>>You've mentioned your friend before, although I can't find the reference. By >>"committed to the cause", do you mean "prepared to spend money"??
A project like this is easily going to take 1 person more than a year, even if
they know 6809 assembly very well.
For those who know the Jupiter-6, the Europa upgrade took something like 3-5 years before it was finished. Two people worked on the project initially, but I believe it was eventually finished by 1 guy.
Finding the right people to see this project to its completion isn't going to be easy.