Being one to do things myself. I'd buy a good book on the subject and tear into it. Only way to learn is hands on. It's not so bad, to do tranny's..Their just kinda messy while tearing them down. A few things you'll want.... Deep dish tranny pan with cooling fins, a new converter depending on your application, the manual valve body, new clutch disks, and replace any worn gears. Oh n dont forget a new shifter :-) Will that go over the $850 doing it yourself? I dunno , but I'd Try :-)