I bought that little bird about 7 years ago thinking it was perfect for my .10 but it came out too heavy and flew extremely sluggish. After a couple months not enjoying it that much I did exactly what you have in mind. I sold the old airplane and ordered me a new kit. I removed practically all the foam of the wings. Using a hotwire cutter I left 1/2" ribs and a 3/4" center spar section of the original foam. Then I sheeted the whole wing. Got rid off practically all the plywood except the firewall and did some modifications to the landing gear mounting block.
It flew beautifully, lots of speed with just an OS .10 FP......not enough to hover though.
Have fun!