Dont cut before paint. Paint it, mount it, then trim as neccessary. It also looks like your ride hight might be a little low? That would have a big difference on mounting. If you get longer front post, you should be able to mount with the wheel wells not being to high. No matter the maker of the car, the shock towers being to high is usually the only thing that gets in the way of mounting bodies. But thats when too low, not too high. And did I see a 17.5 in the pic???