Very true. Especially worth it if you plan on goin for more of a show vehicle. But if its just gonna be a DD. I personally wouldn spend more then 3k but mines not gonna be a show car Jus a race car on weekends and my wheels to work during the week. And it gets me there real fast.

I want to turbo it. I was thinking a 1jz swap or even a 2jz swap. I may just go 7mgte though not quite sure. I want to swap it to a manual too. If I do a motor and trans swap I am going to buy the motor and trans work on it out of the car an then swap it in when I have it the way I want and rebuilt. That way I don't have the car off the road except for just having the swap done. I also want to swap out the 4.30 rear for the 3.73 or something different. That should also give me a bit of performance as well

I don't know exactly how many coats of paint and clear but the guy is a shop for BMW and I have seen his paint jobs and they look like the car rolled out of the showroom even years after they were painted. He really does amazing work. I am debating having it done cause even though I am going to drive the car I also want to take it to some car shows in the area.