Peter did a "partial bonding" option for me. I had his painter - Connecticut Custom - do the paintwork. They have a lot of experience on ERAs and did a nice job. Then ERA bonded and riveted just the body to the frame, and I had to bond and rivet the footboxes and panels. It was pretty straightforward and enjoyable (my kids did a lot of the riveting with a pneumatic gun), I didn't run the risk of mounting a painted body, and I saved significant money over the "full bonding" option. You may want to speak with Peter about this.
On the rear, I chose the "standard" option with the inboard brakes. It's a nice piece and I would do it again the same way.
Check out my build thread:
Lippy's ERA #797 build log. There are a lot of details. PM me if you'd like to chat about it.