I'm a 23 y/o engineer (studied applied math and computer science) that's interested in building a FFR 818. I don't have any auto body experience, but I tend to figure things out and learn quickly.

My goals:
* I'd like to make this a street car that I drive a few miles to work every day and occasionally on the track (maybe 1500 miles a year).
* Gain experience working with cars
* Have fun learning how to build a car
* Have something fast/nice to show for it without spending more than $20-$25K.

Questions for you guys:

* Would you recommend buying a donor WRX or buying parts as I start building the car? How long does it take to strip a WRX?

* For those of you who have built cars from scratch, how did you get started on your first car? Did you do it by yourself?

* How long do you think it'll take to build one of these? Ideally, I'd want to be done after 500 hours of work not including paint work that's why the GTM's out of the picture.

* How big is your garage? What tools do you have besides the normal toolbox w/ wrenches, jacks, and an engine hoist?

* What advice to you have for a relatively smart beginner on building a car? I'd really like to build up my mechanical knowledge since I'm interested in robotics.