Do I take this to mean you're gonna buy a 1kzte? I have a line on one with an automatic for about $2100 in florida. It's not a halfcut, so I'm not sure what all is there, but what I know is there is the engine, tranny and case. You could make it a 1kzt by running a mechanical pump, but I'm not sure what all is truly entailed in this. When you figure it out lemme know though, I'd rather go simple if I do this too.
I believe the "E" means electronic and unless everything is there it will be a pain to figure what to do with it.
Converting it to mechanical may be expensive to impossible, would be better to find a complete setup the way you want it to start with.
Also, beware, if the line you have is in Miami, there was a seller on ebay that was advertising engines, but when I called to see about going down there to look at it they said "NO" They don't have the engines there and I bet they are getting them imported after you pay.
Just FYI
