How far to rebuild before body fit?

[Bitsilly]

I was wondering if there is any guidance on how far you can build up a rolling chassis before fitting the body?
It looks like I will be waiting a long time for my body to be painted and I have the rolling chassis finished with engine in, exhaust manifolds, alternator, but as I am twiddling my thumbs, and have never done an elan before, can I fit water pipes, etc, etc,
Cheers

[smo17003]

I wouldn't bother with anything that has to pass through the bulkhead i.e. heater hoses. The one thing I wish I had done while the body was away was make up a dummy dashboard with ignition switch, gauges, solenoid etc., fit the rad, and rig up a fuel supply. Knowing that the engine is performing as it should, before fitting the body, could be a big time saver.

[gjz30075]

You can't fit the carbs nor the rearmost studs for the carbs before fitting the body.

[snowyelan]

If you haven't done it already, run a piece of string for pulling the parking brake cable thru the proper holes in the chassis tunnel.