Building an SW20.

 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.
 
 
  

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.

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

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

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.

 Thanks chaps, I see some focus on insurance which I'm not a fan of, so there won't be any voiding of any policies.  
 I think I've made my mind up to buy a turbo version not needing too much work. Then if I can stop myself from driving it all the time, and remember that the whole project is an educational for my son who wants to be a car designer (used to be a monorail driver) , then we can put it up on blocks, work on the rolling chassis, suspension, centre of mass, etc. Then buy a spare NA engine, strip it, rebuild it and drop it in, ready for his L's. Turbo engine can sit pretty until he is legal, then we can put it back in, and fight over who gets to drive it. I am assuming that the internals of the turbo'd version (eg pistons, cams, ??) are different to an NA version, so just "unbolting" the turbo would not give a great result, but maybe that is wrong ??
Or my son may be happy to drive the Camry stationwagon until he is legal, ok by me, I'll drive the MR2.
He might feel jipped after working on the car, and then not be allowed to drive it.  :o)
 One more thing I'd appreciate your collective experience on is weight reduction, looking at bang for the buck, what replacements give the best gains ? What sort of saving can be had for $1k, $2k?
 
cheers,
Twodogs
 

Good plan +1 to no conversion/headache route (personal experience hehe). Might spend more initially but you'll prob end up spending more overall if you cheap out at the start buying a lemon.
You will have to mess around with the compression ratio (to make it 'drive-able') if you decide to "de-turbo" the engine so I wouldn't do that...
No real significant weight savings on the SW20 can be done cheaply unfortunately. A/C, spare wheel, exhaust looking at 50-60kg tops I'd say. With 2k can definitely shave off a few more kgs.
 
Link to comprehensive weight reduction:
http://www.jekylhyderacing.com/weight.htm

Don't be put off by the "did it myself" tag - but do the research, have a good look at the standard of workmanship on the car.  I've recently had the pleasure(?) of sorting out a few (??) issues on a DIY Turbo AW, and the level of bodge exhibited by that car - affectionately know as CurseDub - was truly spectacularly.  If you choose to head down this path, be super picky, spend a morning poking and prodding over the car, perhaps enlist the aid of a local forum member to find the problem areas.  We're all here to help . . .