it ONLY taking 11 months. I recieved the engine last September. Then got really busy with grad school. Then I decided to have a house built which was a terrible experience for a person like me. I wasn't able to dedicate much time to building the engine back up until I was done with school in May. Even then I spent soooo much time cleaning every part that I assembled, including bolts. I even took the baffles off the valve covers to clean behind them.