[Howard Jones]

When you can. Take a lot of pictures of the overall damage, then small area pictures that center the issue being highlighted and finally as close as necessary single piece damage pictures.

Prepare a document that includes all the individual parts that you think you might need and as many part numbers or sources as you can scrape up. Add a short coversheet that states what your goal might be for the car and your ideas about sharing the repair if that works better for you and ALL your contact information.

You can then simply email the complete package to several shops after you have talked to a few that would be interested in doing the work and then depending on the responses, make a informed decision.

I would concentrate on the chassis repair first and see where the estimates take you. Lastly ask what you can do in advance to defray costs and if the repair shop would be willing to do all the stuff you can't do and then give the car back to you so that you could finish up as funds/time become available.

Things like removing the fuel tank so that damaged rear suspension pickup points can be removed and then new ones welded back on for example. Or even sending them the bare chassis, get it fixed and then later send it and the body panels to a fiberglass guy who does cobras to do the remaining portion of the repair.

Shops sometimes don't like to have body's taking up space in the shop for extended periods while they work on the chassis.

The more information you can provide to the repair shop the easier it will be for them to give you a accurate bid and helping them with their process can get jobs done that otherwise would be declined.

Good luck with your car. Anything can be fixed, sometimes a lot less expensively than you would think.