Originally Posted by JHM2K

Sorry to hear about your back, Bob. Get that taken care of and heal quickly! I'll be praying for a fast recovery.

A little update on my end: it seems that the market for the Limiteds has gone up (unless you get one that's ragged on) and the price point is literally within a thousand bucks of comparable-mileage SRTs... Thus the pickle I am in.

I want to remain loyal to the project, but at the same time, I have the possibility of buying a SRT --already modded with the pulley, tune, and intake -- for the same price as the Limited, stock (!!!). I'm not going to lie, I'm scared of the six speed. Not for the strength of the gears themselves, but for the clutch and DM flywheel. The DM (dual-mass) flywheel is a finicky beast, from what I've read. While throwing a $1,000 Spec Clutch on the tranny sounds like an easy fix, we have no hard evidence as to how sustainable that would be for a daily. If you remember, I was having synchro issues in my 6MT before the wreck. Not debilitating, but present nonetheless. And I was at ~250 crank when I ran the road course...

I am at a crossroads where I can buy a Limited for $14,500 or a ready-to-go SRT for ~$1,000 more (with lower mileage, to boot). Remaining loyal to the Limiteds would mean that I would likely get the auto trans (for above fears listed). So, we're at $14,500 + $3,500 for BEGi Turbo + supporting hardware (mufflers, engine cover, cooling?) which puts me at $18,000 and I haven't even touched brakes, suspension, aesthetics, etc. Before long I'll be at $20,000 for a car with ~345 crank horsepower. Will it be rare? Yes. Smart? No.

On my old car, it made sense to jump into the turbo fray because I already had it in-hand and had no intent to sell it. Once my baby was destroyed, the equation ($$$) changes for me.

I'm a man of my word and if the $200 R&D is still needed to get the project off the ground, I will contribute as this was in writing before my misfortune. I simply can't guarantee (at this point) that I can proceed as planned with the full kit.

Now, if I can find a clean white roadster with vanilla guts and <50,000 miles for $13K, we're in business. But, a quick glance at autotrader makes that a pipe dream. Said car is fetching SRT money. And if I'm going with a Limited, it must be the above combo. Only way I see that happening is having a dealer buy one for me at auction, and I give him the cash to do so. Still a possibility, but less likely.

I understand if everyone throws rotten tomatoes at me now, but money is money.