Don't do the 3rd gen lude thing. Unless you LOVE the car, they suck to own. The b20a5 and the b21 are a pain to work on, suck to find parts for, and SO MANY VACCUM LINES, YOU COULD CHOKE A DONKEY!!! I ****ing hate those things! They looks great, the 4ws ones handle great, but the auto is a pain in the ass, and it's so cramped, I would never attempt an auto to manual conversion on one.
For 2 grand, you should be able to find a VERY decent 3rd gen Si 5spd. Anything more than 3, and you're bending over and asking for it...