Welcome aboard. The only association I had with nukes was, I was told we carried some that would go boom boom on the old flat top I spent alittle time TAD on. The Rosey was much too old for nuke propulsion but she could get up enough speed to launch and recover Phantoms and a host of other turbine & reciprocating powered gravity defeating machines.
I like to collect parts as I find them on the cheap, then buy the expensive parts on a JIT basis. Like DAD said sometimes one can hold onto parts for so long they've either gone past returning or you've decided to go in another direction.
I find that I can easily get into wrenching mode by getting around the project, turn on some good tunes and tune the rest of the world out. Some like the journey and some like the finished product, nothing wrong with either. Liking both is highly enjoyable.
Good luck
