Hello, my friend.
Thanks for telling your story here - you might want to "Edit" and add a "story" tag to this piece?
Congratulations on your success with your van. It really is a "big deal."
"Oh and if any of my fellow Steemians ever need to perform a top end rebuild on their Chevy 350 please don't call me-"
Hahahahah! :D
I absolutely sympathize with the pain of facing a major overhaul like this, and then battling your way through to a successful conclusion.
Personally, although it was fun as a kid, I now hate working on cars after having had to do so throughout my life for the same economic reasons you've faced.