Hi there tax-dodgers,
newby here after some advice/strategy for putting together a car for my son.
He is 14 and into muscle cars, I explained that I don't have the money to do a Mustang.
(Plus my own personal bias against guzzlers). 
I owned an SW20 back in 1998 for a few years and loved the handling etc, but in retrospect
always felt it needed a bit more urge. So I am looking at building/buying a turbo version.
I see some quite well-sorted versions varying from $10k to $20k. I'd like to be done by $12K maybe $15k at most. Obviously the more I spend the less I expect it needs... and for that dosh I don't expect to spend, perhaps just a strip down, check it out, replace worn parts.
OR do I pick up a poor condition one for $5K and spend $$$?  
I suspect the former is cheaper, quicker and the car may even be road registered. Opinions please.
 
2nd part is that when my son gets his L' and Ps, he won't be able to drive it.....so I am thinking of an non-Turbo engine as well, that can be dropped in and the turbo engine can sit in storage waiting for him to get his full license. Q: is it difficult to get just an engine? what sort of dosh ? prefer "cheap, needing rebuild" so that we can strip it together.
 
 Is all of the above a reasonable plan ?
cheers for now.
 
 
  

If he is a new driver I would just put him in a NA for a decent amount if time so he can learn to drive before even worrying about a turbo. If he feels the need for more power build a beams mr2 for something in the middle? By the time he is ready or eligible for a turbo their might be more viable or worth while options eg toyota 86

Are you planning to do the conversion yourself or are you getting a workshop to do it.
 
It'd be much easier to get a decent turbo one for $12k, but the problem is he won't be able to drive it. I see 2-3 potential options:
 
1) Buy a semi well sorted SW20 turbo for $12-15k, don't let him drive or remove the turbocharger so he can. After he's past his P's, then you can revert back to a faster turbo spec. During the time inbetween, you can work on the finer details (detailing, restoration etc). This would probably cost less as the car itself will come with more valuable hardware. For example, there's a blue SW20 Gen3 turbo for sale in WA for under $15k, which has a forged motor & GT30 turbo. That hardware/engine setup alone will get you to $12k (excluding the car itself).
 
2) Buy a cheaper, well sorted NA with higher mileage (ie cheap). Buy a halfcut & build that up whilst he's on his L's or P's. If you do the work itself, then it'll be around your budget, but you'll be paying for every upgrade, which adds up very fast (turbo upgrades, IC's, exhaust, ECU's etc).
 
3) Buy a well sorted MR2 turbo for something around $10k. Work on it on the side while he's on his L's & P's. Let him drive on training days etc. For daily purposes, you can buy him a cheaper NA runaround which he can bash & sell after he's over his P's.

I have just bought a very clean 1991 NA. Sure, it is a bit underpowered and won't win a lot of starts from the traffic lights. But it is so low to the ground and handles so well that the perception of speed is greater than actual. I also have a 177kw Ralliart but the little MR2 is much more fun to drive.
I would just buy a NA for little money and let him get experience driving.
If you want the extra surge later then add the motor later or buy a turbo model later.

im with Dwaine on this 1 for what it will cost you to convert a N/A to a turbo you are far better off getting him a N/A 1st and then upgrade him to a turbo version when he is legal to drive it

Yep, buy na now, then save money for a built turbo or v6 conversin.

Also,
you cant take the turbo engine out legally, 
if he is in an accident, and the vin says TURBO ENGINE STANDARD 
there may be a chance he will be void of insurance, 
so Buy the NA, AUS DELIVERED TYPE 
easier to get parts for at a local dealer, and no hassels
then drop a turbo motor in it down the track!
A friend of mine had a turbo skyline, ripped the turbo off and intercooler turned it into an na, 
untill he was off Ps, 
was in an accident, insurance wrote the car off, then voided his insurance, 
he took it to court, lost and had a 10k bill to pay off! 

The RTA clearly states, 
YOU CANNOT REMOVE OR REPLACE A TURBO/ENGINE that came standard with that Car whiulst on Ps

You really dont want a deturbo'd car of anykind if there is an NA equivalent. Youll be making alot less power than the na as well.

Heck at a guess, youll make less than a 5sfe, as they made about the same as a gen1 3sge which is about the level youll take gen2 turbo down to. Similar CR and cam duration but worse timing.

Fair enough, I wasn't aware of that actually. You wouldn't so bad off power wise if the car has an adjustable ecu & cams etc. Was thinking more along the lines of inheriting the parts for later use.

I drove mine for a bit with no exh wheel and I tell ya, it sucked.  No response or usable power at all.  Would make you hate the car IMO.
 
  I'd just get an NA, I'm confident in the 3 years of his Ps he'll probs be bored with it and get something else altogether or, he'll love the chassis and want to go to town on it.  Either way you won't be wasting time and money swapping stuff around all the time.