I've got about a good $8G's into my s13 Rb20 build and thats without any bells and whistles... I had to keep it to the basics... Otherwise my girl wouldn't agree to pay for it.

East Side Po pimpin' till I die.

Theres a lot to it search, read, read, search and read some more. I spend an additional 6 months reading and researching on here and many other websites and .orgs before I took on my build, and that was after I blew apart my SOHC KA. Get your mind right, get your money right, make sure you have an end piont for your project otherwise it will never feel finished and will just be a money pit that never truely gives you any joy. No matter how nice the engine a full rebuild is the only way you will get any dd reliability... Thats my 2 cents