Thanks for information.. I assume the earth strap is what Americans refer to a the negative ground wire?
the service bulletin I was reading also suggested cleaning the brushes on the starter.. can this be done with the starter in place, or must I remove it?
on the paint issue I've gone to a couple of shops, and little confidence in most of them, but I've seen the work done by the guy I'm leaning to and he only works on one car at a time.. it's his entire focus for 6 weeks.. the good is... the jams have not been repainted and are in excellent shape, so he won't have to dismantle the car to paint it.
I checked Bsmooth's site.. it appears he is an upholstery guy