Doing hard-core track time is a ways off; I'm sure there will be quite a bit of sorting before the car is ready for that kind of abuse. I guess my thinking was "make it run" then go back and deal with the serious track-prep before major abuse begins. The engine & transmission come with a start & run guarantee, so I think I'd like to accomplish that before taking on serious engine surgery.
I love Road America, I'm actually kind of meh about Mid-O, but there are lots of events there. Gratan is blast, but the pavement there just shreds tires. I love VIR, but it's too far away for me to visit with any kind of consistency. I have a list of other tracks I'd love to run, but they are all far enough away that I'd have to arrange a min-vacation to run them. I'm hoping I can hit a least a few of them.
You mentioned brakes, and that's honestly one of the larger question marks I have about building out this platform. I searched the forums for ideas and suggestions, but I'm not sure I'll find the kind of braking I'm used to without needing to do some trial and error. I ran Carbotech pads on my modded Evo and really liked the performance & feel, just didn't like the price every time they needed replacement. I just see brakes as something I'll address once the car is running and I can start to gain experience with the various options available.
Tires are also a bit of struggle. I'd like to run 275/40-17's, but I should probably be using a 9.5" or 10" wheel for a tire that wide. That probably means butchering or replacing the front fenders even if I can manage to make the tires work in back. Narrower wheels & tires would fit better, but I'm not sure the car would have enough grip. I do have a line on some 17x9.5 wheels that would work & know where to get good quality spacers & hubcentric rings made to fit them properly. Thoughts?
And of course related to the wheel issue is choosing springs & dampers. I'd like to go with a decent coilover set-up, but may end up looking for a more more budget friendly solution to start out with. I haven't really had time to read up on the various suspension options currently available for the FC; I suppose I need to research that as well.