[NYNick]

"Not knowing any qualified mechanics at the time and the seller was proclaiming to be an expert so I solicited him to see if he was interested in addressing the head studs. $9800 later my motor was ready to ship. I’m in it $22,800 at this point."

Maybe it's just me, but this seems kinda dumb (sorry, Nathan). Don't you restore cars or something for a living? Who does your engine work?

You're into a engine you've never seen, to a guy you've never met, for $23K? Very trusting of you. I get that the engine got damaged through no fault of your own and you didn't get delivered what you paid for, but I never would've had some unknown shop (unknown to me that is) reman an engine for me in the first place.

Maybe my money is more important to me than others, but here's another example where I would be down at the shop often checking on the progress of my project/engine.

JMHO