Thanks for the warm welcome! I've had a look at the barrow load of bits that you've got with your Dodge (from the pics) and that's what started my brain ticking over - noticing all that you do have and going through all the potential problems, missing parts and so on. I found that it's often not the big stuff that adds up, it's all the small stuff - seals, caps, trim and so on. Add on the shipping and tax and something that starts off as reasonable ends up stupidly expensive.
My car was recently off the road for 3 weeks while waiting for a simple seal for the petrol tank that didn't arrive three times in a row. Just getting a new petrol tank fitted in and ensuring all was well ran into hundreds and with the missing seal, took weeks. I also lost a wedding that I had booked in to try and recoup some of the money the car's cost me!
However, the fact that my Dodge is now the car you see today proves that it can indeed be done - just allow for time and additional expense - even if you do it all yourself. You do, after all, have to use Chrysler parts!
Mine cost me far, far, far more than I had EVER intended to spend on it, but once you start it becomes a case of having to find the cash from somewhere or give up on it as a lost project.
I'll dig out some pics of the car from when I bought it and get my wife to scan them in so I can send in with a few words about how it all went.
I was on MMA but haven't been on recently. Seems I spend more time driving my car these days rather than talking & writing about it - which is a good thing! I have also not got the cash anymore to rejoin MMA as my car has eaten all my money.....!!!