i'm planning to order a front clip from japan, when I do, should I just rip and install or should I open up the motor and do some upgrades? figure since the motor will be out, it'd be easy to open her up.

this project will probably start Jan09

What is your ultimate goal power wise????...theres no point in breaking the seal just for the sake of it

>

agreed.
as far as "upgrades" it really just depends on your end goal, and more importantly, your budget.

definetly do every peice of mantinence you can afford tho, and dont skimp on it, everything is much tougher to do once the engine is in the bay.
seals, hoses, waterpump ect should all be done while the motor is out.

a cheap upgrade thats a good idea while the motor is out is cam gears, on a 2nd gen motor there is a solid 10-15whp gain to be had by dialing them in.

I just want to do the conversion and clean up anything dirty...the tracks here have been shut down for a while, so not much of a point to go for max hp...yet...my budget isn't really set, so i'm trying to buy everything i'll need now while I still have this current job

get a complete gasket set from toyota and change all of the gaskets except for the head gasket. these motors are old and tend to leak oil from just about every orifice. do the timing belt, water pump, and clutch too.

Agreed get a gasket set...also get the waterways and oil ways cleaned out as best you can without splitting the head from the block....also dont reuse the old fuel filter...get a new one...clean out the sump pan etc...check what you can when the sump is removed...especially the oil jets that squirt oil onto the bottom of the pistons...check thrust bearings etc etc..clean everything you can...then clean it again. Get everything as spotless as possible...do it in a clean environment...any dirt may well undo all your hard work.

sounds good.