crash,
Also sending condolences on the death of your friend/mentor. People like that are becoming increasingly hard to find in this hobby.
Anyway, you might consider posting a parallel thread in the "Vintage & Antique R/C" forum. A lot of the guys there have probably built the Rebel and will be able to offer a lot of assistance.
Although I'm of the age, I never built any of the Live Wire kits. A bunch of my friends at the time did, though, and they were all great fliers. DeBolt was a great designer who liked to keep his kits simple, so you shouldn't have too much trouble. Just take your time and enjoy it. The only place I can see that might be confusing is if the plans on the kit show radio installation. It's liable to have a bunch of stuff listed that you never knew existed. You'll have to figure out how to fit more modern equipment into the space. That should not be a problem as the old radios were pretty big and you should have plenty of room.
Good luck and please keep us posted. PM me if you need help.

papermache