Continuing my story, even though I've jumped ahead a bit answering questions...
I had made the decision to use a Prius V as the basis of the conversion of my Firebird to a hybrid.
My friend Steve at AutoBeYours.com was very helpful in my efforts to bid on Prius V's in the salvage auctions, although I never seemed to win. Then one day he told me about a client of his who had a roll-over 2014 Prius V with only 4,500 miles on it. The front of the roof was crushed and the right front suspension damaged. Steve had repaired the suspension and temporarily installed a new windshield, but the roof turned out to be more damage than the client was willing to fix.
Since I did not care about the roof damage and other sheetmetal wrinkles, Steve mentioned me to his client. We arranged a visit to the shop in Indiana for me to inspect the car. As expected, it was perfect for my project. It had been sitting in auction lots for almost a year, but with the suspension repaired it still drove line a new car. We came to a three way agreement where I would buy the car from the client, and then Steve bought any of the body and interior parts that I didn't need for the project. We stripped the parts from the car at the shop...
... and loaded the running car shell onto a trailer for the trip home.
Once we arrived at my house I DROVE the car into the cul-de-sak across the street using a metal folding chair as the driver's seat.
The driver of the trailer bought the old Firebire front end and rear suspension from me and loaded it up for the trip back to Indiana.
Once he had left, I drove the Prius V shell into the garage and parked it next to the Firebird's body.
Next chapter: I buy a Sawz-all...
Bill the Engineer