can I weld autobody with a stick welder just turn it down or does it have to be mig welder

I've welded body panels with a stick before using the smallest rod you can find works out ok. It's called stitch welding. But it will burn through quickly if your not very careful.

yes you can but what you need is a stitch welding attachment. EASTWOOD company has them. What it does is pulse the arc for you and allows you to use a smaller rod and no burn thru.

No way no how would those tiny 6013 rods weld the fender arch on my 88 Silverado using a Lincoln AC DC 225. What I did do was put a piece of 1" by 1/8" strapping in there to weld to. Narrower would be better but it was what I had around. You can drill small holes through the panels and spot weld them then finish it off with fiberglass bondo or weld it fully. Its probably not as good as a mig job but strong. Make sure you bury the entire back side of the weld in fiberglass bondo so it won't rust from the rear.