Like many others, I assembled my engine from an ECI kit. (bob at Eagle Engines) I didn't save much if any money and did it for one simple reason. I wanted to! Had the help of an AP who is known to ECI and who has built many many engines in his shop that is set up just for engines. Took us three sessions to complete.
I have always been intimidated by engines and if anything didn't feel or sound right, I basically had no clue as to what it might be and there was no way I was going to put a wrench to it! Now that I have had my hands into the core of an engine, read all the documentation from several sources, studied all the drawings for hours, and actually built the engine (with professional help) I would not hesitate to dig in. I feel a lot more comfortable flying behind an engine I know intimately. Don't take it wrong, I am not qualified to build or repair an engine but at least I have a good probability of finding a problem and repairing it if it is small.
