That sucks about the LS. AFAIK the only conversion for the IM would be the injectors. The rest has all the same plugs in all the same spots. You'll also get a bigger TB and lose that retarded dashpot thing. Hopefully it's just the pistons/rings. If that's the case, find those "turbo" nippon pistons with beefy ringlands (~$155/ebay) and go with a heavy hone job. Then turbo the bitch. Or...just get some used pr3 pistons and regrinds.
I've always thought ef 4 doors were the ugliest of ugly
A slight drop and decent wheels makes them fucking awsome. Not only that, you pull out the front pass. seat and you can carry: 1 b-series longblock, b-series bare block, another d-series block, a crank, a z6 head, a bunch of other Honda junk, including a HF manifold with a t3 adapter on it. And with a mpfi conversion you can still smoke a gutted 96+ DX, that's with all the above still inside.
And getting 42mpg on top of it. Then there's the panoramic view you get from so much glass. There's not a single blind spot on the car. If I move to somewhere those cars don't rust, I'm buying one again just for a daily bomber/parts car/rhmt sleeper.
The only downside is no cup holders, but a ford modular throttle body is sized perfectly for a beer can and tapered for fast-food cups.