If you have the space and feasibility of a 2nd car, this is by far the way to go.
When I needed to rebuild my 22re, I hadt he same problem... in grad school, slow cash flow, not much free time but planned to do it myself. At the time it was my only vehicle.

I bought a '95 Mercury tracer (escort clone) at an auction for $500. Originally my plan was to drive it a month or so while I scrounged cash and did the engine pull. 3 months later, I had the engine done... but had discovered the 34 mpgs was hard to give up... over the next 2 years I did minimal repairs, fixed several things as I had time, and sold it for $1000 in the paper.

The point is, a 2nd car will allow you the luxury of time, and likely $$ saved on gas to boot. And chances are you can recoup the investment later.