I am just back from my month in England and have had a chance to sort out my e-Bay-bought 250C. Some areas were better than I expected, some worse. Keeping in mind that the body is in primer, and that the engine is newly rebuilt but needs to be re-installed, I am looking for advice on the following:

1. What comes first: mechanicals or paint?

2. The car is an abandoned project and has obviously sat for a long time. Any suggestions on what to check, change or replace before even trying to move or drive it?

3. The car was vandalized at some point and had paint thrown on the interior especially the dash. The paint is like an acrylic and is impervious to anything that I am willing to handle. The dash also has some obvious cracks. How hard is it to replace the dash?
Or should I resign myself to scraping?

Thanks.

Chuck