I'd say you're off to a good start! I know what you mean about the heat - many years ago, I lived in Houston and I remember doing most of my painting at night.
If I didn't know otherwise, I would swear that I was looking at photos of the actual car - there aren't enough superlatives in the English language to describe how well done it is.
My wife had a 1991 with the same exterior color and a fabric interior - we had loads of fun with it! Your model is the spitting image of her car; thanks for posting!