what should i DO??!?!?! please read!

Ok, First off, Im not a "Car Guy". Basicly Im a newbie to all this car stuff so if you do post something please do it in a "for dummies" way if you can, but any info will help no matter what way it comes/

My situation.
I decided that this year my car was going to be my project. I want to fix it up all, starting from out side to engine.
My car is: 1996 Chevy (duh!) Cavalier :)
2.2L 5 speed Trans.
2 door coupe
no mods (that i know off)

I want to know:
1. should I fix this car up, or look for a new one? (probly another cavalier to fix up)
2. whats the maximum preformance that this car can get up to?
3. what are the parts & avg. Price for the Mod? (just a general over veiw to make sure I dont get banbusoled (misspelled?)
4. lastly if you could post sites up, that sell the equipment, and or explain how it helps/hurts the car, For some reson I cant find any good sites myself:(???

thank you all for your time,

This is probable not going to go over well here but. I had a 99 Dakota with a 5.2 v8. I spent about 2 grand on mods for my truck. And was still unhappy. It was faster but not 2 grand worth. I had a performance pcm, K&N FIPK II, MSD 6A ignition, 8.5 superconductors etc... My advice would be if you want hp buy a vehicle with the amount you want and don't wast money trying to add it a little at a time. Maybe an older mustang. Once you start spending money on a cav and realize you spent more money on that then it would have cost on a say 94 mustang you might be a little disappointed. Just my 2 cents so try not to dog me to bad.

That’s a good point, but you have to factor in higher insurance rates, then you have to go buy a 94 that’s in good shape and so one.

But for your cavi I’d say that the 2.2 is not the best engine of chose. I would pick up ether a new cavi or even a used one with ether the new ecotec motor or the 2.4 twin cam. Stock for stock the 2.4 will run the quarter mile a whole second or two faster then the 2.2 you have in your car now. some sites to check out are www.j-body.org www.quad4forums.com www.gmperformancetuning.com some after market sites are www.mantapart.com www.rksport.com www.rsm.com But I would really stress that if you want to make a fast cavi then the 2.2L isn’t the best engine to do it with.