deciding on an engine to swap. HELP!, currently 7afe, but wut next?? Options

[cjh4l22]

OK so here's the scoop. currently i have a 95st w/5spd and a 7afe engine that is leaking a little oil and has just under 260k on it. so, by x-mas i'd like to swap it w/something b/c i'm afraid the engine won't make it till summer plus i'm asking santa for x-tra power this christmas. lol SO I'm asking for info from the wonderfully knowledgeable ppl here on 6gc.net I need to know which engine would be my best choice based on the following criteria... a) ease of the swap b) power gained b/c like i said, i would like an increase c) ease of turbo later and d) cost effective. b/c i have been considering a 3sgTe but it just seems too expensive for a poor college student. furthermore, i was hoping for something w/an equal if not higher displacement than the 7afe (1.8L) but i have heard good things about the 4age(20v) which is only 1.6L. If anyone would be willing to enlighten me, please do so and i'd be forever greatful. thanks.

Oh, and no i don't plan on racing this car or anything, just building up a car thats got some guts, ya know? something w/some spunk. anywho, thanks for your help.

[netrata]

UKCelicaKev is right on that one. If you can get a hold of a front clip with the engine you want, it would make things alot easier because the parts you would need is already there on the clip. If you take things like the center crossmember, the p/s components, etc., making it more possible to convert from a 7afe to a 3sge or better. But if you are looking for a drop-in engine, any 4age engine will do. It depends on what kind of power you are looking for. You can get a 4agze from an early ae101, which produces more torque than any of the 20v or n/a 16v 4age. It will be a little more work, but if don't mind it than go for that swap. Keep in mind, there are alot of aftermarket performance and maintenance parts out there for the 16v 4age, so you can always upgrade that engine to produce more power and torque If you prefer a 20v 4age, then I would highly suggest going with a blacktop. Reason why is because you can still use the current MAP sensor that's already equipped on your car, it produces more hp than a 20v silvertop, and better yet, you can run individual velocity stacks per ITB without any mods.