All photos are linked to big ones.
First, I finally had Miracle paint the car. Several local body shops no longer do full paint jobs. Not enough $$$ in it. They make more by doing repair. work. I went to at least 10 shops. I ended up spending $2030 for the work, including a new windshield. The quality of the work is good, but not perfect. Perfect will cost you at LEAST $5000! I got a better than average job by tipping the shop manager $50, and the painter $200. They ended up painting the car twice, because the buffer burned through the first coat in places. So I got two for one. Overall a good idea, and I'm happy with the quality. I've upgraded the car to a 3 footer.
Keep in mind that you can no longer get the soft parts for the interior. So plan on custom stuff, or buy a donor with good stuff inside.
When in California, look for legal hassles. I had to get a referee to smog it, the CHP to verify the VIN, and the DMV to change the title to "roadster" The tip here is to look around for a smog station, some will test it for what it is, a Blazer, some will not. Give yourself plenty of time here, it took me 6 weeks to get this all wrapped up.The BAR sticker ended up costing me $1000, with the lost time from work, tests, repairs, more tests, Etc.
Make sure that you can remove the lights easily. May sound like a no brainer, but OOPS, I didn't make the connectors at the lamps, and couldn't remove them for the paint shop. They did a good masking though, and you can't see any white around them.
Set back the replacment sockets for the front turn/parking lamps as far back as you can. My bulbs touch the lenses, and I'm just waiting for something to break.
Keep in mind that every step in the assembly guide is there for a reason, whether it seems to make sense or not.
THINK, THINK, THINK!!! Really spend some brain power before the muscle power. There are several OOPS on my car because I was in too big of a hurry.
Lastly, I LOVE my Rodster. I've had over 40 cars in 30 years, and this is the first one I've become emotionally attached to. There is a lotta blood, sweat and tears in this (and about $16,000) but well worth it.
Now, if I can only talk myself out of building another one...
Good luck, and have fun!