Ron,
That's probably a good middle ground and essentially frees up $250 immediately, that's a set of wheels and tires. We can think about it over the Holidays and decide for sure at the New Year. I'd like to go full Monty, but not at the cost of completing sooner than later.
blackax,
Let me know how much you're planning and I'll put it in the accrual balance. Then just hold it til I call it in which may or may not be before Christmas. Also, where do you get the idea that 250-300whp will put us in the pack at Lemons. My guess is that'd put us well ahead of the bell curve. But I don't know.
This week I'll try to do an estimate of how much money we'll need to complete the car under different scenarios.