for the ignition I don't think I could get the 1.8t coil packs working with it so I would probably have to run a Ford EDIS which is supposedly a really good system. It would be pretty simple to use too. http://www.dainst.com/info/edis/edis.html
There is also another opensource standalone called the Genboard. There is not as much information on it but it looks nice. Has some good features like 2 channel wideband controller, boost control, nitrous control, high quality idle control, knock detection and exhaust gas temperature. http://www.vems-group.org/products.html
oh yea the magasquirt site has an incredible amount of information about alot of stuff, even a part on manifolds
well I got another crazy idea. buy a Porsche 924 or 944 that doesnt run. They're pretty cheap, definatley under a thousand. Strip it of everything except the transmission and driveshaft, weld the diff. Then, they've got a rear mount transmission in them so up front all there is, is a driveshaft connecting to the engine with a driveplate or something. So it would be pretty simple to make that bolt up to any engine. And I happen to have an engine in my garage. So we just weld up some engine mounts, maybe have a shop lathe up some kind of adapter to bolt the driveshaft to the driveplate on the 5sfe, throw a custom intake manifold on it and start drifting. Then when it needs more power, you can get a 3sgte head for 350 bucks, turbo it to about 400 hp and have an awesome car with a 5sgte in a Porsche.