first time resto

question.
When one is starting a total restoration where do they start. The car needs engine work interior work, and body work. I'm not sure what i want to do with the engine yet, i might keep the engine that it has in it and rebuild it, or i might buy a new engine, is there any drawback to doing the interior or the body work first. is there any chance of the work on the interior or the exterior being disturbed or banged up by the work on the engine/transmission etc. I'm new to the car restoration hobby and am not sure where to start.

That depends on the car and how it is built. If its a body-on-frame car, then you'd probably start by removing the body, getting it stripped, sand blasted, acid dipped etc, then cleaning up the chassis and rebuilding it from the ground up. A unibody car doesn't offer you quite as much freedom, but its always good to make sure that the structural integrity of the car is there before you 'rod it out.

you also need to figure out what you want to do with your engine, if you do that it enables you to get the engine painted and installed in the engine bay after you do frame work. you also can paint the body after you paint the engine and install it so you dont scratch the newly painted exterior