Newbie and a rebuild

[cadency]

So... I'm looking at this Baja bug as a potential buy with a 1641 cc engine, new, in parts.  I've had a difficult time trying to find a clean body with an ok engine or a great engine with a semi-clean body in my price range.  I'm not terribly mechanically inclined; I passed my small engine building class quite a few years back.  I can follow directions pretty well.  I really want to learn and feel like I can work on one of these things and get my hands dirty. 

Being new and likely having to go page by page on the rebuild, how long does it typically take to put together an engine?  How long does it take for the experienced folk and how much would it cost?  Is it more time/cost efficient to pay and then learn to tinker as I go?  I'm imagining that I will learn more by rebuilding but I'm also worried I'm just going to eff it up.  I don't really have anyone to help guide me - as they sometimes recommend.  And of course, my ovaries over think things and keep wondering if I'm just trying to pick up a crazy daunting task...

but I know a lot of you guys love this stuff and, really, it looks like fun.  Thoughts, input, and feedback always welcomed!

Thanks

[Kimbo]

Mmm, interesting questions, and you'll get many differing answers to them, but most will be the same as the answer to the question "How long is a piece of string".

It really depends on how much work is involved (which has a direct influence on the cost as well). You can throw an engine together in a matter or hours, if you're experienced and you don't have to break it down/clean it up, and you've got all the bits you need, and they all go together first time. The same applies to cost, depends on the condition of your "donor" engine, how much you've got to replace or add, and ultimately what you want from it - reliability, efficiency, or performance

If you farm out the rebuild to an auto shop, you've got to have clear picture of what you want, otherwise you may be taken to the cleaners, or, at the very least, end up with something that you didn't want.

Personally when I was starting out, I looked for something that ran, and was reasonably reliable - then started "fiddling" - it gacve me a known starting point to go back to when it all turned pear-shaped. I'd shy away from starting with a rebuild, unless you know what you're doing, lots of things can go wrong, and get complicated, very quickly.

Other than that, welcome, you'll get more info from these guys that you can poke stick at, so I reckon you've come to the right place.

Cheers ... Kimbo

[cadency]

Thanks Kimbo!  I ended up with your consensus.  I don't want a total fixer upper but am struggling to find something reasonably priced or a good deal. 

I just got offered to buy / look at a 68 baja with a recently (last 6 months) rebuilt (with chrome additions) 1600cc engine.  Price is nice, photos look ok (but we know that's potentially misleading...) but he says that he had started to put in the new starter switch but never wired it.  Another WTF moment in not knowing what a project will take me or run me at a shop.  And not enough head knowledge to know if I'm getting a good deal or not because it won't be running when I get it...

I've been hunting for a few weeks now and it's become frustrating.  Been reading How to Keep Your VW Alive for Compleat Idiots... but there's so much that doesn't make sense until it's in front of me...

Thanks again for your feedback!

[Kimbo]

No worries - LOL, yeah, know what you mean about reading books, and then subesequently meeting up with reality - sometimes it's an "Oh wow, that's what they mean" moment, but more often than not it's a "WTF?"

Good luck with your search