Have you ever broken your arm or any bone? It doesn't hurt at first, but you gasp and go, "Oh my gosh what just happened." That's kinda how it feels to cut into your car for the first time. It's a bit of shock, excitement, fear, nerves, and pride all at once, and then you grab your camera! It's like every measurement you've made flashes before your eyes and you say I hope that's the right spot!

Looking down on the first cut, you can immediately see why the inner support braces are important. The top part is already pulling in from the lower part. Without the braces, the lower part would do the same thing and it would be impossible to get everything lined up right.

A hacksaw and reciprocating saw make a lot of noise, but Zoe slept through the whole job!

Perfect example for thinking safety first. When I was cutting the vertical line, the metal cutting wheel on the dremel broke in half and hit my face mask. That would have left a mark!

The reciprocating saw is tough to hold steady while walking around the car. Not bad for my first try, I think.

Here's the driver side slice, with a light inside the car. It's mostly stright, just a few jaggies.

I figured it was best to start with the rear cuts so the posts would hold the top steady. Now it's time for the windshield posts. I scored the cut lines with the dremel so the hacksaw wouldn't be sliding all over the place.

When I cut through the driver's side windshield post, I thought the lower half of the post had popped out toward me. I was thinking I should have put a cross brace between the windshield posts like I did for the door posts. Fortunately it was just the top half of the roof sliding over a half inch because of tension from the top lifter pulling it sideways.