Fender Question

hi guys, i got a 86 ranger and the front fenders are rusted around the lip where the inner fender bolts to. Im not putting the inner fenders back on and was wondering if i could just cut the lip off or not. i wasent sure if that would effect the structure of it and make it wobble alot. Should i just cut the lip off or buy new fenders for 50 bucks a pop?

i would buy new fenders because the will prolly become wobbly if you cut the lip out