The do-it-yourself movement centers around two linked principles: learning a skill and saving money. Chevy’s Engine Build Experience, which lets Corvette Z06 buyers spend a day hand-assembling the supercharged 650-horsepower engine that will go in their brand-new American supercar, definitely has the first part down. But at a cost of $5000, you won’t save any money opting for the build-your-own package.

The Engine Build Experience invites customers who’ve special-ordered a brand-new Z06 to come to the Performance Build Center, the facility within the Bowling Green Assembly Plant where every Z06 engine is assembled. The package lets buyers spend a full day at the center at the behest of an engine-assembly technician, who will instruct and oversee as the customer puts together the powerplant of his or her Z06. Each customer-built mill gets a personalized engine plaque indicating the owner/builder’s name and the date of assembly, along with professional photos documenting the whole experience.

Of course, you won’t walk in the door in the morning and drive out in the brand-new Z06 you (sort of) built yourself. “It’s important for customers to understand their engine won’t be installed the day after they build it,” said Harlan Charles, Corvette product manager. “It will flow into the scheduling process for vehicle assembly, which depends on a number of logistical variables.” And of course, travel to Bowling Green and lodging is up to the customer.

Still, if you’re in the market for a Z06 and you want to get intimate with its spinny, oily bits, assisting in the engine-assembly process seems like a cool way to make your über-Vette feel more like your very own. And there’s something uniquely American about the whole idea: Whereas Porsche’s engine plant is populated by stoic professionals in pragmatic coveralls, any yahoo with a Z06 order form and five stacks in cash can barge in, grab a torque wrench, and start slingin’ together an LT4.

Maybe this is how Chevy keeps the Z06’s sticker price so shockingly low. If you wanna see how the 650-horsepower sausage is made, the program officially begins this March.

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