I would love to build my own sevenesque from a pile of steel, a book, second-hand kit and a divorce lawyer on hand but I expect I'll have to get realistic at some point! All part of the learning process, and I'm really quite excited at the prospect... ask me again in 6 months, and thanks for the pointers.
I will say, unless persuaded otherwise (and probably not for ongoing discussion on this particular thread), I've firmly decided from the off that I won't be basing it on a Sierra... I'm sorry, I just don't get it... at all...
30 secs on autotrader this morning for a potential donor (Nationwide search, <£1k, manual):
BMW 3/5 Series - 250+
Mazda MX5 - 22
Sierra - err... 1