I would definitely get someone to train you, hands on. I'm living overseas, and have been trying to fix my Pfaff. I succeeded in cleaning, opening it up and oiling a part that was supposed to be self lubricated (10 year old machine), but then saw that the engine is sparking. Looked it up online, and there were instructions for taking the engine apart and fixing it. But then my formerly electrical engineering husband warned me that there are "capacitors" that are very dangerous and I probably shouldn't mess with it. Don't mean to be a wet blanket - I wish you the best. I think it sounds fun.