Ain't that the truth? I wish I could afford how it "oughtta" be done. I have to do what I have to do......or find another hobby. What would be the fun in that? I find it challenging to do it under the gun of a tight budget. For people who have the money, it's easy to just open the checkbook. But when you do basically the same thing on a strict budget, it's more rewarding.
Like when I recently rebuilt a little slant 6 electronic distributor and welded up and refiled the slots, put light advance springs in it and got it in ready to run shape. Not everybody can do it and not everybody wants to do it. Some people would just open their checkbook. I enjoy making something good out of something not so good and modifying it to suit my needs. It's a lot of fun and very rewarding. And a nice byproduct is, it saves me money.