I can only have 1 car in the yard at a time it's all i can fit so i can't go an buy s13 so i'll just buy the engine separate. But my whole plan along was what you also said is to do it in stages i can manage, That's how i think its going to be easier for me
And as soon as i'm done with the datsun i'll be building an rb powered 180

i agree with a12grunt.. i dont want to discourage you but im just being honest.
think about the stages involved..

you will want to do it in stages but you start thinking, am i going to re do any of the steering, diff ect.. you will end up changing at least part of it and once you start you may think, i may as well change this and that while im at it..

then you think, well i dont want to finish a build and then have a rusty old standard paint job.. so you will want a full body restoration which should come before the car is running..

now if yo are doing or are getting a half decent job thats you 10k gone.. havnt even touched the engine yet..

by the time your engine is running, interior is done and the car is engineered and tuned, there is your next 10K, give or take....

as someone who is going through it at the moment i would either rethink my budget or like a lot of the other guys said, buy something that is done and save yourself the time and money.. if i could go back i would buy something already done. even though it will never be exactly what you want, you can start enjoying it straight away..

just my 2c..

Buy one that is done, way cheaper and less work, I spent nearly 20 grand on mine without painting or resto work, and I still had to do the exhaust, wiring, assembly of engine etc.

A cheapy s13 sr20de conversion could cost someone 5-6 grand to finish if they were handy and did it the correct way from the start. Thats not including the purchase price, you are looking at around 4 grand for something with no rust/resto work to do, or maybe 1 grand for a complete #OOPS#ter which you will spend atleast 2 grand to strip/weld/paint.

But a cheapy sr20de ute in close to roadworthy condition already converted would hardly push $10,000 to buy already done.

The prices on car sales are ridiculous at the moment, I would not touch nearly any of those, someone who is willing to sell will pop up occasionally with a decent price on their car, they are usually snapped up quickly tho, I spent over a year waiting for my car to pop up between the ripoffs. You will find most of those 20-30 grand datsuns will never ever sell, they will advertise it for months maybe drop the price by bugger all then loose interest in selling it, problem is other potential sellers see them for that price and think they can sell theirs for that aswell, which is why carsales is so full of that sort of thing, who would honestly by a datsun for the same price as a mark 1 mustang or similar, not many people.

Gumtree and ebay can be more something where you will find a good deal.

Hang on, aren't we here to enjoy working on our cars too? Not everyone wants to buy a car that's already done. 3/4 of the fun of the ownership of a car is making it you're own and working on it. You're all correct that the cheapest way to get a modifed car is to buy someone elses blood sweat and tears but that's not for everyone.
The kid has stated he's not super budget concious so go for it! Most gen y's (don't get me started on them) will go out and blow $25K on their first car nowadays so if Dat20 spends $18-$20K he'll have an awesome little ute that he's built from the ground up.
Good luck with it!

I don't know about spending $18k-$20 just yet haha
The place where i'm going to go get it engineered said if they were to do all the work for some one on just the engine conversion (which is all i plan on doing for now) would be about $5k-$10, so now if that with that price it mine it should roughly be around $5k i thinking for me, but i have no doubt that over the years to come and upgrades i'll be doing i will spend something like $18k-$20k

Shoota
yea man I agree 100%
I would never try and talk anyone out of doing awesome mods. I just wanted to make sure Dat20 knew what he was getting himself in for before he committed.
Seeing an engineering SR20 ute would be awesome! I hope he pulls it off!

My logic was theres heaps of half finished projects around, might have been less if people we told facts at the start...

I bet at some point we all wish we'd bought a half done car and saved a bomb!
A car that has had all the body done and just needs the mechanical work is definately worthwile. My first ute I got too bogged (literally) down with panel and gave up due to how much work it needed. The next time around I worried about engine and driveline before panel.
I guess you're better off buying a car with the side of work you dislike already done so you can concentrate on the other part that you do like!

dont get me wrong guys, i believe that the build part of owning a car is awesome and wouldn't advise anyone against it, if they knew what theey were in for and had a realistic budget........

i just know that what dat20 is planning to do is well intentioned but i just think the car will end up spending years sitting in a garage before it ever sees the street...

given the budget he could buy something done and enjoy it, then when he has a bit more cash under his belt he could do a build...

either way good luck with what ever you decide to do..

DON_1200 i can guarantee you that once i start the conversion the car will see the street within 2-3months, I can't stand stuff just sitting there and not having anything done to it.