi Eternal....
Good to see you on here again.....
I guess you're on another big purge after you're hibernation....
Robo's right about extending the footwell into the gearbox area IMHO. I did that on my build extending it by about 50mm. If you are thinking about doing it at some point surely it would be better to do it now before painting.
With the paint I would reccomend etch primer as it does what it says on the tin.
Just make sure you key the surface up and a thorough degrease beforehand.
Johno