Thanks for the kind words everyone!
I seriously considered that after I started having all the fit issues, but I had finally gotten a decent paint job on it so I gritted my teeth, said my fare share of cuss words and pushed on.
Believe me there were more than a few times this almost got thrown back in box and back on the shelf.
I also have the 1966 Ford Galaxie from the ATM retro series in my stash. Hoping it doesn't suffer the same problems.