sounds like a good plan to me. My only question if your state won't allow a 1200cc turbo swap, would they really allow a 1500cc turbo swap??

re cut-n-shut, they used to in the old days do it in their garages with good success for drag racing. But somewhere along the way people started saying it was impossible without specialized machinist know-how and tools. In the old days they used calipers for measuring and locating, and simple jigs to hold things in place while welding and drilling. But to find a machinist nowadays that can do that, well maybe look for an old timer...