I can't afford to start now. I've still got a year, year and a half of 20 hours a week at 8 an hour and college expenses to deal with. That and another 800 dollars I feel obligated to dump into the DSM to "finish" it, to pipe the front mount, get new tires on my fd rims, and do a big brake conversion. After that I start saving and hopefully I have enough to start looking for a clean, running NA by the time I graduate. I want to drive it and get a feel for the car before I dump 10k+ into LS1 drivetrain, suspension, paint, brakes, etc.

My goal is to strip the car down and redo it all from the ground up to end up with a reliable, ~380-400 whp off bottle ~475 on bottle daily driver with all new everything and great handling, but still a relatively mild setup. Small cam, small shot, LS7 clutch kit, etc, and full comfort- stereo system, A/C, power steering, etc. Then after a few years, after I've worn a bit of the crosshatch off of those oh-so-bore-able sleeves, consider a new daily and do something involving an iron block and snail(s). All depends on how well I fare in the pay department in whatever career I end up in; if I do well I'll do the FB I mentioned above and have 2 V8 RX-7s in my garage.

The one thing that worries me is the rear end. You've been having a lot of trouble with it? I haven't put as much research in on that subject, having taken the torquecentral guys at face value on its supposed strength. Part of the reason I want the car is for the massive suspension aftermarket support and good handling characteristics... I don't know what slapping a 9" in there will do to that.