one rb25 i did made 456 rwhp -335rwkw @25psi on 98 octane pulp fuel
it was a stock rb25 with tomei poncams and splitfire coilpacks.
that was with 1.06 rear, it hit full boost at 4500rpm and was very street unfriendly.
the .82 rear would be sweet
as stated you can rotate both housings and core to your desired position.
you can have as much as 30 degree angle on the oil drain pipe before it may become an issue
yes you wil have movement from side to side.
remember metal expands when hot so clearances are setup to be right at running temp.
thats why flogging your engine when its cold wears it out fast cause the pistons are slapping around in the bore and results in cylinder wear and piston skirt wear
yeah if $1000 is your budget you are really getting into the deep end here.
not to mention that you wont be running good welds for quite a while and will go through lots and lots of material learning.
there is a lot of variants of the garrett t04 with the to4z being the best/newest.
something to watch out for is that chinese turbos are often called to4e and they tend to fail