Dang! yea i didnt do a balance. I just had the basic of the basic done. I even refused the cam bearing install. LOL i should have let him do it as it cost me more to do it myself but hey i learned something and i now know how to do it. Basically the only thing the machine shop did was what i couldnt and that was cutting the metal straight and flat! Im sure if i had the whole 9 yards done it probably would have been 2 grand or more. i even removed the pistons from the rods and replaced them back! Thats one thing ill never do again. That was kinda the point of my original post. this stuff can be done on a budget you just have to be willing to learn and put in the hard work. I dont have a garage or a lift or even a concrete pad to pull and reinstall the engine but I did it and i made it work! It was shady as hell but i did. When i was a teenager i pulled the slant six out of my car with a chain come along and an oak tree.