I am kind of a purist myself. I like the 7mgte solely because I dont plan to throw it on the track, so being realistic, I dont actually need the benfits of the 1JZ although it would be nice.
In my years of doing up cars the way I want them (much prefer that to buying new), I have found that the biggest mistake people make is underbudget and then overbuild one specific area. I have lost a friend who went and built a 640 HP "ground pounder" and ended up leaving the roadway into a tree because he didn't build the bottom end of the car. A spindle broke off and byebye car.
My recommendation is do what your doing... talk about it, think about it, plan it, and then do it. I gave myself 3 years to finish my car to the "happy" point. everything after that will be maintenance and gravy upgrades.
the hardest part of these cars is finding your "happy" point.. I am pretty sure you could spend 20k on fixing up the car without giving it too much thought. In the end, I think your ahead (no, you wont be able to get that "out" of the car, however, you can buy a 20,000.00 new car and watch it be worth 8,000.00 in 5 years and not the car you bought, or you can build the car you want.. spend the money.. and end up happy.
to me.. smiling is what its all about.. and I love the MKIII
That doesnt really help you with your decision.. but as I am an old fart.. I always feel like I HAVE to say stuff like that
