I paid to have all the bodywork done on my Super Bee. I figured assembling the car would be a snap if this much was done.
It didn't work out that way.
You may find that the toughest part of a restoration is the assembly process. Some things just don't fit the same as before, things get misplaced or lost,or you might inflict damage to the fresh new body while installing components. All this happened to me, but it was my first restoration.
Case in point: The people who did the body did not test fit the interior metal above the vinyl panels in the back seat. It just did not seem neccesary. When I installed them, freshly painted, it did not occur to me that the inner door metal might collide with them...which it did. It set me back time and more money.
In the end, the car is looking stunning, and all the hardships of some of the seemingly simple tasks are behind me.
The next car I do will have the bodywork farmed out to someone else. This time, however, I will be well aware of the potential pitfalls and will make sure pre-fitting occurs.
I really enjoy the assembly process (big model car). I just don't want to experiment with something like bodywork.