Still working a budget. I'm not broke, but I aint rich either. Obviously would like to save some money. But I'm not opposed to spending it either. I would have to farm out some of the work.
Mechanical skills- I have all the tools necessary to perform most of the work. I even have a cherry picker that I haven't used in about 20 years. LOL. I can do suspension and brakes and even an engine and tranny swap (I don't really want to because its been a while and help is kind of limited. No one wants to get their hands dirty anymore) but it's gonna save me some money. All the basic things I can do. If it's bolt-on, I'm the guy! Intake, heads etc.
Work I cannot perform - Fabrication. I know how to weld, but I don't have a welder and I don't do it everyday. So I'm not confident. Anything like shortening axle housing I would have to bring to a shop that does that kind of work. Have helped assemble a motor but would never try that on my own and don't have the specialized tools for engine assembly like cam bearing tool and setting cam shaft degree. Plus setting all the tolerances is kind of important. I would leave that to the pros.
The wrecking yards in my area have a lot of running 5.2 Magnums. 5.9's are not rare but I would have to wait for one. They run about 500 bucks or less. I could outfit the motor with LA stuff. There's a complete 273 a guy is selling on Craigslist in my area that I'm interested in for 500 bucks. Also saw a 1955 331 Chrysler first Gen Hemi that would need a complete rebuild. Too rich for me though.
