[mr0077]

Militia, Downtown is right, take advantage of those that "been there, done that". Hanging out with the Cobra club guys will also help you decide what you like or don't like in a kit, and what you can afford in one of these. The better the kit, the more of a bolt-together, "some assembly required" kind of experience (and, the more it will cost). If you go with a budget kit, you should plan on solving some of the "problems" involved with the assembly and completion of the kit. The more "authentic" (what's that?), the more it will cost.
When I did my first Cobra kit, because I thought I knew a LOT about cars, I did a budget approach. HA! I had to do welding, fiberglas work, painting, upholstry, fuel tank fabrication, fuel line routing, brake line fab and routing, etc., etc. My second kit was absolutely a bolt-up operation, with all the engineering done. Do you want to use some of that mechanical engineering training? You might enjoy some of the problem-solving that a less complete kit would require...but if you don't have extensive hands-on experience working on cars, you will probably have to rely on the guys that have already solved the various problems...
Damn, did that make a BIT of sense to anybody?
These guys here at the forum can be a priceless source of answers to just about any question you can think of.
Good luck!