introducing myself

hey,everybody
i've been facsinated by electric cars for about 3 years now,and now i think i'm ready to build one.i have been doing research and have purchased michael brown's book "convert it".
last weekend i missed out on buying a volkswagon jetta electric car for $75 bucks.i was pissed but,i had to go camping with my son's cub scout troop.
they said the manual transmission was broke and it was laying in the trunk.
the guys at the shop that had it for sale said everything was there.
oh,well i guess i'll have to do it the old fashioned way.my main concern is range.i'm never going to take the car i convert on the highway,just around town.the speed limit on the streets here are 35-45 mph. i work 2 miles from work.all i have to do is take the kids to school in the morning, which is a 1/8 of a mile,and then go to work.
all my running around is right hear in town. i bet, my running around is less then 10 miles a day.
my biggest problem is budget,i have three kids and a house payment so,there's not a lot of money left over.i love what the forkenswift guys have done.i'd like to due do something similar to what they did.i work at a mechanic shop and i have one of the top mechanics willing to help me.
one of the other mechanics does our welding for us and, said he would help if i needed it.i've worked with these guys for 12 years so,they are all my buddies.my question is what would be a cheap budget motor and controller?the donor car isnt my concern yet, as we are always coming across cars with blown motors.