Does the lower side pod need to be removed?

I've got every body panel off the car except the fuse side panels and the lower side pods. I'm trying to keep the lower side pods on to remove the side panels on the fuselage but no go. I removed the bolt going through the frame, fuselage panel and lower side pod near where the drivers hip would be located but it doesn't want to pull up. Am I missing something? This is where building the car would have helped instead of buying used!



The body is going off to paint and while its there I will be going over every inch of this car. Any advice on important things to check while I'm going through the car would be most appreciated!