I need some help with a build list

[Thecarfixerguy]

I'm very new to performance mods, but I'm a career auto tech and repair shop owner. I understand all the principals, but need help deciding my goals and putting together the parts I need that will work well together.

The engine is out of the car already and I'd like to get to work on it very soon.

Goals: I want it to be fast, look good, and be easy to drive around town with low maintenance. It may see occasional track days, but I'm not looking to set any records. I don't even know what a good horsepower goal is so let me tell you what I had in mind. Being as the engine is out of it I had planned on doing rods/pistons, clutch, and turbo to get started. That should get me to the point I can at least install the engine in to the chassis, I would work on plumbing, fuel pumps and whatever else in the next stage of the build. So if you could all help answer these questions it would help out:
1) Given my goals what do you think is a good target HP?
2) Rods and pistons, what brands do you prefer? what compression ratio would you go for?
3) What are my options on turbos? I see people throwing around a lot of different turbo models. I need some advice. I want something that spools up fast for around town driving, not just when your pedal to the floor at the track. Will I need new manifolds or other parts for the turbo?
4) What are my options on clutches? This car is a project for me and my wife, I want her to be able to drive it comfortably so a clutch that is super grabby or stiff might not be the right match.
5) What other injectors, manifolds, etc. type stuff on the engine itself should I consider taking care of at this stage.

Thanks for your opinions everybody

 

[lost_prophit]

1) Street ability and being fast is very subjective to the owner. For argument sake I'm going to say as fast as modern entry level stock sports cars. So 350-400 ish







2)with a 400 hp goal I would go with eagle rods and I prefer weisco pistons but any forged piston would probably be fine. Stick with 8-9 to 1 compression. It will be much more forgiving with tuning.







3)an evo 3 16g would be good for 350 to just shy of 400. A step or two above that would be a fp 68hta. Both of those turbos you can bolt on to the factory exhaust manifold although replacing it with an fp cast will get you more hp



4) I'm not sure if Tim Zimmer has tmz back up and running yet but he is extremely helpful with clutch selection I'm auto and when I was manual I always ran more clutch than I needed and none were fun to drive.
5) start with the basics

ecmlink v3
Full Exhaust
Front mount intercooler and piping
Better exhaust manifold
Also check over suspension and brakes to make sure they're decent condition


There are upgrade paths on here if you search also

 

[Thecarfixerguy]

Thanks for the great tips. That gives me a good starting point, 400HP is kind of what I had in mind, but wasn't totally sure what I would need to get there. This helped me get a good idea for goals. I've been reading through old threads and after too long your head starts spinning, .