Just to put it out there, I costed my swap at $23k.
$9k of which is motec/wiring/sensors.
My motor I got for $1500
My box $2500
Clutch and bell $2000
The rest is mounts $600, headers $1500, exhaust $400, driveshaft $800.
Then there's incidentals which I've budgeted as best I can.
Labour I'm paying $3k, and that's mates rates.
You won't do any swap for $10k. Maybe $12k if you run the ecu that's comes with the new motor independently from body ecu. I reckon you could rig up the heater and ac to work, and maybe the ps too, but not the gauges, not easily anyway. I didn't want to do mine half ass, so decided to use a motec m150 as it's going to solve all the issues.
It comes down to what you want. People say boosted fa20's are reliable, and it really comes down to your definition of reliable. I think theyre grenades. But that's because I like to be able to really beat on a car (I'm not talking highway pulls I'm talking full-tank sessions at the track) My gt86 isn't a track car, it's my street car, but I do take it to the track if I cbf loadin my race car on the trailer, or if it's hot and I want to use the GT cos it has ac.
I had a sc and it could only take 5 laps, 10 at most. Then I had a turbo kit on the car but realised that if that blew the motor, and then I built a motor, and them adapted a proper gearbox, I'd have easily spent what an engine conversion would cost. Especially when you consider the sale of the fa20 and the box. I'm more looking at just doing it properly and enjoying the car, rather than forever modifying it. Something I wished I'd done before buying two FI kits.
Here's where I was at a few weeks ago.
I need to make another vid as there's been more progress. Motor and box are mounted. Making headers and exhaust atm. Then it's sorting the ancillaries, ac, cooling, swaybar, t/b, intake.
One thing people don't get, is that it's not peak power to weight, it's torque to weight that makes a great car (IMO) and unlike an FI setup that has to wait or build it's torque, a larger displacement has it basically off idle.
It's going to make an epic daily.
Sure, I should've just gone and bought a 996 gt3, or a e92 m3, or an isf; but any douchebag with money can do that. I like that what I'll end up with you can't just go and buy, and it needed some knowledge/balls to do.
I'm building my car for me. I'll probably never sell it because I like how it looks, I like that all the parts it has currently and the ones I've put in are cheap to maintain and replace, I like that it'll have the realiabilty the toyota brand of 1970-1999 was known for, and I like that'll have supercar level torque/weight, without giving away that fact visually, or from making any huge compromise to realiabilty, drivability, or handling. But I'm paying a premium to achieve it.
Only other thing I'll add, I've had at least a dozen sr20's over the years. They get unrealiable at about 350whp; as in last a few drift events at best. At 300whp and only street driven they last, but then so do fa20s; so don't see what your achieving even considering an sr20 swap. Only time of consider an sr20 swap into a gt96 is if I had a spare built sr laying around. Which is why I nearly put a built 3sg beams in my gt86, because I have a spare race motor. But the whole purpose of me having a spare motor is so I can swap it quickly if need be.
TL;DR engine swaps in this car, done properly START at $25k. Take it from someone with experience with these types of builds, that is also a QS by day.
(In other words, I've spent my career focusing on costing things out accurately, so I'm sure as shit going to do it right when it's my own money.) I costed lots of options prior to choosing the 1uz. The ls3 option was more like $35k done properly - using a crate motor and new box.