[BrianG]

It really depends on how you want to do the conversion. Some people like the dual battery setup (like I'm doing), but then it leaves little room for the rest of the parts. Or, you can set it up where the motor is on one side and the batts are on the other. Lots more room for the ESC/receiver and the motor mount is easier to make, but doesn't have that symmetrical look.

Then, you can go two ways; just slap everything in there just to get it to work, or take some time to fab up the various parts so everything is solid and "pretty". I chose the latter despite some of the trouble I'm having.

Being a "newbie", I would just look around here at the various setups and see which one looks like you can do. My first conversion was done this way; I saw Dafni's e-Revo and really liked it, so I made it based off his. Since then, I've learned quite a bit from everyone here and have moved on.

The hobby is expensive, but if you are patient and handly with saws, dremel tools, etc, then you can pretty much make most of the parts you need.