There are plenty of good reasons to build a kit car. For some, it’s the chance to own a replica of a super-rare ride—one you won’t fear racking up miles and paint chips with. For others, it’s an opportunity to create a unique vehicle tailored to your precise specs, making sure everything on the car is exactly the way you want it.

And still others simply enjoy the challenge of taking boxes of parts and transforming them into a complete, running automobile. But what do you need to know going into your first kit car build? We talked to builder Michael Craven about his experience assembling kit cars to get some advice for inexperienced kit car owners.