this sounds like your best bet...
read this article first..
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...29/ai_n9474540
if your still interested, goto this website:
http://www.1911patriotcop.us/home.htm
I know it doesnt really go along with your 'I'll but a peice at a time to spread out the cost' idea, but assembling a 1911 from scratch it not as easy as it might seem, theres a lot of tuning involved, and having someone who REALLY knows what they are doing inspect your work for you is worth a lot. bad things happen when guns fall down and go boom.