I've got a twist on this for you, Bob! What if, during the 3 years it has taken you to get to the point of completing the fuselage, you have managed to save $30K for the ongoing process.
Where do you put your money! The engine and firewall forward would consume just about all of that, leaving nothing for the avionics/finish kit. Full avionics/finish kit would also consume all of that. I know, hidden in here, is the debate about engine first vs avionics first. Of course that is a consideration, but I don't want to inflame those debates again.
I'm thinking that I start with the avionics/finish kit, with the idea that in another 2 years, I can save up a big chunk of change toward the engine, then borrow the rest (should have enough equity in the plane to do so at that point). I can help myself even further by planning my final panel, but only putting in the avionics I need to get flying, with the idea that I can put in the additional items as time goes on (i.e. I can afford it).
Any other thoughts, anybody?