Robert,
If you've never built anything to plans*, you'll find that doing so is a bit harder than one might expect at first glance. It's important that you pick a project simple enough that you stand a reasonable chance of completing it IN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME so that you can obtain a sense of accomplishment in order to inspire you to attempt more complex projects. An overly complex first project can be a real initiative killer. Managing your attitude early on is as important as learning to use the tools, IMHO.
Aside: I speak from experience here, having made some mistakes in that regard when I was starting out. It's a long story and I don't want to bore you with it here.
The simplest and most forgiving engine design is a wobbler and I think you should start there. Flame suckers are too complex to build and too finicky to get running to be a good first project. Wait until you've developed your skills a bit before attempting one.
Two other things you can do that will help us to give you more meaningful advice...
First, tell us what sorts of (metal) things you've already built so we can gauge where you stand on the learning curve. Second, amend your profile to include at least some indication of your location. By doing that you may discover that one of the forum members is local and, if so, he may be willing to provide examples, mentoring and assistance. (If you're anywhere near SoCal, I'll be glad to help out.)
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* as opposed to building something that merely has to fit to an existing object or somehthing that has no critical dimensional contstraints, e.g., a clamp
