Today's drop-in parts are much better than they were 20 years ago, so I would say you could do it without too many "specialized" tools.
Will you save money? I seriously doubt it, but you'll likely get better parts for the same money.
Can you do it? I don't know, but you might want to search a bit on the web for a few hints and tips, as there are a few "tricky" spots in such a project.
One more thing: Mistakes can be very costly, which will add to the costs. If you go slow and do your research, you'll probably only make minor goofs, which can be over-come without more high-cost parts.
Good luck.