Ok Gents, I reached the stage where I am sitting back taking a big gulp of humble pie. Should I take on the body work myself or pass it off to someone who knows what they are doing? That's my quandary at the moment.

I've reached the point in the build where all the focus is now on the body. My original intention was to fit the body and all exterior fixtures and get the #112211 Pennsylvania road legal, drive it around in gelcoat for the summer, then make the decision in the off season. That said, I borrowed my buddy this past weekend and we fitted the body for the first time. Sure looked good to me at first. But looking at the detail of fitment, my side pipes don't hit the side cutouts. The passenger side looks good but the drivers header is too high and too far forward. After doing some searching, I see where I can level the motor which I think it will get me in the ballpark. As for the DR header being too far forward, I can see the body itself needs to move forward somewhat. After landing on a Jeff Kliener post, I should be able to move the body forward enough so the rear cockpit sidewall should be forward of the door lock brackets. The passenger clears but the DR doesn't. What I failed to do before fitting the body is trim back the dash lip and rear cockpit wall lip. That would enable me to move it forward slightly. Another issue on the rear is the side wall aluminum needing to be trimmed (I have the bulb seals installed) and they are crushed at this point in the body.

So that brings me to the advise stage of my blabbering. If I'm going to be trimming these areas, should I just "go all the way". Seems to me it's a cause and effect situation. My wheel/tires up front hit the wheel well perfectly. If I move the body forward, now the wheel well may need to be addressed.

I have absolutely no clue when it comes to body work. Example: To cut back the cowl edge straight, I would clamp a straight edge to it and use a drum sander or belt sander and just sand off up to the straight edge. I have no clue if this is a good method to use.

Now that I am investing in body work tools, I feel like I should chew off whatever I can.

Is there any one thread on this forum or the other that can be followed that details out for the beginner to overcome the basic body work? What tools should I focus on? Is HSRF a foundation builder and Rage used to go over the foundation?

I'm almost tempted to take a night school class at the local community college in order to learn some basics. EdwardB's Anniversary thread was a good start where he lays out "what" to cut back. But Paul is all in when he reaches this stage and I have no where near the skills he does.

ANY advise would be very welcome and much appreciated.