Hey DJ1984
If you plan on keeping the mower for a while, and don't have a complete allegiance to restore to exact original specs, you can buy a number of new engines for a relatively cheap price.
I bought a brand new briggs for under $300, and many have purchased the very reliable Honda for a tad more.
In respect to the rest of e mower, many threads on here on what people have done. You can go quite extravagant (funky new front rollers avail etc) or can do on a budget if that's your choice.
I did mine with lots of help by seeing what others had done, or simply ask for help.
