This morning I got the first look at the body sans paint. Unfortunately, the blaster also removed all the gel-coat, including the gel-coat on the aftermarket fender and hood. The hood had more ripples than the land along the San Andreas fault, and will be much cheaper to replace than to repair. The fender will need significant massaging as well to be brought back to it's original form. My 200 hour estimate looks like it took a quick jump to 300 hours of labor at the shop. Hopefully we can hold it there.
Swapped the fenders for the old LT1 with Nick yesterday, and brought them by the body shop this morning. They dropped right over the existing fenders, though install will be a cut and paste, with a large seam across the top of the body along the trunk opening. 
Fenders will pull out the side of the car a good 1 1/2 inches, to help accommodate 275/40R17 rubber. You can see the delta here. Finished fender won't be out quite as far, since it's laying on top of the existing fender here, but it will be pretty close. 
While I was looking over Mutt, I also got to take a look at another Newman conversion. The owner of that car spent a good $200K on that build-up. It doesn't take long when you're paying someone else to do all the fabrication. The aluminized exhaust was nicely done. I also noticed a few improvements Paul made over the years - the new LS1 mounts, the revised torque arm that doesn't require grinding to clear the driveshaft - little details like that.
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