Jaybr, I messaged Nick a couple of days ago, he's backed up 3 years and over $100k for a nut and bolt restore. I spoke with Tom a few years ago but hadn't followed up. I'll follow up with him.
BG, What I'm getting at is that I'm mechanically inclined enough that I can rebuild the axles and transfer case, and the assembly portion of the engine (obviously I ain't got a machine shop so I won't be doing that part). I've already built my harness for Explorer EFI. I plan to buy an AX15 conversion kit from Advance Adapters, so the drivetrain portion I am pretty sure I have a grip on. I have no business doing the body work or paint. I tried doing some "elementary" body work in my early teens, and you have to have a certain touch for feeling minute imperfections (tiny dents, small waves, etc) and I ain't got it. I can't do bodywork. I haven't tried painting. But from spending all my youthful summers with my cousins who did paint and body work, bad paint and body work sticks out to me like a sore thumb. Poorly matched paint, orange peel, poorly sanded bondo work, poor taping prior to painting, bad panel alignment, all that chaps my hind parts. That's all I have nailed down. I don't plan to take it from shop to shop having various things done. Frame down, I think I can do. Electrical I can probably do most of it. I'm even going to be buying an upholstery sewing machine to do my own upholstery this year. I just don't want to duct tape and bailing wire fix it until I can have it restored. I want to do it once and do it right, so I will likely be doing something like what you are thinking: axles, then t-case, then engine, pull the body and drivetrain, take the frame to get dipped and galvanized, buy the trans conversion, put the drivetrain back together, then hopefully I'll have found a respectable paint and body person to do the body. I'm retired military, so I have the time to do the things I feel like I can do. I just know my limitations. Maybe this makes more sense than my original post.
