so this is going to be my first project car. I have about 3 grand to spend on the car. Im lookign for something that runs and not just a shell so I can get around town in so I can finish saving for the tune. all together im looking to spend about 10K. I did my research and pretty much narrowed it down to the eg6 civic and dropping in the b18c. ive also been thinking about the 240 sx... i know the civic will probably be an easier and less expensive build but is it worth it in the long run. what kind of times can i expect with a stock b18c in the car? is there anything else I should should consider?

(im trying to keep the cost under 10 grand because im still in school and anything over that will drag the project out too long cause ill be working for parts).  

You are wrong in assuming the Civic will be a less expensive build.  Either project would require a motor swap and the B18 would cost 3x the amount of money to pull the same amount of power out of an SR20DET.  $10,000 can get you a mean SR20DET swapped 240SX if you get your parts from the right sources.  $10,000 will get you a B18 swapped civic with very little power compared to the 240 you put just as much money into.  

Are you referring to making these very high output motors? I know the 94-98 SR20DET makes around 220 hp and the 98+ makes around 250 hp. the 98+ B18 makes around 210 ( I got all numbers from JDM's website...) the civic is also a  much lighter car. would a stock 220hp or 250hp SR20DET be faster than the stock 210hp b18??... I know with a bit of bolt ons the SR20DET would respond much more than the B18, but what about stock?....do you have any sources you mentioned that i can refer to?

....are there any  other cars i should consider that could possibly fall into my price range?  

YOu should look into an Eclipse GSX.  Its AWD/Turbo with a 4G63 motor (same as Evo's) and can be found for under $5,000.  You'll have a lot of money left over to drop into suspension/bolt on parts because this car will not require a full motor swap.  Maybe a couple of maintenance quick fixes, but that is only to be expected when buying an used vehicle.  Also the civic isn't that much lighter than a 240 with no rear seats.  My friend had a JDM converted 240SX that weighed nothing compared to my civic Si.  Read around the web and talk to people and you'll figure out a 240 is a much better project should you go that route.  

I'm not too crazy about the gsx. I went through many eclipses and i can't find anythign under 7 grand in descent condition and regardless it still has over 120,000 miles. im fairly new to the tuner world and rebuilding an engine might be a little too much for me. i've taken the 240sx into deep consideration. is the sr20det the way to go or would the rb25det be a better choice if i could afford it? how fast could a 240sx with a stock sr20det be?  

how about a nissan wit a 6 in it  

I feel you on the reliability of the GSX's.  They are old and fickle.  If you could afford it an RB25DET under the hood of a 240 would be sick.  I was at the track at Willow Springs, CA last sunday and a guy had a wide body 240sx with an RB25DET and it was amazing.  A stock SR20DET isn't all that fast in stock form but with inexpensive, minor bolt ons a lot of hidden potential can be unlocked.  Also to nissanfan:  i assume by "6" you mean a 6 cylinder, which was already mentioned as the RB25DET is a single turbo straight 6 from a stock Skyline GT-S  

it's probably going to take more than $3k to swap that b-series into the eg. check honda-tech.com, they have all you would ever want to know about hondas.  

how do the rb engines work in the 240 sx? can you put an rb26dett in a 240 sx? isnt the tranny in the rb a 4 wheel drive tranny? do you convert it to rwd? is an rb25det also 4wd?  

all you have to do to convert an awd to rwd is remove the front wheel portion.  i've seen numerous 240sx's with RB motors.  My neighbor has performed such swaps more times then he can count.