PaintQueue

I�m excited about completing my car. It seems all the more real now that I�ve dropped off my car. I handed the shop a wad of cash, as a down payment, which may have shortened the wait. Yes a wait, it�s a few days before work can begin. Here you see my car at the end of the line.

Now I need to plan what I have to do when the car returns. I may only have a few days to put the car together. No sweat, I�ve heard from you guys it can be done.

I have received numerous suggestions for an alignment shop, and I�ll likely go with
�Custom Alignment�, in Mt View (http://www.customalignment.com/).

With that out of the way, I am now taking an inventory of all the remaining items I�ll need when I put the car back together. There is a lot to do !

Unless a problem crops up, I can�t see it taking more than a few days (week on the outside) to put it back together. Which is good, because I�ll have a week or less, depending upon the paint shop schedule.

I learned how to document an agreement working on Defense related projects, where everything is documented to the nth degree. (Thus a $5 hammer cost $2,000, with all the documentation.)

In the legal wrangling to get my car back, this skill turned out to be most valuable. I had documented my expectations, our agreement, our verbal discussions, progress (or lack there of), costs and such. Maintaining (updating) took time, but that time was well spent. However, in the body and paint business, most people make deals with just a handshake, and often less than the legally required paperwork. I didn�t want to overwhelm the painter with a many-page contract, but I still needed to document our understanding. I tried something new. I took my video camera with me when I showed the painter the car, and recorded our whole conversation. I went down my checklist, mentioned everything I felt was necessary, getting his verbal agreement on tape.
If the worst occurs, I can play the video to a judge (or arbitration panel). I still prefer a well written contract.