Denpo el cheapo here.
I can feel your pain.
Single paycheck household, good salary but nothing to call your mother about.
I Dumped way too much on a bucket of rust, end up redoing everything.
I never loaded the credit card for parts, just waited, hunted Ebay and forums like crazy and decided to cut some corners.
Mine a 76, no real collectible value anyway.
It's a glorious mix of used parts from so many years.
Interior will be refreshed but far from new, there will be scratches on the leather of the seats....
I don't care, one day I'll have my fucking C3, the most beautiful car ever made, back on the road.
In the meanwhile, my clothes are slowly wearing out, I haven't bought anything out of necessity for a year. No game, recreation, no nothing. Garage is my theme park and a used front clip makes a proper birthday gift, thanks you myself!
Now I go pick my parts at the border, my shipping cost nightmares are behind, you being in Europe this is even worst.
Maybe find a trustworthy fellow forum member to collect your purchases (when you buy on Ebay for instance, you don't group ship that much), do the basic checks/returns and wrap them all together in a slow and cheap shipping way (like not using UPS) in exchange of some "beer money".
Lower you expectations,
set priorities,
take your time,
never give up.
