cost effective build-up?

[Shnitz]

i have a question about building up my '89 into an sr20-powered car. is it cost effective to build up the car by buying a clip piece-by-piece? when i say piece-by-piece i mean buying the only the engine now, buying a transmission in a few weeks, etc for the ecu, harness, turbo and any other parts i will need for the build-up. is it possible to find each of these parts separately, or will i end up in a situation such as having to buy a front clip for just the harness? thanks a lot for any help given, and by the way, time is not an issue, my car is in good condition and works well as a daily driver; even if i had the money today for a full clip i probably wouldnt start the swap until next summer (bought my car from an old couple that were the original owners, towed the car behind a winnebago, so the 115k on the odometer isn't representative of how many miles the engine has, couldn't justify fixing my car up while it's still in this condition)

[Scott McLellan]

Buying stuff piece by piece will most likely be quite a bit more overall because all of the nitty gritty parts finding could get expensive quick. My advice would be to save up and buy the complete clip all at once just so you know before you start the swap that you have all the parts needed. That will also minimize down-time. I tried what you did for a brake upgrade piecing together stuff to make it cheaper and had my car in the garage for a good 2 months. Sounds rediculus, I know, but I could have easily done the job in a day if it weren't for waiting for parts and dealing with parts stores and companies who's orders were behind because of the 4th of July holiday like 2 weeks. I did end up saving probly like $100 piecing stuff together. So I guess it's your call. If you have some good hook-ups for cheap parts, go for it. Otherwise it would most likely be cheaper to buy a clip.